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Shit. He listened in on our conversation!
“What happened?” Fylox asks.
“There’s been a fire.” Jordan holds me tightly, and I cuddle into his hug, not wanting to hear it. “The apartment… Little doe, the firefighters are there, but it’s a hopeless case.”
“House? What… No?”
“Yes, your apartment building is on fire.” Jordan sighs. His body is warm, full of comfort. But I can’t remain this delusional. Something’s wrong. “There’s something else… Ignas. He messaged me that he was coming over. He called himself a cab, and he reserved himself a wheelchair since he was tired of being home all the time. I have no idea where he found the money… I messaged him not to do it, but he never saw the message. Smolyakov informed me that he was in the apartment when the fire broke out. Little doe, he’s been hospitalized. Smolyakov barely got him outside alive.”
I collapse in Jordan’s arms.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
JORDAN
From inside the hospital room,I can hear Danai and Malena discussing Ivy’s vitals with their hospital colleague. The window is covered by blinds that block most of the sunlight, so I sit here in dimmed light.
Ivy fainted on the palace’s rooftop, and I brought her to the hospital immediately. We could’ve treated her at the palace. There’s an in-house emergency physician, but I knew that once Ivy regained consciousness, she’d want to check on Ignas.
He’s currently isolated in the emergency room, pumped with oxygen after Smolyakov rescued the young man from the fire.
Ivy woke up when she was brought to this hospital room, and she asked for Ignas in panic, but the doctors didn’t let her leave. I wasn’t supposed to be in the room, yet I stayed while they extracted her blood, checked her pulse…
She’s been asleep for eight hours now, and her friends outside of the room haven’t left.
The only one missing is Smolyakov.
If I had a minute to spare for him, I would track him down, but for now, Ivy’s well-being is my priority.
My presence allows Ivy to be treated in the royal section of the hospital. Here, the television on the wall is the most recent and expensive model one can find on the market. Perks of having wealthy CEOs of tech companies visit Katantia every year.
The nurses that sneak into the room every other hour urge me to turn the TV on, watch a little something to pass the time.
I don’t need television when Ivy’s engulfed in white linen sheets, looking paler than ever. She doesn’t move outside of the rise and fall of her chest when she breathes. She faces the ceiling with her arms at each side. It’s a strange position to be asleep in for her. She doesn’t remain in one place when I sleep next to her.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was dead. She’s not, thankfully. She’s asleep.
The uncomfortable chair I sit on reminds me of when my niece’s husband was in the hospital after his coma. I can’t say I miss sitting by the bed of an unconscious person. It gives me anxiety, and this type of anxiety, I can’t numb out. I feel it in every shallow breath and hammering heartbeat.
Ivy takes a deep breath, exhaling sharply. Her lips part, tasting the scent of latex gloves and cleaning supplies in the air. She rubs her doe eyes, a groan mixed with a yawn escaping her.
She squints her eyes at me, questioning whether I’m here in the flesh. “J-Jordan?”
“It’s me, little doe.”
“Fuck…” She swallows, running her hands through her messy hair. “Where’s Ignas? How is he doing? What happened?”
“Calm down, Ivy. That’s an order,” I state, leaning forward on the uncomfortable chair. Ivy’s doe eyes widen at my command. Observing her eyes in fascination, she catches me off-guard.
Ivy jumps from the bed, shimmying away from me in her mint robe.
I let out a grunt of frustration. Then, I follow her.
“Ivy! You need to rest!” Danai yelps when Ivy bursts out of the hospital room, rushing by her two friends outside. She doesn’t give Danai and Malena any attention, limping by them in a hurry. Ivy’s barefoot. I want to pick her up and spank some sense into her, but I keep my urges at bay.
“Jordan?” Malena addresses me, her puffy eyes red.
The apartment building burned down. There isn’t much left of it, and there weren’t any victims because they either managed to get everyone out in time or most of the building’s residents were at work.
