“Okay. How’d it go in there?”
“You know what? I like that doctor.”
The halfling opened the next door and held that open too. “It seems like you really lucked out with the awesome docs, huh?”
“And I can only blame you for one of them.” Ember grinned and didn’t stop on her way into the lobby and toward the exit. “You picked a good one, though, Cheyenne. Seriously. Thank you.”
“Thank her. I just drove you here.”
The fae snorted and paused just long enough for the automatic doors to open in front of her. “I’m not quite sure where your modesty ends and some kind of weird Cheyenne embarrassment begins.”
“What? I’m not embarrassed.”
“Okay. Then admit that the only reason I’m getting such good treatment right now is because of you.”
Cheyenne’s nose wrinkled automatically. “I’m just helping my friend.”
“Honestly, would you be helping me like this if I hadn’t asked you to come with me that night? If I just showed up at the hospital with a bullet hole through my spine and you had no clue what happened?”
If she hadn’t asked me to come with her, she wouldn’t have made it to the hospital. The halfling unlocked her Panamera as Ember wheeled down the ramp off the sidewalk and into the parking lot. “Yeah, Em. I’m pretty sure I’d still be doing exactly what I’m doing, even if you hadn’t asked me to come and I threw a fit about it.”
“So this isn’t because you feel like it’s your fault I have to come here three times a week?”
Cheyenne opened the passenger side door, and Ember bent over to lock the wheels in place. “You said it before, Em. I’m not the one who shot you.”
“You’re right. You’re the one saved my life.” Ember stared at her, then looked away and waved the half-drow toward her. “Let’s do this.”
The halfling bent and half-lifted, half-supported her friend into the passenger seat of the Panamera. Ember shot her a thumbs-up, then Cheyenne wheeled the chair behind the car, folded it up, and hauled it into the trunk. When she got behind the wheel and started the engine, Ember finished buckling her seatbelt and stared straight ahead at the entrance to the clinic.
“You okay?”
The fae squinted and turned slowly toward the halfling. Her gaze took a little longer to pull away from the front doors. “This is gonna sound crazy.”
Cheyenne bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Try me.”
“I think I...felt something weird in there. And before you make a smartass remark about it, yes, I’m sure it’s not just the effects of PT.”
“It’s really creepy how well you know me, Em.”
The fae replied with a distracted chuckle and turned toward the clinic again. “It’s not very hard. But this was...okay, I don’t even know what it was.” Ember’s hand rose absently to the back of her neck beneath her swinging ponytail.
“Like someone holding a vibrating cellphone and an Icy-Hot patch on your neck at the same time?”
Ember’s eyes grew incredibly wide before darting toward Cheyenne. “And bugs.”
“Yeah. And bugs.” The halfling forced back another laugh. “Uh, so this is pretty cool.”
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“But it’s cool.”
“Cheyenne, I don’t know what the hell to do with this! I’m already up to my neck in figuring out how to do life all over again in that stupid chair. Which is really great, by the way. Thanks for that too.”
The halfling pursed her lips and didn’t say a word.
“But that’s all I can handle right now. I can’t… I mean, no. No, no.” Ember shook her head vigorously, her ponytail slapping the headrest. “This is crazy.”
“Hmm, not really.”
“Don’t start.” The fae pointed a finger in Cheyenne’s face and tried to keep looking as stern as possible. A confused laugh burst out of her anyway. “No way this is happening.”
“It never occurred to you that this was a possibility?”
“You know what? You don’t get to be the voice of reason right now. You didn’t even know I was fae, and your brain almost exploded when I told you I don’t have any magic.”
The halfling sat back and folded her arms. “And now your brain’s exploding.”
“Of course, my brain’s exploding! I gave up wishing for magic when I found out Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy aren’t real.”
“That’s a perfect comparison, Em. Holiday mascots for kids and actual magic. Makes perfect sense.”
“Thank you.”
“To an eight-year-old.”
Ember rolled her eyes. “I was five, by the way. My idiot cousin spilled the beans on that one right before bed on Christmas Eve.”
“Ouch,”
“Yeah.”
“Well, my mom didn’t even entertain the idea of letting me believe in stuff like that, so I don’t have anything to compare to that letdown.”
The fae lurched forward with a surprised laugh. “Are you serious? No Santa? No Easter Bunny, leprechauns, Tooth Fairy? Nothing?”
Shaking her head, Cheyenne shrugged. “Nothing.”
“That’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard. Why wouldn’t your mom play along?”
“Because I have magic, Em.” The words burst out of Cheyenne a lot louder than she’d intended, and Ember leaned away from her a little. “And probably also because Bianca Summerlin’s not the kind of person to indulge in fairytales and make-believe. You know, childish games and all that.”
“But you were a child.”
The halfling shrugged. “Meh. I grew up a lot faster than anyone expected, and that wasn’t because of who my mom is. I’ve got the drow side to thank for that.”
“Unbelievable. Explains a lot, though, if you think about it.”
Cheyenne laughed and slammed her hands on the steering wheel, gripping it tightly and shaking herself back and forth. “But we’re not talking about me! We’re talking about you and the best discovery of your life!”
“Oh, God.” Ember rubbed the back of her neck again and stared at the entrance to the clinic. “I have magic.”
“The magicless fae has magic! What’s happening?” Cheyenne slammed her hand on the horn. A woman walking
