She was close.
The threshold to the middle stage of the Sovereign realm hovered just ahead of her. She could sense the barrier clearly now. It was thin and trembling under the pressure of the charged energy.
One more strong surge would be enough to break it.
The knowledge sent a wild, almost desperate hunger through her. After years of slow, careful progress, the chance to leap forward in a single afternoon was intoxicating. Her fingers dug into the chair. Her head tipped back slightly. The last of her resistance was fraying under the sheer force of what her body was experiencing.
Julian felt the change in her.
He had been monitoring the flow with precise control, watching how her vessels accepted the deeper current and how rapidly her core responded. The speed of her advancement was even greater than he had anticipated.
He could push her across the threshold right now if he wished. The barrier was already cracking.
But...
he stopped.
