33. Chapter 32 #2
Ivy ran through the woods, dodging raised roots and scattering the leaves with her movements. Her magic swelled inside her the closer she got to him. As soon as she got within arm’s length, he pulled her into him, and her body melded with his as they wrapped each other in a tight hug.
“You’re okay,” Ezra murmured, over and over, as if he had to reassure himself too. His hand wove through her hair as she broke down into his chest.
“No, no, I’m not,” she cried.
“What happened?” Maeve asked softly, leaves rustling as she moved closer to them.
“They took her.” The words were barely intelligible; each syllable sputtered through broken sobs.
“Rhea?” Liam asked. “What are you doing here? I thought you were sick?”
Ivy pulled back from Ezra, her head aching from the pressure of her tears, and she turned to face Rhea. “Briar was hiding. She was—is—alive.” The past tense left a sour taste in her mouth, and she refused to believe it. “And Rhea knew.”
“What?” Ezra asked, his voice more akin to a growl as his arm wrapped securely around her waist.
Maeve stepped forward, her face scrunched with scrutiny. “Why?”
“I was doing what Briar told me,” Rhea said, crossing her arms defensively. “What she trusted me to do. And now she’s gone because you couldn’t leave well enough alone.”
“She’s been trying to find Briar for months! She deserved to know where she was,” Maeve argued, glaring over at Rhea before taking a step closer toward Ivy.
“She would’ve, eventually.” Rhea turned back to Ivy. “Briar planned all this specifically to make sure you were ready for whatever it is she found out last year.”
“She didn’t tell you?” Ivy’s brow furrowed. Exactly how much was Briar keeping from them?
Rhea shook her head. “She kept it a secret. Even from me.”
She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, trying to ease the pressure behind them. But it was hopeless. “I can’t do this. I just…”
“I’ll bring you home,” Ezra murmured.
Maeve laid her hand on her shoulder. “Yeah, we’ve all had enough tonight.”
The three of them turned back to the school; the lights from the festival shone dimly in the distance. Liam stuck with Rhea since they lived in the same quad. Enough people have disappeared, and though Ivy flitted between contempt and betrayal, she didn’t want Rhea to be taken too.
Their building was still awake, students filtering in from the glamour party or a horror movie marathon in the lounge. They went straight to their apartment, with Maeve going to her bedroom with a quiet good night and Ezra following her to her room.
He grabbed her fresh pajamas again—a pink t-shirt with a few potted cacti and dark green pants—and placed them on her bed. “I’m sorry about what happened tonight,” he said, his hand slipping into hers as he swept away some tears with the other. “I know you probably don’t want to talk abo—”
“Will you stay with me tonight?” She cut him off because he was right; she didn’t want to talk. But she didn’t want to be alone either.
“Sure,” he whispered with a nod. “Of course I can.”
She smiled faintly, taking her hand back from his to grab her clothes, and he stepped out to let her change. He came back into the bedroom once she called out, and he closed the door behind him.
“I’ll, uh, sleep on the floor,” he said, taking a pillow from her bed.
She shook her head as she curled under the blankets on the far side of the bed. “Don’t be ridiculous, there’s plenty of room. Sleep on this side.” She patted the space next to her.
He climbed onto the bed next to her, dropping the pillow back in its spot, and lay on top of the blankets.
She pushed herself onto her elbow, watching him shift around to get comfortable. “You can get under the covers,” she said, falling back onto her pillows. She paused. What if he wasn’t okay with that? Maybe it was too much. “Only if you want to.”
He tilted his head to the side to meet her eyes. “You’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t offer if I weren’t.”
“Alright,” he groaned, sitting back up to move the blankets. “Is it okay if I take off my sweater? I’m kind of a furnace when I’m sleeping.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and she forced herself to nod.
She should look away as he reached over his shoulders and tugged at the fabric.
But she couldn’t. When he pulled the sweater over his head, there was a white undershirt covering his chest. She buried her face in the pillow as her lips contorted with disappointment.
Seeing him without his shirt on probably would’ve been a nice distraction from the night’s events.
But having him next to her at all was much better than sleeping alone.
Shirtless or not. He dropped his sweater on the floor and slid beneath the blankets with her, taking a couple of minutes to get comfortable.
Once he stilled, she reached out to him.
Her hand lay on his arm, obscuring part of his tattoos.
“Thank you.” The words came out so quietly she wasn’t sure he’d hear them.
“You don’t have to thank me.” He glanced at her, every feature of his face laced with concern. “I’m here for you through anything.” His hand covered hers, his thumb brushing along the side of her palm. “Try to get some sleep, snapdragon.”
Snapdragon. The nickname used to irritate her. Now it grounded her like a constant she could rely on when chaos swirled around her. Her eyes grew heavy, her limbs harder to move, and with a deep breath, she sank into what she hoped would be a dreamless sleep.