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Chapter Forty-Three

“ T hey badgered you into judging too?” Hollis asked as we gathered in the tearoom an hour later.

Brie had had to force some of the students out at five o’clock, my friends included. Who knew magical botanists were so competitive when it came to gingerbread?

“I volunteered.”

“Lucky you. A harvester accosted me when I was trying to get some spiced cider,” Hollis whispered, leaning sideways toward me but keeping his eyes on Brie, who was pacing in front of the gingerbread houses as if they were precious gems. There was one per affinity group, except for the defensive plants, which didn’t have a house.

I laughed and turned to Brie. “So, what are the rules?”

“The categories for evaluation are composition, unique elements, and overall aesthetic,” Brie explained. “There are no criteria for taste, so please don’t attempt to eat them.”

“What a shame,” Hollis whispered. “I was planning to eat as many as I could get my hands on.”

I rolled my eyes .

Brie handed us each a clipboard with a fancy scoring chart attached. “All right, let’s get started.”

I walked to the first gingerbread house, which had clearly been created by the tree affinities.

The gingerbread had been styled into a treehouse, and fondant leaves and twigs had been magically attached to imitate the look of the treehouses in the forest. Impressive.

I made a few notes on my clipboard, marking scores within Brie’s complex scoring matrix.

The floral house was up next, and it had been transformed into a magic flower shop, with a mix of real and fondant blooms in vibrant colors exploding from the house.

I moved from display to display, stopping to examine the ferns last. My friends had made the house look like an enchanted fairy garden made mostly of edible fern leaves. I hid a proud smile as I began to score it.

“Clearly the winner.” Hollis nodded toward the fern display as he sidled up next to me.

“Says the fern founder’s descendant.”

He tapped the clipboard with his pencil. “They should have thought about that before roping me into this role.”

I laughed but said, “It’s impossible to choose. The aquatics one has a glass-bottom boat floating on sugared jelly. I mean… come on. It’s pretty fantastic.”

“Do what you must. I promise not to rat you out to your friends if you don’t give them top marks.”

“No collusion!” Brie called from where she stood, leaning in to look at the grasses display, which was somehow swaying as if there were a slight breeze in the room.

Hollis made an affronted face that was still charming, and we went back to marking our scorecards.

At the sound of footsteps behind us, I turned to see a tall man, at least six feet five, with an athletic build and a fancy-looking navy suit enter the room.

“Hollis, there you are. ”

Hollis stilled but then quickly rolled his shoulders and turned around, the picture of casual indifference. “Dad, what are you doing here?”

Dad? Now that I knew, I could see the resemblance. Same medium-brown skin tone, similar straight noses. The lips were different, though, and I assumed Hollis favored his mom there.

“I’ve been asked to oversee the verdant shield recharging tonight.”

“Oversee? Why?” Hollis asked, voice still sounding bored.

I cast my eyes between them, not sure where the conversation was headed.

“New standard practice,” Hollis’s dad said.

“Seems like a waste of resources, but whatever floats your fronds,” Hollis said, tapping pencil to clipboard.

“That’s a matter of opinion,” his dad said. “Each affinity group would like to make ourselves a little more present here at the academy. Is this a fellow fern affinity?” The man turned his attention to me.

Hollis didn’t look at me as he said, “Yes.”

Well, that was technically true.

Brie had finished marking then, and she walked toward us. “Briar, Hollis, are you two done scoring?”

“Briar?” Hollis’s dad said, his tone much sharper now. “Briar Whelan?”

“That’s me,” I said, trying to smile politely, though it was strange that someone knew who I was before I knew them.

The man glanced at Hollis, a tinge of irritation in his lips. “You don’t say. I’m Nash. I’m glad to see you hanging out with my son. Perhaps he could give you a tour of the fern conservatory some time. Have you ever been to Alaska?”

“Oh, no, not yet—” I began, but Hollis let out a loud sigh, cutting me off.

“Dad, this is not the time and place. Can’t you see Briar and I are busy with a project? ”

Nash straightened at his son’s words but relented. “I’ll let you get back to it. Briar, I’d love to speak with you more if you have some time today or tomorrow.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said, and Nash turned to leave the teahouse.

“Fan-frondin-tastic,” Hollis said. “There’s no getting away from them.”

Brie cleared her throat. “Ready to calculate the winner?”

Hollis’s face was as smooth as butter, as if his dad hadn’t arrived to supervise the winter solstice events. He turned to Brie, “Yes, chef.”

One thing was for sure. The board’s influence at Evergreen Academy was continuing to expand, and the younger founders’ descendants weren’t happy about it.