Page 63 of Evergreen Academy (Society of Magical Botanists #1)

Chapter Sixty-One

“ R ace you back to the shore!” my aunt shouted, immediately breaking into a freestyle stroke.

“No fair!” I shouted back, beginning to pull myself through the water. My aunt had won more than one regional swimming award in high school, and she definitely still had her skills. But despite my desire to catch her, I couldn’t help slowing down, just a little.

This was the first time I’d really swum since discovering my powers. The only other time had been sneaking through the river during Capture the Roses, and there hadn’t been time to take it all in then.

I marveled at the awareness of the aquatic plants in the lake below me and wondered if there was a Floracantus that would allow them to bend in a certain direction, swaying the water—and me in it.

My body felt like it buzzed with energy, as if being cut off from my affinity powers at Evergreen Academy had affected me more than I realized. Other opportunities to spend time in nature in my tight schedule were few and far between. Now, my powers were ready to go.

“Winner gets the biggest slice of cake!” Aunt Vera called over her shoulder, and I picked up my pace again, reluctantly leaving the connection with the aquatic plants behind. By the time I reached the shore, my aunt was already drying herself off with a towel.

“Haven’t you heard of letting the birthday girl win?” I grumbled, though I was grinning. My aunt was glowing in her element like this. She passed me a piece of cake—the smaller of the two.

“Where would be the fun in that?” She took a huge bite of the confetti-flecked concoction. We finished eating and drove back into town through the darkness of night, blasting a birthday playlist that was years out of date.

When we got home, we finally wound down, preparing to shower and grab a few hours of sleep.

Even without a midnight birthday dip to keep me up, I’d been staying up too late. Between studying for various exams, I got sidetracked reading about Leonardo da Vinci and his family history.

As far as historians knew, Leonardo had never had children, but he’d had a large number of half brothers and sisters. If I truly were related to him, it had to be through one of them. Which one? And would I ever know?

According to Professor Tenella, Leonardo was one of a handful of Renaissance artists and scientists who had woven botanical magic into drawing books. From what I could piece together, however, Leonardo had set it up so that only those with his DNA could access his magic.

I couldn’t be the first person in history to have experienced this. In all likelihood, the magic had passed through the family like that for generations and then had disappeared, like so many family secrets did over time.

Was there a reason it had emerged now? Why was I the one from my family to attend Evergreen Academy and find Leonardo’s books? Was my mom’s genetic research still hanging around somewhere?

The more I thought about the situation, the more questions came to mind. And with the summer break from Evergreen Academy imminent, it was unlikely that I would get answers soon.

The only concrete action I’d taken outside of my own research was to put a book about Leonardo da Vinci on order from our local bookstore, Ink and Parchment.

Mara, the owner, informed me it was back-ordered due to being out of print, but she promised she’d find me a copy.

At least that was one thing to look forward to this summer—more time to attempt to learn about my family’s history.

Just as I was getting into bed, an incessant tapping of leaves at the window caught my attention. With a smile, I rushed to open it.

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.