“Alex was a student here a few years ago. The instructors would have recognized him. Enrolling at SCC gave him plausible cover to be in town and to engage with some of the dual-enrolled students from SCC and Evergreen Academy if needed.”
“You expect me to believe that his selecting Briar as his target was mere chance?” Callan’s voice oozed disbelief.
“Not mere chance, no. We gained intelligence early in the school year that a new student who was local to the area and unfamiliar with our world had joined. She seemed like a promising dual-enrolled student to keep tabs on, as she was unlikely to be suspicious of a new friend seeking her out at Siskiyous Community College.”
I tried not to be offended by that, and Wyatt wasn’t wrong. Ihadn’tsuspected Alex in the least, not while we’d still been friends anyway.
“And what about dating her friend Maci? Didn’t that seema little over the line? Or are there no professional boundaries at the DBI?” Callan asked.
“As soon as I found out about that, I recalled Alex from the field immediately. It’s why he never returned from winter break. Trust me. The DBI is handling it, and he will receive plenty of training before—if—he’s allowed back into the field.”
I could tell Callan wanted to ask more questions, to grill Wyatt further, but I was ready to move on. Neither Maci nor I was damaged by Alex. There were more important things to discuss. “So, if Alex wasn’t the one poisoning the shield, did you get intel on who was?”
Wyatt cast his gaze to Callan before refocusing on me. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Who was it?” I leaned forward. The question had been hanging over my head for so long.
Wyatt cleared his throat before answering. “It was our mother.”
Callan’s shoulders tensed then drooped, as if he’d just received news he was expecting but hoped would never come. “We thought Alex might be working for her.”
“That was a good guess. It wasn’t her directly,” Wyatt continued. “She arranged for a student here to do it. It’s my understanding that student got expelled for spiking cupcakes at the Floral Fete last year, but by that point, the soil was already severely compromised.”
I sucked in a breath. So it was true. Callan’s mom had hired or convinced a student to poison the verdant shield. But the studenthadn’tbeen Alex. He had been working for the DBI all along.
Another thought occurred to me then, and my fingersformed fists, which I hid by stuffing my hands under my legs. If Alex had been working for the DBI when he attended the wedding, it meant the DBI were the ones responsible for activating my aunt’s powers.
“Why did Alex activate my aunt’s powers?” The words shot out of me before I could stop myself.
Wyatt winced almost imperceptibly, and again, there was a touch of surprise. He obviously hadn’t come into the meeting aware of how much Callan and I had pieced together about his agent. “That decision came from… higher up. Once word got out into the society that you were a descendant of Leonardo da Vinci and had all the lead affinity powers, the DBI began digging into your family tree.”
At the affronted look on my face, he put up his hands. “Standard practice. Your aunt was your only close living relative on the da Vinci side. The DBI has always had a division working on finding theVanished Compendium—a different division from the one I work in—and they saw their opening. An agent, code name Cobralily, gave Alex the directive to get a da Vinci journal to your aunt. It was shortly after that when I learned how close Alex had gotten with your friend and I pulled him from the academy mission.”
My mind was spinning as I processed all that had been happening behind the scenes for the past year and even longer. I still didn’t know what I was going to do about my aunt’s powers and whether I should tell her. We were both in a terrible position, and the DBI had put us there against our wishes.
“Is my aunt off limits now, or is the DBI’sVanished Compendiumteam still after her?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“She was still being considered as a remote option, but now that you just put that book on display…” He let the implication sink in. “I don’t think they have a need for her. Why stealthily acquire a book when it’s already public for the world to see?”
I relaxed a little at the confirmation of what we had hoped.
“And if my word means anything to either of you, I’ll do my best to ensure that theVanished Compendiumteam pulls your aunt’s name from the files.”
Callan glanced at his brother but remained quiet.
“I would appreciate that.” I took a deep breath. Since the questions about my aunt were out of the way, I wanted to circle back to the revelation about Wendy Rhodes and the Board. “Why did your mom arrange for the shield to be poisoned? Was it to gain access to the school?” I asked, remembering Callan’s hypothesis.
Wyatt nodded. “Seems like it. Look around. Feathergrass, our mom’s close friend and ally, is now in charge of the academy. The Board of Regents has more influence than ever. My best guess is that they created the appearance of things breaking down at the academy so they could swoop in and gain more control.”
“Creating a problem so they could be the ones to fix it,” Callan murmured, giving a light shake of his head. “Unbelievable.”
“Who all knows about this?”
“Just a few officials assigned to this task force at the DBI. Given the identities of those involved, we’ve had to tread carefully.”
“Does Mom know that you know?” Callan asked.
Wyatt shook his head. “We’ve been cautious in our informationgathering. As far as we can tell, she and Feathergrass think they’re in the clear.”
