“How come all the water isn’t rushing in through the entrance pool we just came in?”
“There’s a special valve, made by magically enhanced plants and the mangrove roots, back there where it narrows. I tried to point it out but obviously couldn’t explain it. Once you pass through there, the water is secured, and the quantity doesn’t shift through the passage.”
“How does our luggage get in?” I asked, remembering where we had dropped off our items into the strange chute.
“An air tunnel runs near the path we swam in. Anything that needs to stay dry is sent in through there on a conveyor system along the sea shelf. Let’s go see if they’re here yet.”
We collected our bags from a window identical to the one in the building where we’d dropped them off, then Nevah led us down a narrow hallway. It felt like being in a large submarine but with an aquarium viewing window above. She tapped on a door to the left, which had a water lily painted in the center. “That’s my room. You’ll be a few down in a guest pod.”
We continued along the hallway until Nevah stopped and opened a different door, which had a seashell painted on the front.
I inhaled sharply as I stepped inside. The entire opposite wall was made of glass and had a view of a splendid coral reef. It was like a rare underwater hotel from a travel magazine. “I get to sleep here?” I asked, disbelieving.
I continued to stare through the wall, where seagrass lined the floor against the glass, and fish darted in every direction.
“When I first got here, I don’t think I slept for a week. There are special lights you can turn on that don’t affect the sea life but allow you to see outside at night. I couldn’t stop staring.”
“I wish I had my paint supplies,” I said, suddenly itching for a brush or at least my sketchpad.
“I think there are some art supplies around here.” Nevah dropped my bag onto a chair. “Look around and get settled. I’ll take Nalin to his room. It’s just three down from yours.”
After sliding my backpack off my shoulders, I stood there for a few moments, marveling at the ocean.
Before long, a soft knock at the door interrupted my awe. Nevah pushed it open. “Are you hungry?”
As if on cue, my stomach growled. Even though it was well after dark in Florida, back home, it was dinnertime. I followed her and Nalin through the hallway again, bringing my backpack—and the quill—with me.
Our route returned us to the central room we had swum into then to a large commercial kitchen area. Nevah pulled a few glass containers from a fridge and got them heating in the microwave.
“Please tell me there’s saltwater taffy in here,” Nalin said, peeking into the cupboards.
“Plenty. And there are some seaweed crisps on that shelf there.” Nevah pointed.
Once she had given us each a warmed snack pack of fish, rice, and cooked seaweed, we settled onto beanbag chairs in a private corner of the lounge area. Each of the plush seats was shaped like an open shell. The ocean overhead was slightly lit so that we could see the marine life flitting above us. Those must be the special lights Nevah had mentioned.
A kettle whistled from the kitchen, and Nevah fetched it then returned with a tray of glass jars filled to the top with loose-leaf teas and honeys. “Even underwater, magical botanistsmust have their tea,” she said as she set the tray on the table in front of us.
A man about our age came over and kissed Nevah on the cheek. He was of Pacific Islander descent, and he squished himself into the clamshell chair Nevah was occupying.
“Briar, Nalin, this is Kai. Kai, meet my friends.”
“Hey, Nalin. Always nice to meet a fellow aquatic.” He turned to me. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Briar. Sorry our time at Evergreen Academy never overlapped.”
“Same. Nice to meet you,” I said, noticing he had the muscled arms of a strong swimmer.
“So, Nalin, you didn’t go into much detail about why you wanted to be placed in a study here for the week or why you”—Nevah nodded toward me—“were tagging along.”
I sat up straighter and rested my chopsticks against the side of the bowl then did a quick scan of the area. Aquatics didn’t have access to scouting vine magic, but looking for them before sharing anything private was ingrained in me.
Nevah noticed the movement. “Don’t worry. There is no one to overhear us.”
I nodded but leaned in closer and lowered my voice. “Are you familiar with theVanished Compendium?”
Nevah’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “The fabled missing book of Floracantus.”
“We think it’s here. Or near here,” I said. Then I filled them in on everything the Root and Vine Society had been up to the past few months, including our trip to the tree conservatory to acquire the quill.
“When we checked the quill at the airstrip, it said we were less than twenty miles from it,” Nalin finished.
