Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Sixty-Five ۞ Camp

Jameela was left with the managing of the people after the departure of Gavin, Omar, Saeed, and Valeriana to seek for the help of the dragons. She had been aware of the presence of the dragons in the Abyss as she once met a woman by the name of Delphyn, a drakaina in charge of herding dragons.

Due to an oath, she did not speak of the dragon colony, but rather a simple, sleeping, Bismuth dragon. Due to the hunting of the dragons back in the days, the matter was guarded with utter secrecy and the drakons would punish a slip of the tongue with great severity. As she had once saved a Bismuth dragon who had been lost due to curiosity, Delphyn owed her a favor. She wondered internally if those kids were able to figure out, or if they had even come close to decrypting what she had meant. They took it a bit literally, especially that girl.

She chuckled to herself as she wondered how they would go about 'waking the dragon'. If they did something utterly disturbing, it would cause a ruckus within the sanctuary, as dragons were normally very rowdy creatures so they were mostly put to sleep and awakened in intervals to feed or play.

If she only had the strength to move about, she would've done it herself. However, she was already an old woman, not to mention this young lad had caught the molten fever. With the severe heat, he had burned down the bed. Because of that, she had him transferred to a tub of water. As of the moment, it was boiling, steaming, and had already evaporated.

She looked at the young lord problematically. Honestly, how would she deal with this boy? Molten fevers reflected the true heat of their core fire, the source of the flames a fire-wielder wields. Seeing this young man boiling the coldest waters she could find made her contemplate the intensity of his fire.

She sat by the tub with a cup of fresh water and looked down at Corvan. "Child, wake up."

He only answered with a groan and a small, "Leave me alone."

"You must drink or you'll dry up and burn to nothingness. Open your mouth."

His eyes opened and he seemed dazed. He opened his mouth and misty breath escaped from his lips. Jameela poured the water down his lips and he drank it greedily. There was a commotion outside as the villagers were preparing to move into the caves Valeriana had discovered.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice weak.

"Your familiar has turned into a demon, according to that girl from before."

"Valeriana?" he said aloud. "Where is she?"

"They have gone to seek help, young lord. With what we are now, we cannot fight against a pack of demons who have the strength of twin-tailed lions," she said. "You must fight against the infection. With your bond, you are being affected."

Corvan breathed out weakly. He could not believe he was in this sort of dilemma. Not to mention, he was relying on other people other than himself.

"Your fire is surprising," Jameela commented. "With the fuel you have, it is impossible to burn out."

"What will happen if I burn out?" he asked. That would never happen anyhow, he told himself.

"I am unsure. But, you must continue fighting. You must thank your heritage. Such strong power," she continued. "They will return soon enough. For now, we must move."

"Move where?" he asked.

"I'm surprised you can still think coherently in this sort of condition," she told him. "The caves, of course. We cannot stay here. Judging by the nature of the twin-tailed lions, I'm sure they'll come back. That girl has suggested we take shelter in the caves full of those ember crystals. It will help protect us."