Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Fifty-Seven ۞ Hidden Power

There was a soft intake of breath, gradually released with eyes fluttering close. Soft blue light emanated from her palms, a cooling sensation that resembled the touch of a sea breeze under the warm sunlight. Olivia's voice was a constant guide, whispering and talking softly against her ear in a comforting, motherly tone.

"That's right, Genevieve." Said the healer. "That's right. Continue. You're doing great."

Within a few seconds simultaneous with her breathing, the blue light dissipated. Genevieve opened her hazelnut colored eyes and gazed down at her brother's still form, mildly disappointed to see him still fast asleep.

"No." Her shoulders sunk and her back slouched as she gripped Zevlin's hands tighter. "It's not working. He isn't waking up."

"Patience, dear one. You are greatly helping him." Olivia told her. "His breathing has improved and his heart rate is steadier. He's more stable. Because of you."

"But he isn't opening his eyes! I'm starting to think all this training has gone to waste!" Genevieve exclaimed, rising from her seat and pacing about the room in distress and frustration. "Oh, lords . . . by the gods."

"Calm down, Genevieve. Sit back down." She said. "Listen to me when I say he's better."

"It doesn't look that way!"   

"He is! Subtle improvement is improvement still. You guide him away from death's door." Olivia reached out and held Genevieve's shoulder, guiding her to sit down on the chair she rose from. With her was a cup of tea.

The scent curled under Genevieve's nose and soothed her frayed nerves. As hours ticked by, her worries worsened. Waiting was a torturous activity that sometimes she became paranoid of all the possibilities.

"Mint and berries." The healer told her, somewhat worried seeing the huge bags under her eyes. "This will help you calm down. Tell me, have you been getting enough sleep?"

"I couldn't . . . I . . ."

"It's alright. Let me tell you something about your mother, Genea." She pulled a chair closer to the girl's. "There are a lot of things you have in common with your mother. Your nose, your lips . . . and that blue light."

Genevieve drank from the cup and sighed as it washed down her throat. "I always thought that it was strange that I had blue when all healers have green."

"Oh, well," Olivia shrugged, sipping her own cup of tea. "That's your mother's trademark. I've always thought that it was amazing to see her light. There was always something . . . heavenly about it."

Genevieve looked up and gave the woman a questioning stare. "What do you mean?"

"Your mother served as an apprentice in the Great Hall of Healers under Lady Saiorsia Delvern. By the time I was but a lowly herb gatherer, she was the top contender of her batch—the most promising healer of the decade, perhaps. And believe me when I say that that is no exaggeration."

"Mother was associated with the Great Hall?" She asked. "I never knew that."

"Most of the greatest healers do. And your mother was one of the greatest, alright."

"You speak so highly of her." She said, though she wasn't complaining. There weren't many people who knew her mother. If there were, she mostly did not like being near them.

"She had a lot to prove even so. She was no prodigy." Olivia said, offering her a plate of biscuits. They looked too good to resist, so Genevieve found herself picking off two. "Her healing was strange, to say the least. Her greatness did not come with healing big wounds like the commonplace healers. It was long before they discovered her area of expertise greatly differed."