Evergreen academy, p.26
Evergreen Academy, page 26
Happy birthday, local. - C
My smile widened and I bit my lip, amused at the fact that, even though he was the only one who sent me messages like this, he still felt the need to sign them with his initial. I sent off a quick reply.
Thanks, night owl.
I checked my clock. It was nearly two in the morning. What was Callan doing up, anyway? I tried not to let that thought—or any of the others crowding my mind—keep me awake. Instead, I imagined the pull of the plants from below my body as I’d swum through Castle Lake and drifted into gentle dreams.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Finals week at SCC went by quickly. I managed to keep my focus locked in all week, and by the time I left the final for my last class, I felt confident that I’d passed them all and possibly even done well enough to get As in most classes.
“How’d it go?” Callan asked as we stepped out of the math classroom for the last time.
I grinned. “I think I nailed it. Our study guide basically covered everything that was on there.”
Callan raised a hand, and we high-fived. “Nice work, local. You’ll be acing calculus next.”
I eyed him skeptically. “Don’t push your luck.”
As we left campus, there was a slight ache in the pit of my stomach. It was possible this was the last class I’d take with Callan at SCC, and while I knew I’d still see him at Evergreen Academy next year, there was something about our time on my normal human college campus that felt sacred. He was there only for me—though I still couldn’t understand why—and his presence had bridged the gap between my two worlds. That bridging had grounded me much more than I realized, and the idea that it was coming to an end brought a strange feeling of nostalgia and loss.
In that rare moment of serious reflection, I wanted to thank Callan for everything he’d done for me this year. But before I could do so, he spoke.
“I gotta run. Let me know once you’ve checked your score online. Let’s see if you managed to match me.”
I rolled my eyes and bit my lip, suppressing a grin. “Maybe I beat you. Bet you don’t even think that’s possible, do you?”
“Everything’s possible with you, local.” Callan winked and left the SCC campus, possibly for the last time.
When I got to the Evergreen Academy campus later that day, a student approached me—a fellow first-year I recognized named Porter. “Briar Whelan?” he asked tentatively.
“Yes?”
“Professor East would like to see you. He’s in his office.”
“Thanks, Porter,” I said. He raised his eyebrows, reddened slightly, nodded, and walked away.
Yasmin let out a little giggle. “I think he was surprised you knew his name.”
“What? Why? This school isn’t that big.”
“Yeah, but you hang out with Callan all the time. That puts you in an elite tier at this school. Plus, you have all the affinity powers.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not a founder’s descendant. And everybody knows I can’t even use my magic on campus. And I’m definitely not elite.”
Yasmin shook her head. “Keep telling yourself that.”
We went our separate ways at the top of the staircase, and just before I prepared to knock on Professor East’s office door, Callan joined me.
“Do you know what this is about?” I asked.
“I have an idea,” Callan said tersely. A moment later, the grand door was tugged open by a tendril of a trailing vine inside the room. We entered the expansive office, and Professor East put aside a laptop he was working on.
“Is there news about the chemical spill?” I asked once the door was closed.
“Yes, though ‘chemical spill’ may not be the right term.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. A look passed between Professor East and Callan before he responded.
“We managed to trace the source of the salt and cadmium to a specific location just outside the academy’s grounds. There is evidence that someone has been… magically poisoning the soil there.”
I gaped at him even as what he said filled in the gaps of what had been going on. If someone had been poisoning the grounds intentionally, that would explain why the strength had been increasing. And if it had been done with magic, that could explain why it took so long for Professor East to trace.
“But who would do that?” I asked, genuinely appalled. Evergreen Academy was a place of beauty, of inquiry, of comradery. Why would someone want to poison it?
“We can’t know the motivation until we determine the culprit. I’ve increased security around the grounds outside the wall, but if the poisoner is observant, they may pick up on this and stay away.”
“At least that should stop the poisoning, right?” I asked.
“I think we can be confident that we’ll be able to prevent any further poisonings now that we know what to look out for. Hopefully, the soil will have a chance to recover with the influx of toxins abated.”
“But if we don’t find them, we won’t know why they were doing this,” Callan said, and Professor East nodded. Callan’s muscles flexed under the tattoos of his forearms as he gripped his thighs.
“We may be able to trace them based on the evidence we found”—he glanced toward Callan, and I was reminded with a jolt that Callan could sense power being used—“but I’m not confident of it. Whoever did this, they were quite skilled. I doubt they’ll make it easy for us to find them. Plus, the academy is about to break for the summer. For now, we may have to be satisfied that we determined what was happening and focus on strengthening the soil quality so that the summer solstice recharge will go off without”—he glanced at me this time—“a hitch.”
A hitch. That was putting it mildly.
“The reason I wanted to fill you both in is because I appreciate how much work you put into determining where Ms. Whelan’s powers came from and in going above and beyond to recharge the shield at the vernal equinox.” He turned to Callan. “Should our work in this investigation require your services, I will reach out.”
Callan nodded then stood and left the room.
Professor East shifted his gaze back to me, steepling his fingers. “As for you, Ms. Whelan, I wanted to talk about your summer plans.”
I nodded for him to continue.
“I know that this last session was frustrating for you, with not being able to perform your magic on campus. Your instructors all tell me that you made the most of it and still managed to make some forward progress. Thankfully, next year is a bit different. Second-years spend a lot of time on field studies, many of which are off campus grounds.”
I sat up straighter, excited at what seemed like the first bit of good news in weeks. In my worst moments, I’d doubted if I’d even be allowed to come back to the academy next year, after decimating my prospects of using magic on campus.
“Additionally, I think you should consider taking a heavy load of summer courses at SCC. Balancing your courses there with field studies here next year is going to be a challenge. I’ll get them to work with you, of course, but it would be ideal if you could take a lighter load there next year. I know you took a few winter intersession courses this year and some summer courses right after high school. Plus, your transcripts show a few AP credits. With a large summer load, you’ll be close to completing the full number of credits needed to graduate from SCC.”
“I can do that,” I said quickly, wanting to appease his every request. Throughout this year, I felt that Professor East had bent over backward to help me, even if I hadn’t always seen it at the time. And the fact that he was already planning for my success next year made me that much more eager to follow his suggestions.
“Summer enrollment has already started, so I’ll see what classes I have remaining and take as many as I can.” I remembered Callan’s push for me to continue math and take Calculus. Dare I take it over the summer, without his help? Part of me was scared to attempt it while the other part was eager to do it, just to show him I could.
“Good.” Professor East rapped his knuckles against the desk in a quick, unconscious motion. “Things might be a little different around here next year, Ms. Whelan, but I want you to know that you’ve exceeded my expectations in every way this year. You put your head down and put in the work. You’re going to have to double down on those efforts next year, but you have already shown that you’ve got it in you.”
I tried not to blush, surprised by the praise he was lavishing on me. “Thank you, Professor East. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t. Have a nice summer.”
The trailing plant tugged open the door again, and I took that as my cue to leave. I cast one last look over my shoulders and saw my professor staring out the window at the bright summer sky, fingers steepled and brow furrowed.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Nevah pulled me into a hug. “I’m going to miss you, Briar. Sorry I couldn’t be more help this spring. But I know you’ll do great next year.” It was her last day on campus.
“Thanks, Nevah. I owe you a ton. So, where are you headed? Back to Michigan?”
Nevah’s eyes brightened, and she gave me a sheepish smile. “Actually, I was selected for an internship at the aquatic conservatory in Florida, so my plans for the Great Lakes are going to have to wait.”
“Nevah! That’s amazing! Congratulations.” It wasn’t at all shocking that she’d been selected—she was one of the best in her year and a founder’s descendant to boot—but the official announcement was thrilling.
She beamed. “Thanks. I’m excited. Hey, maybe you’ll get invited there eventually. You do have an aquatic affinity, after all.”
I startled at the idea. Aurielle had told us about visiting the fern conservatory in Alaska, but aside from that, the conservatories had pretty much fallen off my radar. I’d had too many other things to focus on this year, and next year wasn’t shaping up to be much different. Nevah didn’t know about my newfound heritage—Professor East had kept an even tighter lid on that piece of information.
“Maybe. It’d definitely be fun to visit you,” I said.
Nevah gave me one more hug, and then she was gone. Coral and Aurielle said their goodbyes next. We all had one final breakfast together in the teahouse.
“You all are welcome to visit me in Louisiana this summer, if you want to brave the heat and humidity,” Coral offered.
Aurielle wrinkled her nose. “I’ll be perfectly content in Connecticut, thank you very much.”
“San Antonio isn’t going to be much better, heat wise,” Yasmin sighed. “But Jordan will be there, so that’s all that matters.”
“A whole summer with your love. Poor you,” Coral teased.
“We’re not official yet. It doesn’t really make sense for us to date while I’m still in school. But he’s hoping I end up working at a botanical field office in Texas when I’m done at Evergreen.”
“Y’all are thinking way too far ahead.” Coral pursed her lips. “We’re young. Let’s focus on one season at a time. I’m not even thinking about next school year, let alone what happens after that.”
“Sure, you aren’t, Miss International Plant Relations,” Aurielle said, raising her eyebrows at Coral.
“That’s a loose career goal, not wedding plans.” Coral elbowed Yasmin, who rolled her eyes.
“Wedding plans? Now who’s the one thinking too far ahead? What are your plans for the summer, B?” Yasmin turned to me, obviously trying to change the subject.
“I’ll be working at the café, taking a large summer course load at SCC. You know, normal human things.”
“And you’ll be practicing your Floracantus, since you’ll be off the academy grounds, right?” She said this part more quietly.
“Right,” I agreed, excited at the thought. I’d already brought home all my textbooks, including my copy of the Compendium Floracantus, and carefully stashed them in my closet.
We helped Coral and Aurielle to the vans that were taking students to the small local airport, where some of their parents had chartered flights home. Our friends waved at us one last time as they climbed in the van.
After the vans drove away, I sighed. “It’s just you and me, Yasmin. I’m glad you’re sticking around for the SCC art gala.”
“I wouldn’t miss it. Though why anyone would want to see my work is beyond me.”
“Do you mind if I break off here?” I eyed the tree houses, and Yasmin smiled.
“It’s not truly summer until you wrap things up with your tutor, right?” she teased.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes, but there was truth to what she had said. I knew there was one more person I needed to say goodbye to before leaving Evergreen Academy for the summer.
Callan was boxing up supplies in the tree house when I found him. I’d had to climb the tree the old-fashioned way—using the rungs—since my tree affinity magic didn’t work on campus. When I was with Callan, I mourned the loss of it more than any other time. I missed walking through the trees with him, practicing Floracantus in that unique, intuitive way of his.
“Were you planning to leave without saying goodbye?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow at the boxes he was filling.
“Hello to you too.” He raised a hand and murmured words I didn’t catch, sending the boxes drifting out the hole in the tree. They nestled softly on the ground below.
“Are you packing up the entire tree house?”
“Just my favorite bits,” Callan said, but the spark of humor that I was used to expecting in his voice was gone. I studied him more closely then, stomach dropping at how tired he looked. His hair was slightly disheveled, and there were faint circles under his eyes.
“When are you leaving?” I tried to keep my voice even, implying that the question was neutral, even though it wasn’t. It had already been hard to say goodbye to Coral and Aurielle, and I was glad I had a few more days with Yasmin, but soon she’d be leaving too.
Once Yasmin and Callan left, all my friends from Evergreen Academy would be gone, and I’d be surrounded by people who only knew one side of me. I wouldn’t be able to talk about magical botany, Floracantus, being descended from Leonardo da Vinci, or any of the other amazing discoveries I’d made this year. The idea made my stomach twist.
“This weekend. My parents have already planned networking activities for me over the summer.”
“I’m sorry. Did you say networking?” I barked out a laugh, but Callan’s face remained impassive.
“Their specialty. If I had it my way, I’d stay here all summer, continuing my research on the tree medicinals. But it is what it is.” He rubbed at his jaw.
“So I guess I won’t see you until August, then?”
“I thought I’d be back on the summer solstice to recharge the shields, but after what happened to me at the vernal equinox, I’m not sure if plans are going to change.”
My heart leapt at the thought of seeing him again at the end of June—of being a part of this world again, even if briefly—instead of having to wait all the way until August. But then I remembered how injured he’d been after putting too much of himself into the recharge, and I told myself not to be selfish. Professor East would do what was right for the school and for his students. That included Callan just as it included me.
“Well, you have my number if you need to get ahold of me. Unless I should only expect messages to come through the leaves?” I was baiting him, since I’d given him my number but still didn’t have his. We communicated only at school or during those few times he’d sent me leaf messages.
Callan smiled mischievously then, and I felt a tug of happiness that I’d momentarily drawn him out of whatever unpleasant place he’d been in his mind.
“Let’s make a deal. If you initiate a message in the leaves, and it makes it to me, I’ll text you once I receive it.”
“But that’s super-advanced magical botany! You know I don’t know how to do that.” My return messages had reached him only due to the complexity of his own magic. I’d had nothing to do with it.
He was leaning back against the interior of the tree, forearms folded over his chest, tattoos on display. His head casually rested on the wall. It was a stance I’d seen him take so many times, and yet it felt charged in that moment, like we were standing face-to-face.
Just then, a breeze whipped up, and a few soft green leaves rushed up and tenderly grazed the sides of my neck before falling to the floor. Callan grinned, and the sight melted my heart.
“Then I guess you’ll need to practice, local.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
When the night of the SCC art gala came around, I put on a black dress and some teardrop earrings and fixed my hair into an elegant updo, so unlike my standard casual waves. I even decided to wear kitten heels—usually totally off-limits—and hoped my feet wouldn’t hate me by the end of the evening.
I met Yasmin at the library on campus where our class was hosting the gala. We set up our submissions along with our classmates, and our instructor came by to wish us luck on our public showing. We were each allowed to submit three works, so I had entered two of my drawings plus the painting I had done for the Floral Fete at Evergreen Academy.
“I shouldn’t have put mine next to yours,” Yasmin whined. “Yours are so much better.”
“Stop that. You were working with charcoal. I haven’t even touched that medium. I’m so impressed with how they came out.”
Yasmin beamed and straightened her shoulders slightly. I wasn’t sure if I should ask her if she had invited anyone to the gala. After all, she wasn’t from the area, and I didn’t know if her family was able to travel for something like this.
“My aunt is coming by,” I said. “I’ve told her all about you, so I know she’ll be excited to see your work.”
“Oh, that’s awesome. It will be great to meet her.”
The gala doors opened then, and members of the college and local community began to filter through the rows of easels. We answered questions about our work and milled around with our guests to view our classmates’ submissions. Aunt Vera was blown away by the foxglove painting I’d done for the floral fete, which I’d decided to title simply In Bloom.
