We spentthe rest of the late afternoon visiting the various activity stations and the research booths that the second-year students had put on display. We tried the potluck appetizers from the harvesters and the tea innovations from the herbals, casting votes for our favorites. At sunset, we all took seats at a series of large circular wood tables for dinner.
Professor East rose, and we turned in his direction. The pond was at his back, and the sunset and the mountain reflected majestically onto the water. I had a strong desire to pull out my notebook and sketch the scene—or even paint it. The sight lent itself perfectly to watercolor, a medium we’d been exploring in my Art II class at SCC this semester.
Professor East clinked his glass, and the group quieted. “We have some very special guests celebrating the vernal equinox with us tonight. I’d like to welcome three members of the Magical Botanical Board of Regents. Oliver Saxson.” Professor East nodded toward a tall Black man wearing a deep blue suit that appeared slightly whimsical in its stitching, who stood and nodded then took his seat.
“And Solomon and Wendy Rhodes.” The two stood up, and my eyes gravitated to the woman, who had sun-kissed olive skin and dark locks pulled into an effortless, loose, wavy bun.
Wait. Had Professor East said their last name was Rhodes? My eyes shot to Callan, who was sitting across the clearing with some of the other tree affinities. His eyes met mine briefly, and his jaw tensed ever so slightly.
“I see where Callan gets his looks from. His dad is kinda hot, and his mom is a smoke show,” Coral whispered, confirming my suspicions.
The hot bloom of surprise formed in my stomach and planted a seed of disbelief in my brain. Solomon and Wendy, two members of the Magical Botanical Board of Regents, were Callan’s parents.
Chapter Fifty-Six
“You never told me your parents were on the Magical Botanical Board of Regents!” I whisper-hissed when Callan approached me after the dinner.
“It never came up.” He put a hand on my back, gently guiding me away from any prying ears.
“Never came up? Surely one of the times we were discussing the board would have been a good time to mention it.”
Callan winced. “I wasn’t sure how to… explain it.”
I let out a deep breath. I wasn’t truly mad at Callan. He was even more tangled up in all of this than I’d realized. I thought about everything Nevah had said on the rowboat, about not wanting Callan to be alone next year. Had she truly thought that his own parents were going to cause a problem for him?
“Let’s just hope everything goes smoothly with the recharging. Your parents have agreed to help?”
“My father is just tagging along. He’s not a founder’sdescendant. But between my mom and Saxson, Professor East thinks it should be enough.”
Saxson. He said the name of the other regent so casually, I realized that he must have grown up in a circle of people even more powerful than I’d assumed from a founder’s descendant.
I nodded, my brain processing the increase in power the founders’ descendants would have. With two more people, their odds of charging the shield successfully were greatly increased. I was about to ask Callan more about his parents when Eli Quinn appeared at our side. “It’s time.”
Callan nodded and squared his shoulders. “I’ll find you after,” he said to me.
“Shouldn’t I come, just in case?”
“Just in case what? You know the consequences if you aren’t a founder’s descendant. We can’t risk it. It’s out of the question.” His jaw clenched again.
I nodded and watched Callan and the rest of the group walk away until they disappeared into the trees, then I quickened my pace to follow.
I found a hiding place behind a massive lilac bush and watched as the five founders’ descendants—Eli, Nevah, Callan, Oliver Saxon, and Wendy Rhodes—surrounded the stone circle on the ground. Professor East and Callan’s father stood off to the side. A breeze blew a few sprigs of lilac into my hair, and I inhaled deeply, the delicious scent calming me slightly.
The founders’ descendants stepped into the ring and knelt, touching their hands to the soil as one. I felt a vibration around my ring finger, and I nodded with relief. It was working.
But the sensation lasted for only a second, and the warmth that usually accompanied it petered out.
“The charge isn’t holding,” I heard Eli Quinn say. “We don’t have enough power.”
Their heads collectively turned to Professor East, who stepped forward. He looked at the sky and then at his watch, expression grave. “There’s less than an hour left of the equinox. We won’t be able to get another founder’s descendent here on time.”
My hands clenched into balls as I saw the realization wash over each of them. They weren’t going to be able to charge the verdant shield tonight. The salt and cadmium that was poisoning the soil had increased to such a level that even this group wasn’t going to be able to establish a full recharge.
That meant the school was going to be without magical protection until the summer solstice.
I inhaled another strong whiff of the lilacs and rolled my shoulders back. Without pondering it for another second, I stepped out from my hiding place.
“I’m here too.”
