I Left Before He Learned My Worth novel Chapter 65

**TITLE: I Left Before He Learned My Worth**
**Chapter 65**

**ARIA**

The clinic doors swung open with a force that echoed through the sterile space. Kael entered, his face a mask of determination, cradling Ivory’s lifeless form in his arms. She hung limply, her body unnaturally still, the pallor of her skin making her appear almost ghostly. Right behind him was Nina, her expression a mixture of urgency and dread as she bore an assortment of vials and containers that clinked ominously against one another.

“She was testing poisons,” Nina stated flatly, placing the containers onto the nearest table with a sense of urgency. “We found her collapsed in the herb garden, surrounded by wolfsbane, nightshade, and at least three other toxic plants I couldn’t immediately identify. These vials were right beside her—I believe they contain samples of whatever she was experimenting with.”

With a tenderness that seemed at odds with the panic coursing through our connection, Kael laid Ivory on the prepared station. “She’s breathing, but she’s barely responsive. I tried reaching her through the mindlink, through verbal commands—nothing. It’s as if she can’t hear us at all.”

Eliza was already kneeling at Ivory’s side, her fingers deftly checking for a pulse, assessing her pupils, and examining the color of her lips and nail beds. “Damn it, Ivory,” she whispered, her voice laced with frustration. “Testing on yourself again. How many times have I told you—” Her voice faltered as she refocused on her examination. “Multiple toxins are present in her system. The symptoms suggest wolfsbane primarily, but there are other compounds complicating the diagnosis.”

“Can you treat it?” Kael’s voice was tight with anxiety, desperation leaking through his calm facade.

“I don’t know,” Eliza replied bluntly, her eyes narrowing as she considered their options. “Ivory is the expert on toxicology. She knows more about poisons and antidotes than all of us combined. Nina, check her personal stores—Ivory keeps emergency antidotes for the most common poisons. If she was testing on herself, she would have prepared countermeasures.”

Nina sprang into action, moving toward the storage area where the healers kept their specialized supplies. I watched her, my heart racing, as she rifled through carefully labeled vials and containers, her urgency palpable.

“Here,” Nina exclaimed, pulling out a wooden box adorned with Ivory’s neat handwriting on the lid. “Emergency antidotes. She has them organized by poison type.”

With a sense of hope flickering in the air, she brought the box to Eliza, who immediately began sorting through its contents. “Wolfsbane antidote, nightshade neutralizer, hemlock counteragent—she has preparations for everything. But we need to identify exactly what she ingested to know which antidote to use. The wrong one could make things even worse.”

“Then test the samples I brought,” Nina urged, gesturing toward the vials she had carried in. “Figure out what she was working with.”

As Eliza worked on analyzing the samples, I felt an irresistible pull toward Ivory’s side. Up close, the situation was more dire than I had imagined—her skin was tinged with an unsettling gray, her breaths shallow and erratic, and when I grasped her hand, it was chillingly cold.

Kael stood beside me, his expression a blend of devastation and disbelief. Through our bond, I could sense the tumult of his emotions—fear, guilt, helplessness, and beneath it all, a profound affection for his childhood friend that intensified his anguish.

“Why wasn’t she responding to the mindlink?” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “Even if she’s poisoned, even unconscious, there should be some connection. It felt like she completely shut me out.”

“Maybe she did,” I replied softly, trying to offer some comfort. “If she knew she was poisoning herself, if she anticipated losing consciousness, she might have blocked the pack bonds so no one would feel her distress.”

“That sounds exactly like something Ivory would do,” Nina interjected, returning from assisting Eliza with the sample analysis. “She always puts herself in danger, blocking everyone out so they wouldn’t worry, convinced she could handle it all on her own.”

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