Page 9

Chapter Nine

“ W e have five new fern recruits joining our ranks,” Yasmin said as the four of us sat down for breakfast in the teahouse a week later.

Whoever was on kitchen botany rotation was outdoing themselves.

They had created a fresh food buffet fit for royalty, complete with multi-tiered displays of pastries and fruit, an omelet bar that had every ingredient imaginable, and a crepe stand with options both savory and sweet.

I opted for a sweet crepe with a spread created from hazelnuts and cocoa powder grown at the academy.

The coconut whipped topping melted in my mouth, and I had to force my brain away from the food and to the conversation.

“I can already tell that one is going to get on my last nerve.” Coral pointed her spoon toward where Hollis was surrounded by a group of students.

“How’s it going having a founder’s descendant with the ferns now?” I asked. As usual, I had been pulled in multiple directions all week, trying to touch base with each of the different affinity groups .

“You tell me. Look at him. He’s like an attention magnet.” Coral eyed him and shook her head.

“Well, he is a founder’s descendant,” Aurielle said.

“Yeah, but that’s not exactly beneficial when you’re trying to do real work,” Coral said. “Look how he holds himself. He knows all the power the founders’ descendants have here. With Rhodes, he has a calm sort of confidence that exudes power.”

“How has the first-year affinity testing been going?” I asked, sensing a change of subject was needed. “I’ve caught a little bit of some of them, but I don’t have a sense of the overall results.”

Yasmin spoke up to fill me in. “Based on what I’ve heard, the quantities of affinity powers fell under fairly typical distribution, with florals being the most common and defensives being the least.”

“I heard no one tested positive for defensives this year,” Aurielle said. “With Nevah gone, it’s just you, B.”

“Perilous Grove is going to be perilously empty this year without my ability to practice,” I said, trying not to feel the loss acutely again.

“I wonder how the mosses are doing with her .” Coral nodded behind me, and I looked over my shoulder, spotting Meadow taking a seat with a few fellow first-years.

The new female founder’s descendant was making a bit of a splash. Between her antics and Hollis’s magnetism, speculation was buzzing through the school like wildfire. If my initial encounter with her on the summer solstice had been any indication, she’d earned her reputation as a rabble-rouser.

“I wonder if they’ll do more crossover work with the trees this year than usual,” Yasmin mused.

“She and Callan could do some interesting things. Trees and mosses are the closest pairing of any of the affinity powers,” Aurielle said.

Interesting things . The hair on my arms stood up. Not romantic things, Briar. She didn’t say that .

I tried to refocus on the conversation and not make false associations between Meadow and Callan as I had with Nevah last year. I wasn’t even under the influence of Scopolia -spiked cupcakes this time.

“Honestly, I’m just glad she and Hollis are here,” Yasmin said. “After everything that happened with the shield last year and two of our founders’ descendants moving on from the school, I’m glad Callan isn’t the sole descendant this year.”

My chest squeezed at that, and I was reminded how painfully aware I was of the fact that he still hadn’t arrived at school.

“Yeah, that’s true. It’d be nice to have more than three for charging, but Professor East seems to think the shield is stable and those three will be plenty.

” I hesitated. “Speaking of Callan, has anyone seen him yet?”

“What, like he wouldn’t seek you out as soon as he got here?” Coral teased.

I bit my lip and suppressed a smile.

A shout of laughter came from across the room, and we all turned our heads to see Meadow growing moss across the table.

“I’d give anything to grow some moss right now,” I sighed, wistful at the little evidences of the other botanists using their magic around the teahouse.

“You know you’re always welcome to study with the ferns. You do have a lead affinity for them, lest you ever forget among all your other affinities.”

“The coolest affinity around,” I said, grateful for the welcomeness Yasmin had shown me since the first day I’d arrived at Evergreen Academy. “But I have no idea where they’re going to put me for field studies.”

“Let’s not dwell on that yet. It’s the autumn equinox tomorrow. No talk of school until after that,” Coral advised.

“Now that I can get behind,” Yasmin raised her tea mug, and we mirrored her, clinking our assorted mugs together in a hearty breakfast toast.