Page 3

Chapter Three

I startled, in complete shock at hearing my name. I didn’t move.

“I know you’re behind the potted elms, Ms. Whelan.”

Exhaling, I stepped out from my obviously ineffective hiding place. “Hello, professor.”

Callan’s eyes were on me like a hawk.

I returned his gaze, taking in the fancy tuxedo and deep-green bow tie he was wearing. He always looked put together, but this was a whole other level. If possible, he’d gotten even more handsome since I had last seen him, his usually tousled brown hair lightly styled for the occasion.

I tried not to fixate on the fact that I was wearing jean shorts and a Vera’s Café T-shirt as his eyes combed over me in return.

At least I had taken to using the fancy magical botanist skin care and makeup I acquired last year.

I was pretty sure my eyelashes had grown a few millimeters over the summer. Did Callan notice things like that?

Professor East cleared his throat, and I forced my attention to him.

Like Callan, he was dressed in a dashing tuxedo.

Knowing a little about the magical botanist community now, I guessed both of their suits were made of plant-based fabrics.

“Well, then I’ll leave you two to it.” He departed through the doors to the teahouse.

I let out a breath as I realized Professor East wasn’t punishing me for sneaking into the academy. Not yet, at least.

“What are you doing here, local?” Callan said it slowly, and there was a tinge of exasperation in his voice but not surprise.

“It’s a long story.”

“And you have time to tell it now that you’re helping me package the silent-auction prizes.” He turned on a heel, and I hurried to follow him down the central vein. I could hear a smile in his voice as he asked, “What’s with the flower crown?”

I reached to touch the crown on my head, having completely forgotten it was there. “My aunt’s celebrating midsummer at the café now. She gave these to all the employees.”

Callan led me into an office that I had never been in before. The tables were crammed full of items with delicately labeled tags. My eyes roved over books, vases, plant cuttings in jars, hand-thrown mugs, and magnifying glasses.

“What is all this?”

“Items that sold at the silent auction today, raising funds for the academy. Some have been magically enhanced. Others hold historical and sentimental value for botanists.”

I looked closer at a framed letter on thick, cream-colored paper. The label read, Letter penned by George Washington Carver. Describes his first experience using a Floracantus.

I let out a sharp breath as I read the figures on the paper beside it. “Callan, this letter sold for eighteen thousand dollars.”

“It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year, outside of the research grants we get. The instructors collect items to sell, and it’s part of the field work for some of the second-years who are interested in history and curation. It was, at least.”

“So what do we need to do?”

“Package them up so they’re ready to be sent home with their purchasers tomorrow.” Callan set a large pile of flattened white boxes on one of the tables but didn’t make a move to assemble them. “Now, are you going to tell me what you’re doing here?”

I brushed past him and picked up one of the boxes, easily folding it in three dimensions. They were similar to the pastry boxes we used at Vera’s Café.

“Meadow invited me.”

Callan raised an eyebrow, his face carefully neutral otherwise. “ Meadow invited you? How do you know Meadow?”

“I don’t. Well, we just met. She was tree walking outside the wall.”

Something flickered across his face at that, but he stayed focused on me. “And you were outside the wall because…”

“I was delivering a cake to a riverbank wedding and thought I’d pop by.”

“You thought you’d pop by?” Callan’s words were even, and I couldn’t sense if he was mad, amused, confused, or something else that he was perfectly masking. It made me want to spill my guts.

“I knew it was the summer solstice, so I figured there would be people here charging the shield. Possibly you. And others.” Why was I blathering? I grabbed a nearby leather-bound book and nestled it carefully into a box.

“Briar, you have to be more careful. There are people here who—” He cut himself off and balled his hands into fists before relaxing them and turning to package one of the auction items. He whirled his hands and muttered something, the box perfectly folding together on all sides.

Of course. The paper boxes had come from wood materials. Even dead, the cells in wood could respond to botanist’s magic.

“There are people here who what ? Meadow said things were tense between the board and the teachers.”

Callan exhaled. “They are. Things have… kicked up over the summer. I’m hoping that it will get sorted out today. But as far as you’re concerned, being around when members of the Board of Regents are here is asking for trouble. ”

“You mean your parents?”

“They’re included, yes.”

We worked in silence for a few moments, me stewing about what he wasn’t saying and him, presumably, stewing that I was here when he certainly hadn’t expected me to be.

“So, how’s your summer been?” I asked once the room had been unbearably quiet for too long.

Callan choked out a laugh. “You’re unbelievable, local.”

“Why?” Of all the questions I’d asked, I hadn’t expected how’s your summer been to be the one that sent him over the edge.

“Just making small talk after casually breaking into the academy grounds. How’d you get in anyway? Professor East would have responded if the gates had opened.”

“Meadow showed me a pass-through point on the south side of the academy. She shared a special pendant that let us cross over without setting off the shield.”

Callan stilled. “ What? ”

“I’m guessing she wasn’t supposed to share that with me?”

“She’s not supposed to have that,” Callan said. “I’m not sure how she even knows about it.”

I whistled. Meadow was even more mischievous than I’d realized. “I thought it was a founder’s descendant privilege or something.”

Callan shook his head. “What, exactly, did she say?”

I squinted, trying to remember her words.

“Pretty much what I just said. That you could pass over in that spot if you have one of those pendants. Wait…” My stomach clenched.

“Does this have something to do with the shield being weakened last year? But shouldn’t it have sealed back up once the shield’s functions were restored? ”

“No, it’s not related. The shield is fully functioning.”

My breathing relaxed a little at that even though Callan wasn’t being forthcoming about the pass-through point and the pendant. But now that we were on the topic of the shield, I wanted to know more. “Has Professor East learned anything about who was poisoning it?”

Callan shook his head. “He’s working on some innovative tests, but no, he hasn’t.”

The door swung open, and a handsome man around our age burst in, practically sliding on his shoes as if he were completing a dance move. His close-cropped black hair was stylishly cut with a fade, and his white dress shirt was unbuttoned a few buttons down.

“They’re getting ready to break out the—” He cut himself off as his eyes focused on me. “Who’s this?”

Callan spoke up. “Hollis, meet Briar. Briar, this is my best friend, Hollis.”

Hollis’s eyebrows rose, and a movie-star smile slid across his face. “ The Briar?”

Callan shot him a look.

Hollis took a step toward me and extended a hand. “We finally meet. Callan has told me so mu?—”

Callan cleared his throat, and I reached out to shake Hollis’s hand, returning his smile with a bright one of my own.

“Hollis is a fern founder’s descendant,” Callan said, seeming to not want Hollis to keep sharing his thoughts aloud. “He’ll be starting here in the fall.”

“Ferns? My three best friends have lead fern affinities,” I said, wondering if any of them knew of him.

“You’ll have to introduce me,” Hollis said, and there was a flirty note to his voice.

Callan rolled his eyes.

The sound of laughter drifted through the cracks of the door as people passed by the office.

Callan glanced toward the door and straightened, as if remembering where we were. “Glad we got the introductions out of the way.” He turned to me. “We need to get you out of here before anyone else sees you. ”

“Gee, you founders’ descendants are full of warm welcomes and farewells tonight. Excluding you of course, Hollis.”

He gave a half bow. “Always willing to welcome a lovely lady, especially one who—” This time, he cut himself off, glancing at Callan.

“One who?” I asked.

“One who asks so many questions,” Callan answered for him.

“It was nice meeting you, Briar, but duty calls me elsewhere. You coming back soon?” Hollis’s question was directed at Callan.

“Be out in a while,” Callan said, noncommittal.

Hollis gave me a nod and a smile then left the room.

I finished packaging my artifacts with a flourish then reluctantly moved from the table.

Callan’s tone softened as he opened the door for me. “Let me drive you to your car.”

I didn’t protest, eager for a few more minutes with him. We hurried across the central vein and out the front door. I heard two people talking in the rose garden, but if they saw us, they didn’t pay us any attention.

The thick purple blossoms I’d noticed on the way in were filling the air now, streaming toward us from the south and catching in my hair and on my flower crown. I reached up and pulled one from my dark-auburn strands.

“What are these?” I asked.

“A rare species of jacaranda. The tree is blooming right now.”

My lips parted, something tugging at my memory. “I think Yasmin mentioned it last year. The big tree out by the pond? Didn’t she say it only blooms once a year?”

“Yes, on midsummer.”

My eyes widened. “Can we swing by and see it?”

At the immediate shaking of Callan’s head, I added, “Please? It might be my only chance to witness it bloom.”

“Sorry, local. This little soiree has moved out there for the next part of the festivities. You’d be noticed. ”

I sighed. It had been worth a shot. “Well, enjoy it for me, will you?” I inhaled, soaking in the rich grape fragrance that must have been coming from the brilliant violet-blue trumpet-shaped flowers.

“Who says you’ll never enjoy it yourself?”

I perked up, wondering if he’d had a change of heart.

“ Not this year,” he clarified, dampening that little glimmer of hope.

But if not this year… Did he think I would get to be here on midsummer at some point in the future?

That thought made me feel warm all over, and I snagged a few of the jacaranda flowers from the air and tucked them into my pocket.

We climbed in Callan’s truck, and the subtle cologne smell I’d caught a few hints of in the academy hit me more strongly.

I tried to place the notes. It smelled like sandalwood and was that… peaches? I felt the telltale signs of the cologne taking effect on my limbic system, and I cracked the passenger-side window, letting the fresh air cool me off. Given that it was summer, it didn’t help much.

I looked at him again, his svelte tux in stark contrast to the pickup truck, which was dusty from driving across the dirt roads that led to campus. I was finding it hard to keep my eyes from darting to him, taking in all the subtle ways he had changed since I had last seen him.

The tousles of hair on top of his head were a little longer, and it stirred in the gentle wind that came through the open window. His olive skin was clear and smooth except for the stubble that lined his jaw.

“Which way are you parked?” he asked, and I quickly refocused out the windshield and pointed to the right. “How are your summer classes going?”

“Brutal, since they’re condensed. But I’m surviving. I even got an A on my most recent Calculus test.” I suppressed a smile, waiting for his reaction.

“You’re taking calc?” The note of surprise with a tinge of admiration in his voice sent a little thrill through me .

“You kept saying I should continue my math studies.” I shrugged.

“Yeah, but I didn’t realize you were listening.”

“Hey!” I said in mock offense. “I’m powerless on campus, not incapable of hearing.” I was delighted by the amused expression that formed on Callan’s face, though a shadow crossed it again at the mention of my loss of powers.

“Still no progress with figuring out the leaf messages, or are you just ghosting me?”

My jaw nearly fell open at his playfulness as well as the message. Me ghosting him ? More like the other way around.

“The magic has eluded me. But it’s not for a lack of trying. Maybe I’ll surprise you when you least expect it.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “I have no doubt.”

He swung the truck around a corner, and my car came into view, abandoned and looking like the forest was going to overtake it at any moment. A cloud had settled in front of the low sun, and I was extra grateful I hadn’t had to walk out here alone.

“Thanks for the ride. Hope I didn’t take you away from the midsummer celebrations for too long.”

“You did me a favor in that regard.”

I hesitated before broaching the next topic. “Is everything okay here? When you said things were ‘kicking off,’ what did you mean?”

Callan spoke slowly. “The Board of Regents is trying to exercise their control even more this year. They say the faltering of the shield last year is proof they need to have greater influence. Professor East is pushing back. As you can imagine, that is not going over too well.”

I swallowed. None of that sounded good. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just promise me you’ll stay out of trouble until school starts? No more unsanctioned trips onto campus?”

“I’ll do my best.” I saluted him, and he rolled his eyes, but a slight smile played on his lips, and I decided that this entire trip had been worth it.

He reached over and felt the ribboned strands hanging in my hair from the flower crown.

I shivered at the feeling of his hand so close to my face.

He met my eyes once before turning back to the front window. “Happy midsummer, local.”