Page 58

Chapter Fifty-Eight

M y hands were shaking from the interaction with Lira, and Callan gently but swiftly guided me through the crowded central room of the gala.

We spotted Hollis engaged in conversation around the food table, a moss-tini in hand. He raised it to me in a mock toast. His eyes flicked to Callan for a moment, then he returned to his conversation. A moment later, Callan and I stepped through a curtain of moss.

I only glanced at the room enough to see that it was empty of other people before saying, “What was she talking about?”

Callan looked as if he was selecting his words carefully. “You knew finding you a field studies assignment would be… complicated, given your complex powers.”

“She made it sound like people were bidding over me.” My chest squeezed in dissent, and I realized I was getting a little taste of how Callan must feel all the time.

“Sorry, I’m sounding selfish. It’s just…

What did she mean that the board didn’t get the final say on my assignment?

I thought they selected all of the assignments this year. ”

Callan shook his head. “You are many things, local, but selfish is not one of them. My understanding is that Professor East was allowed to choose your field studies assignment.”

“Really?” I asked, calming slightly. “Did he get to choose anyone else’s?”

Callan averted his eyes. “Not that I’m aware of.”

Something about that didn’t sit right with me, but I had gotten an amazing assignment that was possibly going to help me undo the poisoning of my powers. I was the last person who should be questioning how the field studies had shaken out.

Callan spoke again. “Listen, I think we need to talk.”

My heart rate kicked up. “What about?”

“Not here,” Callan said, and I finally stopped to look around. We appeared to be in the moss conservatory’s library. The stacks filled the entire room, moss coating the sides of the shelves. Rounded couches made of green velvet scattered the area, perfect for settling in to read.

Callan snagged a moss blanket from one of the couches, but he didn’t sit. “This way.” He put his hand gently on the small of my back and ushered me through a curtain of moss I hadn’t noticed.

“Where are we going?” I asked as we walked down a narrow corridor lit on either side by moss-covered sconces.

“You’ll see.”

The sound of rushing water began to form around us, and my eyes widened as we stepped onto a thin bridge. One side of the bridge led to the back of a cave, and the other had a thin see-through wall that showed the most mesmerizing display I had ever seen.

“Are we… Are we inside the waterfall?”

Crinkles formed at the corner of Callan’s eyes as I dragged my gaze away from the shimmering stream to look at him. “We’re right behind it, yeah. This bridge connects to another part of the moss conservatory, but this is also a great place to come and think. Or talk without being overheard. ”

I shivered as a whisper of water sprayed over the protective glass wall.

“Here.” Callan lifted the moss blanket and settled it around my shoulders.

I shivered again but this time at his proximity.

Now that we were standing here alone, inside a waterfall , the kiss that somehow felt like it had happened both moments ago and days ago was instantly crowding my thoughts. I cleared my throat and tucked it away, wanting him to take the lead on that conversation.

“So, what’s this about? Usually ‘we need to talk’ never ends well,” I said, trying to keep my voice playful despite the anxiety his words had sparked.

Callan took my hand. “A lot has happened today. And it has reminded me how much is at stake here.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, trying to anticipate what he might say next. I met his eyes then, which were dark, the muscles of his face tense. “What is it?” I asked, though I was beginning to feel that I already knew. It was written all over his face.

He skimmed a finger down my hair, which was loose and wavy around my shoulders, the moisture from the waterfall making it curl beyond its typical waves. He swallowed. “We need to talk about the kiss. It was… amazing. But…”

My heart fell. It was the word I had been expecting but was still dreading.

“As much as I tried to keep things… friendly between us all year, things have shifted. For me, at least, there’s no going back after…

that. But”—he cleared his throat, as if taking a moment to gather his thought—“events of today reminded me why we agreed to keep things the way they were in the first place.” He said it softly, almost reluctantly.

“Circumstances being all the influences hanging over our heads?” I tried to make light of it, putting a little laugh into my voice, but it came out shaky at the end .

“Alex is an unknown threat, my brother is a known one, and between my parents and the board all vying to get their hands on you… this afternoon was a stark reminder that us being together… it’s just another target on your back.” His voice was low.

I pulled back slightly, forcing him to meet my eyes.

His long, dark lashes swept side to side as he studied my face.

I knew he was right, but I hated the thought of going back to just friends, in public or in private. “What if being with you makes the target smaller?” I reached for his hands and was relieved when he took mine. “What if we’re stronger together?”

Callan looked pained, and I wanted to pull him into a hug.

“I wish it worked like that, but that’s not how my family operates.

They have enough of a reason to scrutinize you with your powers already.

Seeing my brother there… it reminded me how connected they are to everything in this world.

Lira and her comment about us looking ‘cozy’ is further evidence that the other affinity groups think the trees might be trying to get to you first. If they found out we were…

” He paused and ran a hand through his hair. “Please, just trust me on this, okay?”

I nodded but couldn’t speak.

He sighed and glanced toward the waterfall.

Its mist was settling in his hair like flecks of diamonds.

“It’s not because I don’t want to… be with you.

Staying away has been harder than you can imagine.

But I’m trying to protect you from being a part of all of this until you’re ready to make your own choices.

Until you have full access to your power. ”

“Okay,” I said tentatively then stopped to chew on my lip. “You make good points, but here’s my counter.”

Callan raised an eyebrow.

“Life is too short for us to make decisions rooted in fear.”

Callan nodded, and I waited to see whether he would agree.

“There’s a difference between being brave and being reckless, local.

Not taking precautions now, as more trouble is brewing, is bordering on reckless.

And after seeing Lira tonight, I won’t be surprised if word of our presence here reaches my parents.

It was stupid of me not to consider that she would be here.

The Board of Regents had their own meeting, but of course she left early to attend the moss strategic meeting. ”

I sighed, but I wasn’t ready to give up. There was more than one way to be brave. “Okay, let’s say we do it your way. How do you see this all playing out?”

Callan smiled softly. “You’re powerful, Briar. More than any of them know. One day, you will outmaneuver them. But right now, if it’s between me having you and you being free of them”—he swallowed, and I watched his Adam’s apple rise and fall—“I choose your freedom.”

My stomach swooped at the intensity of his words.

I understood where Callan was coming from.

A large part of me admired it even if I believed in a different approach.

He had a desire to protect me. Was it because he had never been protected by the people who should have been there for him the most? That thought nearly broke my heart.

I slipped my arms around his waist, and he returned the hug, pulling me close until my head rested on his chest. I wanted to pour so much love and admiration into him that he would never feel powerless again.

But words weren’t enough for Callan. He needed to see it in action, so that’s what I would do.

I was gaining power.

I couldn’t tell him about what I was working on with Petra in my field studies.

Not yet anyway. But my skills were growing, and I was doing everything within my control to wrest back full access to my powers.

It was the thing Callan was fighting for, too, in a different way, and I was flooded with affection for him every time I was reminded of it.

I pulled back to lean on the see-through wall and looked up at Callan’s clear brown eyes, which were drinking me in like I was the first bloom of spring. My heart was racing, the memory of our kiss almost palpable on my lips. I whispered, “There aren’t any scouting vines out here, are there?”

Callan shook his head, his forehead brushing mine. And before I could second-guess it, I went on my tiptoes and gently pressed my lips to his.

As if on instinct, his hands nestled into the hair behind my neck and he drew the kiss deeper, as if he knew it was the last one we would share until this battle with the elites was over and someone emerged victorious.

When we broke apart, I took a deep, fortifying breath then slipped the blanket from my shoulders.

“We’ll do it your way, for now.” I said the words slowly, deliberately, then offered the blanket to him, dangling it on the tip of my finger. When he took it, I gave a little twirl in my slightly-too-short dress. “But I won’t always be a damsel in distress. And you won’t always need to save me.”

His eyes tracked me as I moved backward along the narrow bridge. “Maybe I like saving you,” he whispered.

And I walked away from the waterfall and out of the library with a flush of heat in my face and a touch of wind to the back of my neck.