“I wouldn’t miss it. Though why anyone would want to see my work is beyond me.”
“Do you mind if I break off here?” I eyed the tree houses, and Yasmin smiled.
“It’s not truly summer until you wrap things up with your tutor, right?” she teased.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes, but there was truth to what she had said. I knew there was one more person I needed to say goodbye to before leaving Evergreen Academy for the summer.
Callan was boxing up supplies in the tree house when I found him. I’d had to climb the tree the old-fashionedway—using the rungs—since my tree affinity magic didn’t work on campus. When I was with Callan, I mourned the loss of it more than any other time. I missed walking through the trees with him, practicing Floracantus in that unique, intuitive way of his.
“Were you planning to leave without saying goodbye?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow at the boxes he was filling.
“Hello to you too.” He raised a hand and murmured words I didn’t catch, sending the boxes drifting out the hole in the tree. They nestled softly on the ground below.
“Are you packing up the entire tree house?”
“Just my favorite bits,” Callan said, but the spark of humor that I was used to expecting in his voice was gone. I studied him more closely then, stomach dropping at how tired he looked. His hair was slightly disheveled, and there were faint circles under his eyes.
“When are you leaving?” I tried to keep my voice even, implying that the question was neutral, even though it wasn’t. It had already been hard to say goodbye to Coral and Aurielle, and I was glad I had a few more days with Yasmin, but soon she’d be leaving too.
Once Yasmin and Callan left, all my friends from Evergreen Academy would be gone, and I’d be surrounded by people who only knew one side of me. I wouldn’t be able to talk about magical botany, Floracantus, being descended from Leonardo da Vinci, or any of the other amazing discoveries I’d made this year. The idea made my stomach twist.
“This weekend. My parents have already planned networking activities for me over the summer.”
“I’m sorry. Did you saynetworking?” I barked out a laugh, but Callan’s face remained impassive.
“Their specialty. If I had it my way, I’d stay here all summer, continuing my research on the tree medicinals. But it is what it is.” He rubbed at his jaw.
“So I guess I won’t see you until August, then?”
“I thought I’d be back on the summer solstice to recharge the shields, but after what happened to me at the vernal equinox, I’m not sure if plans are going to change.”
My heart leapt at the thought of seeing him again at the end of June—of being a part of this world again, even if briefly—instead of having to wait all the way until August. But then I remembered how injured he’d been after putting too much of himself into the recharge, and I told myself not to be selfish. Professor East would do what was right for the school and for his students. That included Callan just as it included me.
“Well, you have my number if you need to get ahold of me. Unless I should only expect messages to come through the leaves?” I was baiting him, since I’d given him my number but still didn’t have his. We communicated only at school or during those few times he’d sent me leaf messages.
Callan smiled mischievously then, and I felt a tug of happiness that I’d momentarily drawn him out of whatever unpleasant place he’d been in his mind.
“Let’s make a deal. If you initiate a message in the leaves, and it makes it to me, I’ll text you once I receive it.”
“But that’s super-advanced magical botany! You know I don’t know how to do that.” My return messages had reached him only due to the complexity of his own magic. I’d had nothing to do with it.
He was leaning back against the interior of the tree, forearms folded over his chest, tattoos on display. His head casuallyrested on the wall. It was a stance I’d seen him take so many times, and yet it felt charged in that moment, like we were standing face-to-face.
Just then, a breeze whipped up, and a few soft green leaves rushed up and tenderly grazed the sides of my neck before falling to the floor. Callan grinned, and the sight melted my heart.
“Then I guess you’ll need to practice, local.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
When the night of the SCC art gala came around, I put on a black dress and some teardrop earrings and fixed my hair into an elegant updo, so unlike my standard casual waves. I even decided to wear kitten heels—usually totally off-limits—and hoped my feet wouldn’t hate me by the end of the evening.
I met Yasmin at the library on campus where our class was hosting the gala. We set up our submissions along with our classmates, and our instructor came by to wish us luck on our public showing. We were each allowed to submit three works, so I had entered two of my drawings plus the painting I had done for the Floral Fete at Evergreen Academy.
“I shouldn’t have put mine next to yours,” Yasmin whined. “Yours are so much better.”
“Stop that. You were working withcharcoal. I haven’t even touched that medium. I’m so impressed withhow they came out.”
Yasmin beamed and straightened her shoulders slightly. I wasn’t sure if I should ask her if she had invited anyone to the gala. After all, she wasn’t from the area, and I didn’t know if her family was able to travel for something like this.
