“So I’m guessing you came to stop us from harming Frank,” I said.
“From harming Frank, yes. But not from undoing the spell.”
My eyes widened, a dash of hope invigorating me as much as the warm tea. “You know how to undo it?”
“Oh yes. That was built into the blocking Floracantus. Our family always said that when the time was right, we could break the magic on Frank with the help of a botanist with every affinity power.” Oren’s attention locked on me. “I’m guessing that’s you.”
My mind swirled as I tried to process what Oren was saying. How did his family know that I would show up one day? Or maybe it wasn’t me specifically, but the undoing of the spell could happen at any point, so long as someone with every affinity power emerged.
“Have you got your hands on the quill, then?” Oren continued, not waiting for confirmation of my powers.
I exchanged glances with Callan. It seemed we had no choice but to trust Oren.
“Perhaps,” Callan said evasively.
“Good. I try to stay well away from the rest of the society, as I’m comfortable in my little world, but rumors of discontenthave reached even me. If it’s time to get this book back and fulfill the duties of my family, I’m ready to do it.”
“You say you need to work with Briar to break the spell on Frank,” Callan said, a hint of caution in his voice. “What do you mean by that?”
“It means I’ll be teaching her a new Floracantus. Ready to head back out? Briar and I have work to do.”
Chapter Three
Isipped my mug of bergamot jasmine tea while Oren explained what I needed to know to undo the blocking Floracantus woven into Frank’s cells. I used my fern and tree affinities to hover protective fronds over myself and Oren, which sent the rain droplets dripping around us in a dazzling curtain of water.
Callan sat on a tree limb about fifteen feet away, his legs dangling. Though he wasn’t standing next to me, a slight breeze to the back of my neck told me he was there if I needed him.
“The trick is to connect with as many parts of the tree as possible, since the blocking Floracantus is spread throughout it. Try to hold your attention on the roots, bark, and leaves at the same time,” Oren explained.
I closed my eyes and practiced, reaching out to Frank and connecting with as much of the majestic oak as possible.
Once I had successfully connected to the gargantuan tree a few times, Oren nodded. “Very good. Now, say the FloracantusI shared. I’ll join you. Make sure to hold on to each cell as you say it.”
“Solve venas,” I said, reciting a Floracantus I had never known until a few minutes earlier. I strained with all my might to hold on to my mental connection with every part of Frank’s mass.
“Solve venas,” Oren said, adding his power to mine.
As the words flowed out of me, a snapping sensation rippled through my body. I gasped as the tension broke, and I turned to Oren with my eyes wide.
He smiled. “Take a look.” He nodded toward Frank.
I returned my focus to the tree, and for a few seconds, the branches flashed a brilliant green before returning to their dull winter brown.
“The blocking spell is gone,” Oren said. “And since we removed it here, the magic in the other trees in the network, including the cuttings around town, should rapidly diminish.”
“Just like that?” I asked, a smile spreading over my face.Frank was still alive.
“Just like that,” Oren said, mirroring my smile.
An instant later, Callan was on the ground, standing at my side. He reached out a hand and placed it on Frank’s bark. “I can sense that the Floracantus is gone. And Frank looks none the worse for it.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat, overwhelmingly glad that the stately tree remained alive and well.
“What was that Floracantus?” Callan asked Oren.
“One my family’s been holding on to for a very long time. That and the one we used to boost the blocking spell each yearare the only ones we know that aren’t in theCompendium Floracantus.”
“Think they came from theVanished Compendium?” Callan asked, referencing the very book we were after.
