Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Fifty-Four ۞ Bound by Oaths

"You're careless." Was the first thing Corvan told her once their captor now turned captive was tied and thrown over a horse.

"I shall not reveal to you anything! I'd rather you kill me!" The woman thief exclaimed.

"Do you have a name you go by?" Asked Gavin patiently, seemingly unfazed by the countless threats spewing from her mouth.

Unlike Corvan, for the most part, Gavin rarely gave in to his temper and could almost be on par with Rowe in terms of patience. This was really strange, especially since fire-wielders were known for their . . . short temper. Well, now that she thought of it, Zion was no different himself. He wasn't very patient, but, unlike Corvan, he did not frown all the time and was actually a jolly person. On the other hand, he lacked self-control when it came to his whims.

Fire-wielders must differ in some way, but the shortness of patience or self-control must be common among them. If that is so, then what on Earth could Gavin's weakness be?

"Valeriana! Are you hearing me?" Corvan asked impatiently.

"Huh. What?"

"You're spacing out. Focus a bit more, stupid." He scolded. "You're wounded, do you not feel that?"

Valeriana did not realize she was bleeding then. She did feel unusually wet and sticky, but took it for her heavy sweating. The sting was mild, but the saltiness of her sweat agitated the wound further. It was only after she wiped off the corner of her jaw did she notice the blood.

"Holy shucks. When did I get this?"

"The knife pointed at your neck cut it open. The blade was sharp enough." Gavin said.

"Let me look at that." Corvan ordered. "A healer would be useful right now . . ." He said, shooting a sharp glare Gavin's way.

Gavin gave a smile. "I am not adept in healing." He said. "I am a fire-wielder."

"We'll have to go about this the old-fashioned way." Valeriana stated. "Do you have any first aid kits?"

Corvan handed her what she asked for and watched her work on disinfecting the wound. "You should probably pry the truth from the girl's mouth."

"I know nothing about tortures." Valeriana answered him, wincing as she felt the mild sting of the disinfectant.

"I meant your ability."

"Sorry." She shook her head in refusal. "I won't use it for something like that. Not that I can do that, anyway. I can only see memories."

Corvan gave her the usual look that told her she was dumb and she sighed inwardly at his expression. Even so, he made no move to comment on it. Of course she could know the truth from the memories alone! What would you have expected from someone who realized things too late, anyhow?

She couldn't say she was an idiot. She was more . . . well, more. More than that.

"Not a problem. I have something else in mind that can help us find it."

She gave him a questioning stare.

He fished out a knife from one of his pockets and threw it to his right. Valeriana eyed the path it followed and found a guy secretly crawling away towards a weapon. The knife landed just beside the guy's head, making him root himself in place and cover his face. It seemed as though he wasn't knocked out properly.

"Khalil!" Exclaimed their captive. "You fool! You should've stayed down!" She scolded.

That was the axe guy Valeriana recognized she tried knocking out. Apparently, she did a bad job at it.