All heads in the circle whipped to mine, though no one removed their hand from the soil.
“Briar,” Callan said quietly, pronouncing both syllables of my name so distinctly that it sent a shiver down my spine.
“I have to try.” The words came out in a whisper, but with the silence that had fallen over the area, I knew they’d all heard me. I looked to Professor East, our eyes meeting, and he nodded, though his expression was tight.
“Wait—” Callan said sharply, but before he could reiterate all the protests I already knew, I thrust my hand into the circle and touched the soil inside the ring of stones.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
At first, I didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. But then a vibration seemed to roll slowly from my hand and up through my arms, and I was cast backward with such force that I found myself sprawled on my back. I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me.
Distantly, I heard Callan curse from his place in the circle. Professor East ran to my side, but I sat up, protesting against the throbbing in my head, anxious to know what was happening with the shield.
I cradled my wrist, knowing something was wrong with it but not being able to process anything but the group of people in front of me, their hands still touching the soil.
Callan locked eyes with me, and something flickered across his expression that I couldn’t read. I realized what he was going to do a second too late, and my entire body tensed. I opened my mouth to ask him to stop, but I wasn’t quick enough.Don’t do it.
Wordlessly, he thrust his second hand into the soil. Everyone in the circle gasped as something I couldn’t feel passed through them, and I felt the surge of energy on my ring finger again.
I leaned forward, heart racing. I didn’t know all the intricacies of how charging the verdant shield worked, but I did know that the founders’ descendants always charged it with one hand, careful to let the soil take only a fragment of their magic.
Callan had just blown through that rule. A tremor passed through his body, and I struggled to my feet, fear spreading through my veins.
And then Callan fell to the ground, unconscious.
“Why didhe give so much? Didn’t he learn from Eli?” I was barely avoiding shouting as I spoke to Nevah outside of the healing room where Callan was being treated by Professor Sage.
“He didn’t feel he had any other choice. I was considering doing it myself, but I didn’t gather the courage before Callan did. The window of the equinox was closing.” Nevah turned toward me and looked me up and down.
“The real question is why didyoudo what you did? You’re not going to be able to work with any of the plants on academy grounds now! My stupid, elitist ancestors have essentially cursed you.”
I cringed and leaned my head back against the wall. I’d beenso focused on what happened to Callan that I hardly had time to process the fact that I’d gambled my heritage… and lost.
“I just felt like I had to. As you said, the window was closing. If the school doesn’t have a shield…” I flexed my wrist, nothing but a slight soreness there now. Eli had healed my aching wrist with a salve of herbs he slathered across my forearm and hand. I’d barely noticed him doing it in all my fear of what was going on with Callan.
Nevah sighed, but she slipped her arm around my waist. “Let’s get you a warm shower. Can you stay the night here? I don’t think you should be driving.”
When I nodded, Nevah guided me into the elevator, apparently deciding the stairs were too much for me at the moment. On the second-floor landing, I saw Yasmin, Coral, and Aurielle gathered outside Yasmin’s door.
“There you are!” Yasmin whispered, a relieved note in her tone. “We’ve been so worried. Our gems did something weird, and then we couldn’t find you anywhere.” She seemed to notice the way Nevah was steadying me. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“Briar needs a shower and another dose of healing salve before she explains anything. I’ll bring her back to your room after, if she’s up to it.”
“Another dose? B, are you okay?” Yasmin’s eyes were wide, and concern flooded each of their faces.
“I’m fine. I’ll fill you all in soon, okay?” My friends stared as we walked past them. Nevah’s room was larger than Yasmin’s, and she had her own private bathroom. The founders had been elitist indeed.
I used her shower, which was filled with aquatic plants andherbs, and hoped that my hair would come out as silky as hers always was. Then I shook my head at the ridiculousness of that thought after everything that had just happened. Maybe it was my brain’s way of trying to calm me down—focus on things like vanity to distract myself from my worry.
Once I was dressed, Nevah brought the remaining healing salve Eli had given her.
“I think Eli took care of your wrist in his initial pass, but you were thrown back pretty hard. This will help with any potential bumps and bruises in other places.”
I slathered the salve all over my tailbone, arms, and hips, which had broken most of my fall. The soreness that had started to settle in during my shower began to ease.
“Thanks, Nevah. I guess I’d better go explain what happened to my friends.”
She nodded. “Just ask them to keep it to themselves, okay? I don’t know what Professor East is going to want to share with the broader school.”
