“I’m not an average healer. I’m better— I can fix this!” There were tears in my voice as I pleaded with him. I couldn’t let Ivy suffer.
“He’s gotta fix himself,” Opal said sadly. “There is no other way.”
“Ava, get out of here,” Ez said roughly. “Let me handle this.”
My brother knelt in front of Ivy. He took it slow as he used his healing magic at a cautious pace, trying to find the source of the symptoms so he could mitigate them.
It was a better plan than I’d had. I’d tried going in there full force and removing them altogether. Ez was right. I put myself at risk, for something I didn’t know I could change.
“You know, nobody’s ever done something like this for me,” Ivy slurred, his head rolling. “You guys are some true friends.”
The rest of them didn’t give me a choice but to leave. I barely held back a sob as Chancey escorted me out. He wheeled me across the prison and into my cell, then tossed a blanket over my chair before he took a spot on the couch.
“You can go to Ivy. I’m not going anywhere,” I said sourly.
“Nuh-uh. I’m not leaving until your babysitter comes back.”
I wrinkled my nose at him, but still shuddered. Ez had done his best, but the side effects of taking some of the withdrawals for Ivy hadn’t worn off.
Here.Oberi reached out and touched her beak to my forehead.This will help.
Her healing magic washed over the symptoms, and I felt them lessen. My healing magic was strong, but Oberi’s almost seemed… stronger.
As we waited for Charlie, Chancey rifled through his pockets, appearing scattered.
“Fuck, I gotta get more cigarettes for Ives,” Chancey mumbled. “I don’t know who I’m gonna find to bum another pack off of.”
“Does he really need them?” I didn’t approve, but I guess in this case, smoking cigarettes was better than taking a hit of nightshade.
“The nicotine helps take the edge off, and the caffeine makes the withdrawal easier, but fuck all, I wish they’d drink water.” Chancey ran a hand through his hair.
“I knew withdrawal was bad, but I didn’t think it’d be this awful,” I admitted.
“Ives will pull through,” Chancey said, but he almost sounded like he was reassuring himself.
I swallowed. “Doesn’t the magic in his blood help him?”
“Supernaturals gotta take more street drugs than humans do to get high, unless the drugs are magical, and Ives has been on a diet of nothing more than nightshade since the club opened,” Chancey told me. “Ives has been taking way more than the usual dose. It’s gonna take a while to come down.”
“But he’s a vampire. Doesn’t that give him more immunity?” I asked. Mad Dog liked to brag about how high his tolerance was.
“Ives is half-merfolk, too, and their blood is closer to water, so it’s more susceptible to inebriation. It could take anywhere between a week and a month for the symptoms to stop showing up. We gotta find a way to get them through class.”
Ivy could barely sit up in bed, let alone sit at a desk. Not getting caught during this process was going to take a miracle.
Chancey ran a hand through his hair. “Anyway. You shouldn’t be dealing with this, Ava. You’ve done enough.”
“He needs me.”
“What Ives is going through, you can’t do anything about. Believe me— I’d take the pain for them, if I could.”
I attempted to argue further, but ended up dozing off in my chair. Trying to heal Ivy had taken all of my energy.
When I began rousing, I heard quiet male voices. My eyelids fluttered open, and I saw Charlie sitting across from me in the armchair. Chancey slipped out the door without a goodbye, closing it with a softclick.
Before he could even speak, I said, “Ivy’s bad. I’m worried that…”
Anything could happen. A heart attack, a seizure… withdrawing from nightshade was no joke, and as much as Chancey swore Ivy would pull through, I still worried Ivy’s situation could turn deadly before any of us could help him.
