Page 7

Chapter Seven

A s I climbed into bed later that night, my phone dinged with a text. Thinking it would be Maci or Yasmin, I opened the notification lazily.

The message was from an unknown number.

I knew you just needed a little motivation to figure it out.

I sat bolt upright. Callan. It had to be.

Ha ha. How did the solstice recharge go?

Shield is fully charged. No issues.

That’s a relief. Did you stick around in Weed for long?

No, we left the day after the solstice. What have you been up to? Snuck onto any academy grounds lately?

I bit down on a smile and decided not to take the bait.

Very funny. I’ve been helping my Aunt Vera with wedding planning. She’s getting married in October.

Please tell me you’ll wear your plant-lady costume to the wedding.

I snorted in disbelief that he still remembered my quirky costume from last Halloween.

No promises. When will you be back?

First day of school. Hopefully.

Hopefully? What did that mean? Most magical botanists were returning to campus over the next week.

Callan kept things close to the chest in person, and it appeared that the trait carried over into his texting habits as well.

I debated telling him I was moving on campus but decided to hold back. If Callan could be mysterious, I could surprise him with a thing or two.

Got to go. Big fancy social event. Right up my alley.

Sounds dazzling. I’m sure you’ll survive.

It’d be better if you were there. Later, local.

Thoroughly awake now, I got out of bed and found my aunt on the couch, watching TV with a wedding-planning book sprawled out on the coffee table.

It’d be better if you were there.

I would be saving that text message to analyze later.

“How’s everything going with the wedding plans? ”

“Most of the details are falling into place. Catering is all lined up. I’ll be making the cake. I just need to pick a florist.”

I stood up straighter as an idea came to me. “I just thought of something. I’d love to do the flower arrangements for you.”

Aunt Vera’s eyes widened. “That’s a nice offer, Briar Rose, but do you know how?”

“We work with flowers at Evergreen Academy. I have access to every variety you could imagine. Just give me an idea of what you’re looking for on the tables and how many bouquets and boutonnieres you need, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Well, that would be amazing. It makes me a little less resentful of the fact that you can hardly breathe a word about that place.” Her tone was light, and she flipped a page in the wedding-planning book. “Speaking of bouquets, I’m planning to have Adriana and Brit be my bridesmaids.”

I nodded approvingly. Both had been friends with Aunt Vera for as long as I could remember. “Which one is going to be the maid of honor?”

“I was hoping to give that role to my niece.” Her voice was quiet, a tinge of anticipation under it, as if she’d been sitting on this announcement for a while. “If she’s interested, of course.”

“Really?” I gasped, sinking onto the couch to give her a hug and practically squashing her in the process. “This might be the best thing I’ve ever been asked.”

A mixture of warmth and excitement swelled in my chest. My aunt, who had been so much more to me my whole life but especially these past seven years, was giving me the honor that I knew would have been my mom’s if she were still alive.

Tears pricked my eyes, and I wiped them away then noticed that my aunt was doing the same.

“Now that that’s settled”—she squeezed my hand—“let’s talk about those flowers.”