30. Chapter 29
“We should’ve taken her to the medical wing,” Ezra said frantically. She’d never heard him so panicked. Where was she? What happened? Her body was weightless, yet she didn’t have the strength to move.
“The apartment was closer.” That was Maeve. “The last half of my potion should’ve been enough to wake her up.”
“Clearly it wasn’t,” Ezra argued.
Her head swam, nausea bubbling in her stomach as consciousness slowly returned. Her limbs tingled as the ache from the exam settled in her body, but instead of the gritty dirt of the area, there were plush cushions. She shifted slightly, groaning as her muscles rebelled against her movement.
“Ivy?” Ezra asked. His hand slipped into hers, squeezing gently, and she blinked her eyes open.
His were watery and red, as if he’d been holding back tears, and he sighed into a relieved smile. “You’re awake,” he whispered, his free hand brushing some of the hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice crackling as she blinked slowly.
“You passed out after you created an entire rainforest in the last round,” Maeve said. Everyone crowded around her in their living room. A few of the couch pillows were propped beneath her, and her green knit blanket covered half of her body.
“Bloody impressive,” Liam said, taking a step forward.
“It was reckless.” Maeve glared at him. “She could’ve burnt out, and who knows how long it’d take for her magic to recover.”
“But it worked,” Ezra said, turning his focus from Maeve to Ivy. “How’re you feeling?”
Like shit, if she were honest. Her energy was the lowest it’d ever been. But a small amount deep inside her was slowly recovering. If she had attempted the spell without the aid of Ezra’s magic, she might’ve died.
“As fine as I can be,” she muttered. “Did we get the page at the end?”
“Is that what’s really important right now?” Maeve kneeled next to the couch as her hand reached for Ivy’s shoulder. “You’ve been unconscious for the last thirty minutes. You need to rest.”
“Looking at a piece of paper isn’t physically or magically taxing.”
Maeve rolled her eyes before reaching into her pocket. “Alright, you win.” She pulled out the folded page and handed it to Ivy.
It was then she realized Ezra still held her hand.
She stared at where they were joined, then at him.
He pulled his hand back, running it through his dusty hair as pink crept into his cheeks.
With her hand free, she took the slip of paper and unfolded it.
A few symbols immediately stood out from the text.
“Maeve, do you mind grabbing my notebook from my room? It should be in the third drawer of my dresser in my closet, buried beneath some shirts.”
She nodded and rose from the floor. A minute later, she returned with what Ivy needed and handed her a pen.
“Thanks.” Ivy weakly pulled the cap off the pen with her teeth and flipped the notebook open until she reached the page where she had written out the cipher’s pattern.
Only three symbols were drawn on the new page for the letters B, I, and R.
Those didn’t crack any major clues in the message, but they led her to believe the first word was Ivy’s name, which provided a few more potential spots filled in.
“Well, it’s progress.” Ivy let the notebook fall onto her lap. “For the next ex—”
“Enough talk about next steps.” Ezra interrupted, his voice clipped. “You need to rest. We all do.”
“But—”
“Ivy,” he said firmly, his hand latching onto hers again. “I know how important this is. But if we keep pushing, nothing good will happen.”
The others mumbled in agreement. She looked around the room and sighed. He was right. And she was being selfish in trying to push everyone when they’d already done so much to help her.
“You’re right,” Ivy mumbled, squeezing Ezra’s hand before turning to the others.
“And…thank you, to all of you. None of you have to help me try to find Briar, but you are anyway. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.
This is…” She choked on her words as her throat bobbed and tears welled. “You all have become important to me.”
“I knew when I saw you at the station we’d be close friends.” Maeve grinned, her hand squeezing Ivy’s shoulder.
“I’m glad we’re friends too, Ives,” Liam said. “It’s made my second year here interesting.”
The room blurred around her as tears continued to rise, and the couch dipped as Ezra moved. “Come on, I’ll help you to your room.”
When he took the blanket off her, she expected him to offer a hand so she could get up from the couch.
Instead, he slid an arm under her legs and around her back to lift her.
He held her snugly against his body as she wrapped her arms around his neck for balance.
Over his shoulder, Maeve and Liam chuckled and whispered to each other. She was too tired to protest.
Instead, she clung to Ezra as her body sank into the strength of his embrace.
Dirt and grime from the arena clung to his skin and exuded a smoky musk which erased the spice from his cologne.
She probably smelled disgusting and looked even worse.
But she couldn’t bear the thought of trying to shower yet.
He carried her to her room and placed her gently on the edge of the mattress. “Which drawer are your pajamas in?”
“Last one.” She yawned. She watched as he moved toward her closet and reached into the bottom drawer, pulling out a mint-green T-shirt and pajama bottoms with smiling succulents.
“If you need help, I can see if Ma—”
“I’ll be okay.” She interrupted, smiling softly as he placed the folded clothes next to her on the bed.
“Alright,” he said, his hand running through his curls again. A nervous tic of his, maybe? “I’ll come by in the morning and check on you.”
As he turned to leave, she reached out in time to grab his hand. He stopped in his tracks and glanced back at her.
“What I said out there applies to you, too,” she said.
“I…I care about you.” Despite how strange it was coming from her mouth, it was true.
She cared about Ezra, and she wasn’t sure who it surprised more, him or herself.
Everything she’d encountered since coming to Arcania had been unexpected, including him.
Over the past two months, he went from being a pain in her ass to being someone she couldn’t wait to see.
“You’re incredible. You know that, right?” The bed sank under his weight as he sat next to her. He laced his fingers with hers, and her stomach fluttered as his thumb brushed small circles against her skin.
“I couldn’t have done it without your help.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said, laughing under his breath. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, the spell was brilliant. Just don’t go growing more forests anytime soon.”
“Promise.” She snorted, her shoulders shaking lightly.
Once they quieted, she watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat and his shoulders moved with a deep breath. “I haven’t been around someone this selfless in years.”
She shook her head. “I don—”
“Don’t downplay yourself,” he said, squeezing her hand gently. “Everything you’re doing is to find your friend. I don’t know many people who would do the same. And how you wanted to come to Arcania to help your parents…” He fell silent, his gaze dropping to the floor.
“Everyone is helping me do this. You’re helping me. I feel terrible that I’ve dragged you all into it.”
“We’re doing it because we care about you.” His eyes swept across her features, studying her like he needed proof she understood. “You don’t have to ask me for help. I’ll give it willingly.” Her breath caught in her throat as his attention shifted to her lips. “You don’t know what I would give…”
“Then tell me,” she said, shifting closer to him. His face was mere inches away from hers, and from this close, small flecks of gold and green among the turbulent sea in his eyes stood out to her like a beacon.
“I wish I could be a better person,” he murmured, his voice cracking. “You make me want to be that.”
“Why do you think that?” she asked. Her brows knitted together as confusion laced her tired mind. “You’ve been nothing but—”
“I shouldn’t bother you with this.” He sighed, his hand slipping away from hers as he stood. “You need your rest.”
“Ezra, I—”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, his voice thick. “Get some sleep, snapdragon.” He walked out of the room and, a few seconds later, the front door opened and closed shut with a definitive click.