Warsong | Celeste Academy Series Book #4

Chapter Eighteen ⚜ Arsene and Cifaro

"Dad," Valeriana's voice came out weak. She held a sword in one hand, feet apart as she practiced her stances. "Corvan gave me a book about the Lost Heralds case. Tell me what it is, really. What did you come down for? What did the demons come down for? I estimated everything. Thirty-six years of King Laedin's reign. He was on his prime. He wasn't weak at the time so the barriers and strongholds of the kingdom were in full force."

Janus—Garvyn, rather—continued watching her. This time, his eyes carried a bit of apprehension. "The darkness has taken root, not just in Valemnia, but Earth as well. The reason we kept these worlds separate is to avoid getting Earth into the mess we have to deal with. Years of searching in vain. We felt as though we were working against something greater than we expected."

Valeriana let the sword drop to her side as she walked over to her father in concern. "Dad, tell me what it is you found. What if everything is related? Prince Bertram turning into a demon, the demons trying to go to Earth—they can't be just doing this for no reason, there must be something."

"It's too dangerous, Valery," said Garvyn worriedly. "You haven't even graduated from the academy and knowing you, you'll be rash. I've fought hard to keep you, Jareth, and your mother safe. I will not ruin it."

"But what is it? Dad, tell me. There's no use keeping me in the dark! Do you think keeping secrets will actually help?"

"That's what you think . . ." he trailed off. "But, Valery, once you meddle in this business, you won't be able to get out. I've made a lot of enemies and they're serious people. If it weren't for . . ." He hesitated. "Let me think about this for a moment. I still don't know how to go about this issue. It's a lot more complicated than you think. It's not that simple."

"Dad." Valeriana was on the verge of crying from frustration.

Garvyn came forward. He threw his arms around Valeriana and pulled her close. "Valery . . . oh my girl, please don't make this any harder for me. I told you I will tell you things—things that you actually need to know. But the state you are in right now—without adequate experience, it will only put you in unnecessary danger. Oh gods forgive. Work on those blessings first. This isn't the right time."

When the time was up, Valeriana had to leave the dream state, troubled more than ever. She approached the book and notes she left on the table yesterday, going through more of the information recorded. It was just a thin journal-like record. It didn't delve into details and was somewhat vague as though whoever the writer was feared it would be discovered. It didn't contain more than the names of the knights who participated in the event, the reason why they went down, the place they went to, and what they did—but whatever they found, they purposely left it out.

Valeriana got up from the bed to ready herself for their trip. They planned on taking horses, so her butt would probably swell as big as the face of the moon by the time they get to where they were going. She gathered her notes, the books, and stuffed them into her satchel.

She then drew a bath on—it wasn't a tub but a pool. She let the water flow in as she retrieved a towel and some bathing essentials from the cabinet. There were different jars of essential oils color-coded and bars of scented soap. The purple one smelled like lavender and vanilla, so she opted for it—having liked the scent very much.

She then readied her toothbrush and some toothpaste. Valemnians rather liked chewing on herbs when grooming their teeth and mouth, but they did have brushes as well. She only used her own brush because it reminded her of home.

When the water filled the pool, she helped herself in. The warmth was relaxing so she took her sweet time, contemplating and gathering her thoughts, before getting out. She dressed in fresh clothes—casual, comfortable-looking ones. She found some hanging in the closet of the bedroom she was staying in and decided that perhaps borrowing a couple would not harm anyone.