*Briella*
“Are you certain I can’t leave sooner?” I asked Elethea desperately, even going so far as to clasp my hands in front of as if I were going to kneel and worship the ground she walked on.
The head healer smiled sympathetically at but nodded firmly. “You are likely fine to leave sooner, but I would feel much better if you stayed at least until sundown. I’m not detecting traces of dark energy in you, but your heart rate and blood pressure are not quite where I want them to be.”
I blew out a long breath and leaned back against the pillows dejectedly. It had only been a day since I woke up in this place, but it felt more like months or even years.
The Celestial City healers were so of the most skilled in the entire realm. That was obvious in the high-tech equipnt they used on , including a glowing wand that detected dark magic within the body.
I was in a beautiful room, with white walls decorated with golden celestial motifs. I had a huge window that overlooked the glittering city below and a bed that felt as soft as a cloud.
Still, I wasn’t one to sit around. I needed to move or I was going to go insane.
“How is she doing?”
I looked up as Kryzen and Roy entered the room.
“I’m right here, you know,” I quipped to Kryzen. “You can ask how I’m doing.”
Kryzen just ignored and looked at Elethea expectantly.
“Her vitals are promising but not quite where I’d like them to be,” the healer explained. “As long as she continues to rest, I should be able to release her this evening.” She glanced over at sternly, causing to sigh deeply.
“How are you feeling, Briella?” Roy asked, stepping up to the bed, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.
“I’m completely fine,” I told him. “I should be asking you that. What happened after you left to warn the guests?”
“It took so convincing, but I was able to get nearly everyone out,” Roy said. “As the last of us were exiting the mansion, the ground started to shake violently. No one was hard, and we never saw a single demon shadow.”
Kryzen and I shared a wide-eyed look. There was no doubt surrounding what caused the tremors. “Briella was able to destroy nearly a hundred of those monsters.”
I looked at him in shock. “Don’t give all the credit,” I ordered tersely. “You know for a fact that if it wasn’t for your shield, we wouldn’t have survived.”
Roy was staring between us in horror. “What happened?” he demanded.
Kryzen and I relayed the events between when Roy left us to warn the guests of the shadow creatures and when I woke up in the hospital. Roy listened attentively, his blue eyes darkening when we described how close we ca to perishing at the hands of General Tian.
“And sohow, you intuitively knew that Kryzen’s shield would amplify your dagger’s power,” Roy said, the awe clear in his voice.
“I don’t think I knew anything at the ti,” I said. “I was acting out of desperation really. I had to do sothing.” I looked between the two. “So what should we do now?”
Kryzen and Roy shared a look. “For now, you need to do as the healer said and rest,” Kryzen told sternly.
Roy’s eyebrows went up as he looked at his friend, clearly trying to communicate sothing.
I raised an eyebrow at him and then at Kryzen. “Are you two hiding sothing from ?” I demanded.
Kryzen glared at Roy for a mont before looking at . “Sothing happened,” he finally admitted. “But you don’t need to think about it now. You need to be resting.”
I ground my teeth together. “Tell ,” I commanded. “It’s obviously important, so you shouldn’t keep it from .”
Kryzen hesitated, looking over at Roy again and then back at . “We received an urgent ssage from your brother.”
I sucked in a breath. “Kai?”
Kryzen nodded, looking like he wished he didn’t have to tell . “The dark plague has completely slamd the valley. Your brother is fine, but many of the leaders have fallen ill, including the head priest.”
“Mathias,” I gasped in horror. I pushed myself up and slid from the bed. “We need to go. We have to go now.”
My heart was pounding wildly in my chest. I stumbled when my bare feet hit the cold floor. Both Kryzen and Roy dashed forward to steady .
Kai was alright, but for how long? Would he fall ill too? Would Mathias be okay? Tears threatened in the backs of my eyes. I gritted my teeth together hard.
“Get it together,” I scolded myself internally. “You aren’t helping anything.”
“This is exactly why I wanted to wait until you were discharged to tell you,” Kryzen growled, scooping up and placing back on the bed. He grabbed my chin firmly in one of his large hands, forcing to look at him. “Calm down, Briella. Even if you weren’t still recovering, we couldn’t just go in there blind. What if we all fell ill too? What then?”
I swallowed hard, forcing the tears back, knowing that he was right and hating that. “So what are you proposing?”
Kryzen brushed a stray tear off my cheek and looked right in the eye. “Trust .”
***
I understood fully now why Kryzen didn’t want to tell about the plague. Later that evening, my vitals were still not quite within normal range.
“You seem to be under a great deal of stress,” Elethea said, putting her equipnt away and glaring at Kryzen and Roy. She looked back down at . “Perhaps we should keep you until morning.”
“No,” I said firmly. I took a breath and controlled my tone. “I’m sorry, but sothing ca up. If I stay here, I will only be more stressed. I need to go and solve this issue.”
Elethea looked far from happy but nodded. “Very well. But you must rest when you can.”
“I will,” I promised, leaving out that there would probably be very little ti for rest.
“We should be getting you back to Drogomor,” Drius said through clenched teeth.
The four of us were walking briskly down the street, getting ready to hop on a train that would take us just outside the temple.
We were eting with the elders, hoping they would be aware of so kind of potion or ritual that could cure this awful disease.
I glowered at Drius. “My little brother is there. If there’s so way we can help, I’m going to take it. Don’t you dare try to stop , Drius.”
Drius just clenched his jaw but didn’t say anything else as we boarded the glittering train.
Ezriel, just like last ti, was ready for us as if he truly had been expecting us. “I understand you’ve had an encounter with dark magic.”
For what felt like the thousandth ti, we described the near-death experience we had beneath the Alpha’s mansion.
The group of elders listened with their typical sage-like expressions. They were still as stone, barely reacting to our tale.
“This dagger from the Embervale,” Ezriel said at last once our story was completed, “please bring it forward.”
I blinked in surprise but obeyed, ascending the few steps up to the dais where the elders sat and withdrawing the gleaming dagger from the sheath at my waist.
Ezriel nodded in thanks and took the blade carefully, murmuring and running his fingers over the hilt and the gemstones embedded in it. “There is still a dark essence within this dagger, similar to that of the mysterious illness that once perated this city.”
“Is it dangerous?” Kryzen demanded urgently, appearing at my side and looking ready to shield from the weapon.
“No,” the elder said placatingly. “But we may be able to use the dagger to create a cure. It will be a complicated ritual, and there is no guarantee that it will work. We have attempted sothing similar when the illness was here but were unsuccessful.”
“Please do whatever you can,” I told the elder desperately.
Ezriel nodded and took my hand, patting it reassuringly. “The energy you carried here in the dagger is more potent than the ones we were using previously. Perhaps that will make the potion more effective as well.”
The ritual was complicated, requiring the participation of all the elders, who gathered around the holy pond in the large sanctuary. They changed into ceremonial robes made of silk and covered in golden patterns.
Ezriel held my dagger and started to chant in a lodious language, holding my dagger above the holy water. The other elders joined him, muttering chants along with him, their voices echoing through the large room.
The pool began to glow a hot white that nearly had shielding my eyes. Ezriel stepped forward and carefully lowered my dagger into the water. Imdiately, it started to shake as soon as it touched the surface.
Ezriel’s chanting beca louder and faster as a sliver of shadows rose from the pool right above where my dagger was subrged. One of the female elders quickly stepped forward and held a small vial over the essence, capturing it in the container and quickly securing a cap on top.
The female elder wasted no ti in bringing the vial over to a long counter. A couple of others joined her, and they started to mix glowing bottles of liquid together, their hands moving swiftly, which was impressive considering their old ages.
The rest of us waited silently, watching in awe as the Celestial City elders worked.
Finally, Ezriel approached us with a bottle about the length of my short dagger. Inside it was a glowing blue liquid the color of the night sky right after sunset. He held it out to . “The potion is completed,” he said. “I pray that it will have the desired effect on the people of the valley.”
I took the bottle carefully, surprised by how warm it felt. It was as if it was alive. “Thank you so much,” I said.
We decided to leave imdiately for Celestial Valley.
“I wish I could go with you,” Roy said as we stood before the portal.
Kryzen shook his head. “You’re right that you should go back to inform your father of all that has happened,” he told his friend. “He will want to know so he can provide aid should he wish to. Maybe with his forces, we can bring Tian to justice.”
Roy nodded, and the two clapped each other on the back. Roy turned to and set a hand on my shoulder. “You be careful,” he said, almost sternly.
I nodded and hugged him. We had really bonded on this journey. He was more like a brother to now. “You too,” I ordered. “Take care of yourself.”
“I will,” Roy told before giving Drius a friendly nod and turning to go.
Drius watched him go for a mont before turning to look at . “Last chance,” he warned.
I scoffed. “Go back ho if you want to, Drius,” I said, but I knew he was coming with . I smirked. “You’re apparently not up to a challenge anymore.”
Drius rolled his eyes. “Afraid you’re stuck with , Bri,” he said.
Kryzen took my hand, tugging slightly so I was looking at him. “Ready?”
I took a deep breath and clutched the potion tightly in my hands. “Ready.”
And then we stepped into the light.
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