Knight | Celeste Academy Series BK #1

Epilogue

Corvan felt Valeriana tremble in his arms as the color quickly left her cheeks. Her skin—ashen as paper and as pallid as ice. Her breaths came in short, anxious gasps are her azure blue eyes went blank and empty—as though she was looking at something else. He heard her swallow before she collapsed and lost the strength in her legs.

"Valeriana!" he exclaimed. "Valeriana! Arland . . ."

Seeing as she was not responding, Corvan made a leap for the necklace of protection. He placed the broken item on the palm of Valeriana's hand, forcing her fingers to close around it. Tamara rushed forward and supported her. The third-ranker tapped on her cheeks, trying to get her to come out of the state she was in.

"Come on now, Val," she whispered. "Stay with us."

"Tamara!" the Headmaster called, holding Courtney in place. "Call for Lord Aeron immediately! Corvan, how is she?"

As Tamara made a run to obey the Headmaster's instructions, Corvan tried to snap some sense into Valeriana.

She wasn't breathing.

However, the pounding of her heart made it clear she was still alive. She just went into a state of shock.

"She isn't breathing."

And neither was she responding.

"Snap out of it!" Corvan growled.

He pulled back his hand and allowed it to land on her cheek with a loud thwack! This seemed to snap her out of her stupor as she inhaled a great amount of air and started breathing once again. She blinked hastily, appearing bewildered.

"Come," he said, pulling her to stand on her weak knees. The first-ranker then turned to the headmaster. "I'm bringing her to the infirmary."

She quivered, however, and clung to him. "I can't . . . I—"

Valeriana was cut short. Corvan hooked his arm under her knees and hoisted her towards his chest. The girl looked shocked to find the world spinning and the weight she was trying to support gone. It didn't seem to sink right in, taking her a bit to realize what just happened. Her eyes, when they zeroed in on him, could not have widened even more.

Her mouth flapped as she took in the close proximity of their faces. "Did you . . . you slapped me."

"Justified by your act of utter stupidity," he snapped at her, and quickly paced down the corridor towards the infirmary.

She felt the stinging on her injured cheek. "I hate you."

"I saved your life," he said matter-of-factly.

"Why are you carrying me?"

"Then I'll drop you. But I'll make sure to see a bed before doing so lest your impression of me being a jerk intensifies even more."

She shook her head and kept silent. It would appear she didn't have the energy to argue at all. Corvan tuned in on the people they left behind and heard the headmaster say, "You will wait in my office until the matter clears up."

It did not take very long to get to the infirmary—with Corvan's long strides and the pace on his legs.

He placed Valeriana on a vacant bed as Olivia came rushing forward to ask what was wrong. Valeriana still clung to the broken necklace, somehow glad it was still working despite the bad condition. It usually glinted bright when she looked at it, and there was a faint trace of warmth whenever she touched it.

However, now, there was nothing. It was cold . . . like an ordinary jewelry. It felt like it abandoned her for good.

"What happened?"