“I’m sorry to say you won’t be joining our group of herbal affinity students. It was nice meeting you, Briar. I look forward to having you for your Kitchen Botany rotation. We’ll make a chef out of you yet.”
I smiled and thanked him then left the kitchen, my shoulders turning inward as I realized I’d failed yet another affinity test.
And I only had one more day of testing to go. A few botanists had multiple affinities, but I’d already struck out on most. Originally, I’d been hoping to have a cool combination of affinities, but now, I’d be grateful to test positive for just one.
I watched the butterfly float away from Sage’s shoulder and out the window, then I left Evergreen Academy for the night.
Chapter Nineteen
The next morning, I approached Evergreen Academy with a sense of determination. Today was the day I was finally going to figure out what my affinity power was.
It was Friday, a day I had no classes at SCC and the first time I’d been on the Evergreen Academy grounds before noon. As I parked and walked to the campus, the air was calm and quiet, as if the academy was still waking up. But a strange feeling lingered in me as questions about what had happened with the so-called shield during my herbs affinity test the previous day arose.
Yasmin met me in the central vein that connected all the rooms on the main floor. “Hey, B. Want to grab some breakfast before your tests?”
The teahouse felt different in the morning as well. Students were scattered around the indoor-outdoor eating areas, speaking quietly and drinking from mismatched mugs. Amassive tea bar seemed to be popular at this time of day, with a variety of loose-leaf teas and honeys ranging from pale gold to deep amber scattered across the shelves.
“Now I see why they call it a teahouse.”
We served ourselves, and I tried a bowl of oatmeal enriched with chia and flax seeds and topped with a mound of fresh fruit. Yasmin was eating toast with eggs, avocado, and a pile of seasonings that I was sure were bursting with flavor. A crisp morning breeze was flowing in through the fifteen-foot-tall glass doors that were propped open between the white arches that supported them.
I jumped in with my first question. “Did you feel what happened yesterday? With the shield? How does that work anyway?”
“Yeah, that was an eerie experience. The verdant shield is what really keeps the campus hidden from prying eyes. It is also tied into the powering of a few things here, which is why the lights flickered.”
“Is that a common occurrence?” I asked.
Yasmin shook her head. “It’s never happened that I’m aware of. Not since I’ve been here and not when my sisters were here either. There have been rumors that the verdant shield has been weakening over time, but that was the first time I’ve seen any real evidence of it.”
“But why would it be weakening?”
“There’s speculation that has to do with how magical botanists’ powers have decreased over time.”
“I heard something about it getting recharged on midsummer. Who recharges it?”
“The founders’ descendants. Or, if none of them arestudying at the school in a given year, recent alumni or upcoming students will come to charge it.”
“Founders’ descendants?” I raised a brow at the unfamiliar term.
“Descendants of the original botanists who created the school. Founders’ descendants’ affinities are super powerful, and most of them have multiple. Plus, when the founders created the school, they infused their magic into the soil here, effectively ensuring that their descendants would be the only ones who could charge the school’s verdant shield. It keeps power in the family, I guess.” She made a face suggesting what she thought of that arrangement.
Coral and Aurielle joined our breakfast then.
“So, you’ve got your last two tests today,” Yasmin said, changing the subject. “Ferns”—she grinned at the mention of one of her affinities, and the ferns in the room shimmied—“and defensive plants.”
“Do you know which test I’ll have first?”
“You already met Professor Sato when you tested for mosses. She’ll test you for the ferns too. Since it’s affinity studies day, I’ll be working with her for most of it. You can start with that then meet up with Professor East for the defensive plants test. He never arrives until after lunch since he teaches at SCC.”
Yasmin finished her toast as I polished off my oatmeal, not wanting to leave one drop of the delicious meal in the bowl. “Friday mornings are a little slow around here. Everyone gets started on their affinity studies at their own pace. Well, except for Dr. Lemna’s students. Do you want to do a walk around the pond before your fern test?”
When I agreed, we said goodbye to Coral and Aurielle theneach prepared a mug of tea to go before making our way outside. The late September mornings were starting to feel chilly, and I zipped up my sweatshirt.
“So, what do you think of the academy so far?”
We approached the pond, and I smiled as dragonflies whizzed across it, hovering centimeters above the lily pads and water hyacinth. A few students sat in the nearest gazebo, chatting with mugs in hand. One of them was strumming a guitar.
“It’s… incredible,” I said, not able to fully express my thoughts. The tests had been flying at me so quickly all week that I’d hardly had time to process what I’d seen and experienced.
