“It’s pretty remarkable that you have all the affinities,” Nevah said as we neared the top of the skill hill. “What does Professor East think about it?”
“I’m not really sure. We’re still figuring it out.”
We reached the top of the ski hill, and the three of us got off the lift, Maci and Alex a chair behind us. After we strapped in, Callan slid by me on his toe edge and said quietly, “See if you can feel the trees as you go down the mountain.”
My head snapped up in response. “I thought you said I wouldn’t have to worry about anything while we were out here?”
“You don’t. But I’m not here just because I like to snowboard. Consider this your second lesson.”
“But how do I fe—” I didn’t get to finish asking my question because Callan was already gone, racing into the powder in the trees.
I hastened to follow him and do what he’d suggested, but by the end of the first run, I hadn’t felt anything unusual. I’d enjoyed skimming across the sugary snow and slicing through the trees with my friends, but I hadn’t felt anything out of the norm. I asked Callan and Nevah about it on the next chairlift ride.
“Am I doing something wrong?”
“It’s probably hard for both of us to explain, since we’ve been doing this since we were kids,” Nevah said, “but you’ve got to open yourself up to hearing from the plants you want to connect with.”
“How do I do that?”
“Trees have an ancient lifespan compared to most other plants,” Callan said. “Their presence is not so insistent as you’ll find other types of plants to be. Instead, they are more of a steady drumbeat of a presence. When you’re in the trees, try to tune everything else out, clear your mind, and allow yourself to be still. That’s when you’ll hear them.”
I wasn’t convinced that any of that was going to work, but I vowed to give it a shot. “Maybe we could go out to the chairlift that’s tucked away on the other side of the resort. It’s secluded and less busy. Would it help me tune out some of the noise?”
“Worth a shot,” Callan said.
When we reached the top of the chairlift, I suggested it to Maci. “Want to do a run on Gray Butte?”
She turned to Alex and shook her head. “I don’t think he can get over there yet.” Maci had been patiently teaching Alex how to use the falling leaf method on his way down the hill while the three of us had been ducking into the powder between the trees. “Why don’t you three go without us? We can meet up for lunch in a couple hours.”
Alex looked like he was going to protest but ultimately turned and followed Maci as she began her descent.
Callan, Nevah, and I made our way to the chairlift that wastucked away from the rest of the resort, no signs of parking lots or lodges in sight. It was much less busy here, and the quiet could almost be physically felt. Only the soft whir of the chairlift and the low whistle of a breeze cut the stillness of the air.
“You got this,” Callan said as we began our first run on the secluded hill. “Clear your mind.”
As I sent my body down the hill, I pushed out all thoughts of affinity powers, of Maci and Alex, of the secrets I was keeping from Maci and Aunt Vera, of all the constant anxieties that simmered under the surface about my future, and focused instead on the cool air against my face, the sound of the snow as my board slid across it, the crisp smell of the mountain.
And then something shifted within me, and I felt my eyes grow wide as I experienced the sensation as clear as day. I could hear the trees… communicating with one another. I could sense the rustle of roots reaching out from tree to tree, the sound of water moving up from the ground. I felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest. I slowed as I made my way down the mountain, taking it all in.
“You felt it,” Callan said softly. I hadn’t noticed that he’d come up beside me or even that I’d made it back to the chairlift. I nodded. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“It’s… It’s like a whole new dimension has been unlocked.”
Callan smiled, and I couldn’t help smiling in return when he said, “Welcome to the world of magical botanists, local.”
Chapter Forty-Three
The second session at Evergreen Academy began to pick up steam, and I got into the swing of my new classes—Chemistry of Plants, which took place in the greenhouse by the pond, my Kitchen Botany rotation with Professor Sage, Biological Applications of Physics, and Latin.
I worked with the various affinity groups on my rotating schedules on Fridays then alternated working with Callan and Nevah in the evenings. I was grateful that both were willing to dedicate so much time to me.
I quickly discovered that Nevah was a kind and dedicated teacher. Her methods were slightly different from Callan’s, but I realized that Callan had been right. It was good for me to experience the disparate ways they approached their powers.
Callan’s power seemed to flow naturally, as if using it were an extension of using a limb. Nevah, though, was more intentional. She chose which Floracantus to use strategically andtaught me how to be methodical in researching the right Floracantus for the task at hand.
Under Nevah’s direction, I learned that if I wanted a lily pad to spin in a circle, I needed to find a Floracantus specific to that species. If I wanted all of the lily pads in the pond to spin together, I needed to modify the end of the Floracantus to be plural.
I was quickly filling my copy ofCompendium Floracantuswith color-coded sticky notes and sketches around the margins. Leaves and pressed flowers had been inserted on vital pages as bookmarks. From the outside, it probably looked like I’d been in possession of the book for years, not a few months.
