Valeriana regained her consciousness in a familiar bedchamber. It wasn't the one in the residences of the Twelve. Rather, it was the one in the Ember Palace. Despite the short time she spent there, she loved the bed and its comfortable softness. It was a luxury she had fallen in love with.

There was a man hovering over her, attending to the injuries she sustained from the incident in Empyrean Volcano. She realized he looked familiar. He must've been the man who worked on heruu dislocated arm after she fell off that horse.

"Good afternoon, milady," he gave her a nod. "How convenient of you to awaken. How are you feeling?"

"Good afternoon," she replied sleepily, wanting to rub her eyes. However, her arms were feeling weak. "This is . . ."

"The Ember Palace," he told her. "You were out for a day."

I knew it.

"What about my . . . um . . . friends?" she asked. "Is Avaro alright?"

"I'm not sure about your companions but you were brought to me heavily injured," he said. "You fractured your shoulder and you had a minor concussion. Luckily, you had something with you with great healing properties. You're all right, now. I suggest taking it easy for a bit, anyhow."

He talked quite a lot for an old man.

Her entire body felt numb. It seemed almost scary just thinking about trying to move. "What something was that?"

"A dragon fruit. They're rare specimens. It's the first time I've seen them. Though I was not surprised since you came with a dragon."

She chuckled. Where is my baby? She looked around, but the room was empty.

The old man did a quick examination before smiling at Valeriana and saying, "I think you're in good shape. I'll go and call your . . . um, I'll go and call Lord Corvan and the others to inform them you've already awaken."

She muttered a small thank you to the man as he left. He gathered his things from the bedside table and made his way to the exit. The door was closed ever so gently behind him as his actions were quite slow.

Valeriana breathed out a sigh and tried to move her limbs. She had a major, head-splitting headache and she felt irritated and grumpy. Even the light innocently beaming through the windows made her mood sour as her eyes were blinded. She moved the pillows behind her and reclined against the headboard, wishing all of this was over.

She heard chatters down the hallway and loud footsteps. Looking at the door, a couple of shadows moved from the gap below and there were faint whispers. There was a commotion and it was pushed open, so harshly that it banged against the wall.

Valeriana practically jumped from the bed but managed to calm herself as her eyes landed on a familiar pair of emerald green. Unknowingly, a smile broke on her face as he made his way over.

Even so, his face was filled with a grim expression as though he was frustrated to no end. His shoulders looked tense. This made her lose her smile a bit.

Gavin had also entered, but seeing the situation, decided it was not good if he intruded on the two. What he did instead was grab the open door and pull it close behind him.

"Hey . . ." she began. "Are you okay now? I was so worried when Avaro—"

"You stupid witch," he muttered as he made his way over. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" she asked.

"You don't even know what you did to yourself." He rounded the bed and stopped just beside her, looking down at her hand. His brows knitted and he reached out for her wrist. He pulled down on her gloves and stared at the mark. The gloves she wore were fresh and silky. They weren't the ones she used back in the Empyrean Volcano.

The mark on her hand had stayed the same. It did not disappear nor did it get bigger. She knew she somehow . . . revealed the purifying thing unnecessarily to the onlookers from before, but she chose not to think about it now.

"Honestly, what a reckless girl. You purified Avaro," he said. "What did this cost you?"

"It's fine," she said, as she looked down at the hand he had around hers. "I love Avaro and I know it would've hurt you if you lost him. Familiars are indispensable and, personally, I could not bear to see him go."

"It wouldn't have mattered," he told her, sitting on the edge beside her blanketed legs. "You should not place your life in danger for something like this."

"It wouldn't have mattered?" she repeated. "Do you know what you're talking about? Are you willing to let your familiar go just like that?"

"Of course not," he replied.

"It was my choice," she said, frowning at him. "When he was infected, did you know what happened to you? You looked like crap!"

"I know what happened to me," he firmly replied. "But you . . ."

"I may not be as great as you guys, but if it's in my power to help, how can I not—"

"Shut it," he cut her off. "I'm not looking to hear this from you."

She didn't know what was up with this guy. Despite the life-risking situations she went through, she did not even receive a word of thanks from him. Instead, he went on about crap of it all being unnecessary. Did he even know what he was talking about?

She hardened her gaze as she looked into his eyes.

She did not expect to catch a tinge of ambiguity. He looked conflicted. Valeriana wondered if it hurt his pride too much. He wasn't used to feeling so weak and she must've somehow hurt his massive ego.

"Come here," he said.

His hands gently wound around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She was taken aback by his actions, but did not fight against it. One hand went around her lower back in a very comforting manner before the other one steered her head to his chest.

The gesture was something filled with gratitude and softness she did not expect to feel from him. Inwardly, she was so glad to have him feeling much better. She preferred him frowning and arguing with her so energetically.

"Thank Arland," she caught him say. "You should never do this in the future."

"Even if I didn't have to, I will do it all over again," she muttered, closing her eyes as she deliberately inhaled his scent.

Her body felt a bit tender from the recent experience, but it didn't matter right now. Her heart rate had suddenly sped up and embarrassment colored her cheeks. This was a very rare side to see on Corvan, however, she felt really glad he was showing it.

The closeness was making her feel more flustered as the seconds passed. Her stomach was set aflutter and she looked away from him. She simply could not bear to hold an eye contact.

His hand moved, somewhat hesitant, brushing her jawline with his thumb.

She gave him a questioning look. The touch sent weird tingles all over her body, but she did not want to move away. She could not, rather. She was frozen.

"This will scar," he told her.

Valeriana turned her gaze to her lap and tried to feel the spot he just brushed. A line ran down the underside of her jaw, rough and somewhat raised. It had already healed under the hands of the healer, most of her wounds were. He did a good job with the speedy recovery.

"It must look ugly," she whispered.

"Not at all."

There were a few seconds of silence. Honestly, Valeriana felt so contented during those moments, it felt almost impossible to break away. God, her heart was in a frenzy. Perhaps the crush thing she was debating with herself for over four days now had come to a closure.

He moved that their foreheads were touching. Looking into one another's eyes, a small smile flitted to his lips that Valeriana could not help but mirror it. He then flicked at her nose, causing it to wrinkle as she leaned back.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"Your punishment for being so troublesome. I cannot injure you right now but I'll be sure to follow it up later."

"Are you serious?"

Outside the door, there was the pitter-pattering of feet as a small girl in a bright yellow dress ran. Gavin saw his little cousin coming for the door and tried to tell her not to disturb the two. However, little Emmillyse had surreptitiously gone past him and entered the room. She burst through the doors, pulling on the knobs by standing on the tip of her toes.

Her presence was like a shot of thunderbolt between the two. It was then that the first-ranker realized the atmosphere had turned quite strange between himself and Valeriana. Seeing his little sister bounce forward innocently, he moved away and coughed.

He stood from the bed and watched as Emmillyse glanced between the two of them. Valeriana did not seem to notice this. Despite the colored cheeks, she welcomed his younger sister with a big smile and open arms.

"Emmillyse!" she said, laughing. "Come here! What have you been doing while I was away?"

A smile lit up the child's face and she quickly climbed the bed to sit beside Valeriana. The little girl worriedly eyed the wounds she had, tracing her cheeks with her small hands.

"We will have to depart tonight at midnight if your condition improves," he said. "We still to have make it in time for the festival."

Valeriana looked up at Corvan, realizing what that had meant. "The duel . . ."

"Yes," Corvan replied as he slowly made his way towards the door. "I'll have to inform the headmaster that it won't be happening—"

"Won't be happening?" she repeated. "It's going to happen. We'll be there before it starts."

"You are not in the right condition," Corvan said. "And I desire not to fight you . . ." he continued. "With the way you are now."

"I'm going to get better by tonight. These are just a few injuries," she said. "The duel is going to continue and you and I are going to fight. Besides, the old healer said I'm alright now because of the dragon fruit."

He sighed. "Be ready by midnight. You've got a few hours to rest." He then looked at his sister. "Come on, Emmillyse. You cannot disturb Valeriana."

Emmillyse furiously shook her head and pulled the covers over herself.

"It's alright. Leave her with me," Valeriana said. "I want some company."

He showed mild reluctance, but conceded. He went out the door and heavily breathed out when he finally exited. Gavin smiled at his cousin in a teasing manner and laughed lightly.

"How'd it go, cousin?" he asked.

"It went fine." With that said, a small blush appeared on his cheeks and he hurriedly walked off. "If that drakon wishes to talk to Valeriana, tell him she is not to be disturbed until dinner."

"Yes, of course."

As he left, Valeriana and Emmillyse were left to their own devices. The little girl's aura was as strong as ever, reaching out to hers. Valeriana brushed the apple-sauce curls from her face and resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks. Such a cute little girl. Such an angel.

'You're leaving tonight, right?' she said. 'Can I please come with you?'

"Oh, sweetheart," she muttered. "I'm sorry. The academy is a chaotic place right now. Maybe some other time alright? Besides, your brother and I are going to fight, so we can't watch over you."

'Fight? Does that mean you hate my brother?'

"No, of course not. I don't hate him." She shook her head.

'Then, you love him?'

Valeriana coughed into her fist. "Um . . . what I mean is that this fight is not the bad kind of thing . . . but, we're going to fight to test our strength. It's a bit complicated and hard to explain."

'Can I just stay with you, then?' she asked. 'I wanted to talk to you.'

"Of course, come closer."

Emmillyse leaned on Valeriana's side and wrapped her little arms around her waist. She tried to avoid direct skin contact with the girl to prevent herself from unnecessarily seeing her memories. Valeriana smiled down at the little girl. She was especially adorable when falling asleep.

'The people who came with you were really scary, especially the one who had sharp ears," she muttered sleepily.

"Sharp ears?" Valeriana repeated. She had a suspicion and she felt like she knew who it was.

'He looked realllly strong, though.'

Her small snores erupted. Her aura had calmed down and her breathing steadied.

"You must be tired after a long day," she said. "I am too."

They spent a few moments like that. It was quiet and uneventful. Emmillyse's company was very comforting and distracted her, somewhat. She felt small stings from some parts of her body, but they did not bother her much.

She thought back to the time with Corvan and felt her heart jump a bit. She groaned. "How can I have a crush on him? Gush, this is bad."

A set of knocks came, breaking her train of thoughts. Lady Saskia slipped through swiftly but gracefully. Her actions came with soft clinks and a small thump as she pressed the door back in place.

"Valeriana? I'm sorry to intrude, I heard Emmillyse—" She gasped softly when her eyes landed on her daughter lying beside Valeriana. She rushed in. "I apologize."

"It's alright, Lady Saskia," Valeriana told her, smiling.

She sat down on the bed and reached for Emmillyse. "Did she bother you?"

"No. She kept me company."

"Oh, dear," she ran her hands through her daughter's hair and brushed her soft cheeks. She spent a few seconds like that, staring at the two of them. "I really appreciate everything, Valeriana. You've done a lot of favors for our children."

"Oh, no . . ." she replied, scratching her head. "It's nothing, really."

"Goodness, I really do not know how to thank you." She closed her eyes, her chest heaving. "I'm somehow glad Corvan chose you as a fiancé. No doubt, his decision had not been wrong. For me, it doesn't matter whether or not you're a noble. As long as my Corvan is happy—"

"Oh, please . . . to tell you honestly . . ." She groaned and tipped back her head. "He just wanted to drive Alovia away. I do not . . ."

"It doesn't matter how it is." Lady Saskia smiled. "These matters are quite complicated and it's nearly impossible to know what my son is thinking. I gave birth to that boy, but he's very much like his father. It's quite hard to know what they have in their minds. However, just in case you wanted to pursue it, I'm willing to give you my blessings."

Her cheeks warmed. "Really, Lady Saskia."

"No matter." Saskia chuckled. "Dinner will be coming around in a few minutes. I just wanted to come and see if you will be well enough to come and join us. There are also a few people who requested your audience."

"Requested my audience?"

That sounded almost ridiculous.

"Why not? The future lady of these lands deserve respect."

Somehow, things were getting really out of hand with the whole engagement thing. Corvan had done it in a whim and she agreed because she basically owed him.

Seeing the look on her face, Lady Saskia shook her head. "I'm teasing. I do wish the ring on your finger is the real Wylden Cosmos, even so. That young child had lost it a long time ago, and he could not remember how."

"How come he lost it?"

"Only he knows, and yet, like I said, he doesn't remember. Those are one of the reasons he was sent away to study in the academy. He cannot become the lord without the family heirloom. It's the only thing stopping his succession so far."

The look Saskia had on her face was tender, filled with the love of a mother. She brushed the strands of her hair behind her ear as her eyes turned glassy. "Something so simple, and yet, I could not even give my children the happiness they deserve. Honestly, it is so hard being a mother." She sobbed softly and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief she pulled out of nowhere. Her nose turned a delicate red, sniffing. "I've already lost a daughter once and Corvan had been really distraught that time. I do not know the full details, but I heard you saved my son's life."

"That's a real exaggeration. I just helped Avaro get better. Corvan fought in the end," she said. "I'm really sorry, Lady Saskia. Please do not cry." Valeriana wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but she feared it would be a bit too impersonal. "You look better smiling. Besides, if Emmillyse wakes up, she wouldn't want to see her mother crying."

"Pardon me, showing all of these things unnecessarily to you." She breathed in and out, trying to compose herself. She then bent down and reached for Valeriana, pulling her to an embrace. The brief contact with her skin had initiated small flashes of memory which Valeriana tried not to mind. "Thank you once again."

"You're welcome," she said, returning the hug.

"Are you coming for dinner? It is about time." She pulled away.

"Yes," she replied, nodding. "I still need to talk the others."

Saskia gave her a soft smile.

"What about Emmillyse?"

"Leave her be," Saskia said. "I will have her nanny—"

Emmillyse woke as she sensed Valeriana shifting and getting out of bed. Her eyes were squinted as she looked up, the tears appearing in her eyes. She clung to Valeriana's shirt and stopped her.

'Valeriana, are you leaving?'

"Oh gosh, Emmi, don't cry. I'm still here, we were just going to have dinner. Would you like to come or do you like to continue sleeping?"

'I'm coming,' she said.

In a flash, she had stood up and jumped from the mattress. The little girl stumbled a bit when she landed, her hair a mess on her head as she wobbled unsteadily on her little legs. Valeriana could not hold back the 'aw' from her adorableness as she stood up herself.

It was hard trying to get back the feeling to her legs, but she did not feel as weakened as before. The numbness from all over her body had subsided. If she ate dinner, she was sure she would feel revitalized. She did feel quite a bit hungry, too.

She clung to the bed post as support. Saskia had come and tried to offer her assistance.

"It's alright," she told her. "I think I'm good."

As they headed for the doors, she saw her full body in a mirror. She stopped and examined herself for a moment. She was aware of the fresh clothes she was dressed in, but she looked better than she expected. She had a gash on her forehead but the rest of her face was clean.

The door had opened. Valeriana looked ahead and blinked, walking after Emmillyse and her mother.

It was a short trip to the dining room. When they arrived, she saw Gavin, Omar, and Saeed on a corner talking to each other. She was also surprised to see Vallore standing against the wall as Rupert talked to him. Their conversation looked serious.

Corvan was still nowhere to be seen.

"Valeriana, how are you?" Gavin asked as he made his way over.

Vallore perked up at this and looked to their direction.

"I'm good." She looked at Omar and Saeed. "What are you guys doing here?"

"They're my entourage."

"Oh, I see." Inwardly, she wondered if the others knew about the whole bandit business with Gavin.

Seeming to know what she was thinking, Gavin shook his head. "I've decided to take them in as my assistants considering the big help they've lent with regards to incidents before."

"Oooohhh . . ."

"Emmillyse and I are just going to take our seats," Saskia said and excused herself and her daughter. "Come on, dear one."

"What about the others?" she asked. "What happened to the dragons, the lions, and . . . the others? What about Avaro and Femeron?"

"Corvan summoned back Avaro to himself. As of the moment, his familiar is recovering inside him. The dragons have gone back to the abyss at the mean time with the lions. The locals have been evacuated from the vicinity and Femeron, I am unsure, but she came with us."

"Then where?"

"We'll have to wait for Corvan," Gavin said. "We brought you to the camp as soon as we can. Jameela fixed you up the best she could, but we eventually needed to bring you back here. After all, the resources they had there was scarce and they could not help you as much."

"Thank Jameela for me." She nodded. "What about Alovia? I remember her being left behind."

"Alovia . . ." he repeated, and his face lit up as though he suddenly remembered. "It seems I have forgotten. Saeed, send for Alovia immediately." He leaned forward and whispered, "It seems she is still locked up."

"You forgot about her?" Valeriana asked.

"It's been hectic. She's the last priority." He shrugged.

"God, you're so evil."

He smiled.

"What are you going to do about it? What if she recognizes you two?" She looked at Omar and Saeed.

"Who?" Omar repeated. "I've not seen that girl ever."

Valeriana shrugged. These guys were quite good. It seems they would not have a problem living a double life.

"Will you be pursuing your, um . . ." She coughed into her fist. "Hobby?"

"I am quite a passionate man. Traveling is a must for me." He winked. "You yourself seem to have quite a few issues. Especially the one back in the volcano."

Valeriana stiffened. She forgot about them seeing what happened with the entire purification thing with Avaro. By the time Gavin had finished his sentence, Vallore managed to excuse himself from Rupert and approached Valeriana.

"Valeriana," he said. "May I talk to you? There are a few matters we have to speak about."

She gave Gavin and his team a glance before turning to Vallore and nodding. "Alright, come on."

"If you don't mind us going outside for a bit?" he suggested.

"Okay . . ."

She followed him out to the balcony. The night had fallen and it was dark out. Vallore's piercing eyes had glowed within the darkness and his fearsome and exotic appearance made Valeriana stare needlessly. Being hidden under the hood, she had failed to see him, but he was flaunting his appearance proudly unlike the time they had first met.

"I have consulted my mother, and I have heard from someone about your need for the blessings from the guardians of each continent," he said. He wasted no words and was straightforward. "With the help you've lent to the Arlandian continent, I think it is only proper you be granted this blessing—on behalf of Arland and the twin-tailed lions."

"It's no secret that I really do need it," she said. "But I did it not do it just because of that, but because I really feel strongly about Avaro and his pack."

"May I ask what you need these blessings for? From what I know, you've already gotten the Blessing of the Skies and Seas from the undines and the gilerads. That is quite a feat."

"It has something to do with my aura and the stabilizing of my abilities," she told him. "I don't know how it all happened, really."

"The requirements for granting these blessings were that you must have the passion and stubbornness of fire. I'm quite sure you have these, with the qualities you have just shown." He gazed at her for a moment. "And that there must be a flame that can continue to burn despite how hard the rain falls."

"What the heck does that mean?" She frowned.

"You tell me," he said. "However, I feel it will not be wrong to grant you this." He stepped forward. "Come here."

Vallore opened his mouth, baring his fangs. He placed his thumb between his teeth and punched a hole on his skin. The blood welled from the puncture. He then pressed it against the spot where her throat and chest met, his eyes lighting up for a few seconds in the brightest gold.

Valeriana could hardly react at the series of actions he made, but felt the blood dry up as soon as it touched her skin. She craned her neck to look at it, only to see the blood being absorbed by her skin.

"What—"

She was struck with the same feeling as she had with Cifaro. A flare of energy cut straight to her soul, as though feeding it with energy. She felt a steady burning within her chest. It wasn't uncomfortable, but possessed warmth and cordiality. It did restore more of her lost energy.

She held in her breath. It all happened so fast she could hardly react.

"That should do it." He licked away the remaining blood. "But, let me ask you a question."

"W-what is it?" She tapped on her chest to check for the blood, but her fingers came off clean. His methods were a bit unexpected and unorthodox.

"The purification," he said. "How did you do it?"

"I can't answer that," she told him. "And it's not like I'm withholding the information from you or anything, it's just that I don't know the answer myself. That's why I'm hunting for these blessings. It's the only thing I can do for now."

"That ability is rare." He stared at her hard. "You're not wrong about keeping it a secret. If the demons knew about it, they will stop at nothing to impede your advances. And by that, I mean take your life."

She swallowed. "They've been after me even before the blessings came in."

"Then perhaps they already know." Vallore sighed.

"Are you saying they know more about me than I do myself?"

"You can't rule out that possibility."

A small roar came from the direction of the dining room and Femeron came running for Valeriana. Her little dragon baby jumped into her arms and brushed her head against her chest, purring.

"Oh, gosh, my Femeron. How is my baby?" she asked her, cooing.

The tension immediately left her while Vallore gave the dragon a shake of his head.

"She has been following me nonstop."

Valeriana looked up and saw Corvan. The first-ranker was as regal as ever. His arms laced before him as his fierce eyes were thrown Vallore's way for a challenging stare.

He's so handsome, Valeriana thought.

"I can sense that Arland's fire in you is quite potent," Vallore told him. "You're quite a blessed soul. Perhaps you accrued good deeds in your past life."

"And then there's you." Corvan nodded to him.

Valeriana thought back to the moments she had with Corvan before and felt suddenly embarrassed. She ducked her head, cleared her throat, and made her way into the dining room to find herself a seat.

"I'm going to go sit," she said.

"The healer will attend to you later before we leave," said the first-ranker. "The moment we leave at midnight, we will arrive at the academy in the afternoon. We will still have a few hours to prepare for the duel. If you change your mind, be sure to tell me."

"I won't," she said, rolling her eyes. "Like I can back out from fighting you. I'll lose face."

She rushed towards the table and took a seat on one of the vacant chairs. Femeron remained in her lap and seemed quite cozy. She let her stay there, and eventually, the shifting had ceased and she fell asleep. She caressed her dragon's head affectionately.

Dinner was uneventful. Save for a few discussions, nothing troubling had happened. The food they served was delicious and there was a plate of dates after the meal. Emmillyse was taken away by her nanny to be put to bed afterwards. Despite her insistence on seeing off her brother and Valeriana, the sleep was too much for her too fight.

The preparations were set for the academy; the portals were connecting. Valeriana was not asked to do anything except rest, especially after meeting once more with the healer, so she took a brief nap to catch up on her sleep. Femeron had snuggled beside her and it was not until a few hours later that Corvan came knocking on her door.

She awoke easily and readily got out of bed, Femeron in her arms, still asleep. She figured it was time to leave. Although she was not in her top condition, she was revitalized after the treatment and much needed rest.

"We're leaving. Are you ready?" Corvan asked.

"We just need to go through the portal right? I didn't bring anything with me."

"Alright, let's go."

It was hard to believe it was finally time to go back. As she cradled Femeron in her arms, she realized the kind of adventure she had gone to. It did land her with injuries, but it was worth it. Besides, this time, it was not only herself that she discovered more about, but also Corvan.

They made their way to the back garden of the Ember Palace. The gazebo they had appeared in was glowing once again, bursting with power. Vallore was at the mouth of the entrance. His presence had caught Valeriana off-guard.

"What are you doing here?"

"I shall be accompanying you."

"You? To the academy?" She looked at Corvan questioningly. "Him?"

"He'll be inquiring a few things with the headmaster," said Corvan.

Her brows raised. "Okay." She shrugged. "Well, let's go."

She walked towards the portal and looked over her shoulder to meet Corvan's eyes. She then looked at Femeron, a deep sigh echoing in her heart. She was going to miss the time she had in the Arlandian continent. However, it was time to return.

"Celeste Academy in the Dark Continent!"

-*-

Thank you guys for reading!