Page 36 of Evergreen Academy (Society of Magical Botanists #1)
Chapter Thirty-Five
A n hour later, after feasting and dancing as vines snaked around the arms of many of my fellow students and leaves floated in the air, the hour neared midnight, and the group began to make its way deeper into the woods.
“Is the party over?” I asked, disappointed.
Yasmin shook her head. “There’s one final tradition.” When she didn’t say more, I followed along with the rest of the group. A few of the students toward the front of the pack were merrily singing a Christmas carol, and I caught a line about enchanted boughs of holly.
A few minutes later, we emerged by the creek, and I noticed dozens of pools of water, each with steam rising from them into the cold night sky. I whipped my head to Yasmin.
“I didn’t know there were hot springs out here.”
“There’s a tradition that originated in Japan of celebrating the winter solstice with a soak in the hot springs with some citrus fruits. ”
Sure enough, I looked around and noticed that the professors were carrying baskets, and they began to drop a variety of sliced citrus fruits into the water. The aroma hit me like an invigorating shower steamer.
“Um, we’re not actually getting in there, are we?” I whispered.
“Of course we are.”
“But I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
“Don’t worry. I packed you one.” Yasmin slung a cloth bag off her shoulder. “I told you you’d be surprised.”
We all scattered into the trees to change into our bathing suits, then I shivered fiercely as I ran to a pool with Yasmin, Coral, Aurielle, and a few of the other fern affinities.
The water instantly warmed me up in a shock of heat, and I sank down, letting it spill over my shoulders.
I relaxed my head to rest on the rock pool behind me, breathing in the fresh citrus scent.
The experience was like being in an expensive spa rather than a hole in the ground in the middle of the forest.
“This is heaven,” I said and sighed.
We soaked for a while then climbed out of the pools. Some of the tree affinity students dried us with their wind-maneuvering powers, and then I slipped my dress and coat on over my bathing suit.
As we began to walk back to the academy, Callan came up beside me and nodded toward the forest.
Yasmin gave me a questioning look, but I told her to go ahead.
“Happy Midwinter, local.” Callan’s voice held a note of amusement, and I thought back to the moment we’d first met. His words tonight mirrored those. Happy Midsummer, local . I still remembered it so clearly.
In all this time, we still hadn’t officially acknowledged that day. Most of the time, Callan kept our tutoring sessions somewhat infuriatingly focused on school despite my attempts at having other conversations. Now, I wondered if that first encounter would ever come up.
“Happy Midwinter. This was…” I didn’t have the words, so I left it there.
“I wanted to let you know that I’m leaving to visit my family for Christmas tomorrow morning, so I won’t be here for a few weeks. You’ll have to get through your winter intersession classes without me.” There was a trace of amusement in his voice.
We walked toward the front of the grounds where my car was parked and stopped in the fields of flowers.
Something squeezed in my chest. The fact that he’d sought me out to say goodbye… It made me feel somehow excited and reassured all at once.
“Worried I’ll be bored out of my mind with all of you gone?” I teased.
“Quite the opposite.”
I was about to question what he meant when I remembered something. It was already past midnight. “Did you charge the shield? How did it go?”
He cast his eyes toward the building where I saw Eli Quinn, one of the other founders’ descendants, entering the academy. The third descendant, Nevah Trinity, was nowhere in sight, presumably having joined friends or retired for the night .
“Everything appears to have worked. Did you feel the pulse?”
“No, but I was in the pools.”
“Yeah, that will usually dim it.”
“So your super founder duties are done for the night.” I said it playfully, wanting to stand here with him for a few moments longer.
Callan snorted. But something near the ground grabbed his attention, and he stepped closer to me.
“I thought you didn’t have an affinity for florals?” His voice was a sharp whisper, and I looked at him in confusion.
Then my eyes followed his, dropping to the tangle of deep-red flowers that were now leaning dramatically in my direction on all sides, forming a swirling circle around me. I drew a sharp breath and stepped back, but the flowers followed.
A smile pulled at the corner of Callan’s mouth as he met my eyes. “Well, isn’t that interesting?”