“Feathergrass is doing random room checks.”
“Thanks. I’ll be right there.”
I gasped, pulling back and sitting up straight. “Room checks? What is he checking for?”
“Evidence of the pranks that have been pulled on him lately, maybe. Or just flexing his power after you showed him up at the Floral Fete. Why? Have something in there you don’t want him to find?” he teased, and I wanted to wipe the smirk off his facewith the kiss we’d just been talking about, but I needed to get back. Clearly, the tree affinities wanted Callan there to supervise too.
“No, theVanished Compendiumis secured with both of our protections in the secret room, but Yasmin is going to have a heart attack if our room gets searched. Even though she’s one of the most rule-following people I know, this is going to stress her out. I want to be there for moral support.”
With a reluctant sigh, Callan scooted back his stool, putting space between us. “Sounds like Leif is on edge too. Can I walk you back to your room?”
“Only if you can keep up.” I winked then dashed out of the tree house and onto the nearest branch.
“Cheater!” Callan called, and I could hear the laugh in his voice as he came after me.
Chapter Forty-Two
When opening night forA Midsummer Night’s Dreamarrived, Yasmin and I finished arranging the props backstage, told the actors to break a leg, then headed to the box office to meet the rest of our party. The theater was buzzing with the anticipatory energy that would persist until the curtains were opened and the show began. Guests flowed in a steady stream from the ticket counter through the doors to the auditorium.
Callan and Eli were already there, a little overdressed for a community college play, but they blended in with the other college students well enough.
“Hey, Eli,” I said, greeting him with a warm smile. “How has life outside the academy been treating you?”
“Pretty good. I’ve been working with a homeopathic doctor in the area. We’ve been doing some good work.” Eli looked just as I remembered, with a topknot of dark hair, warm brown eyes, and a stature that would make anyone think he was aprofessional bodybuilder, not one of the area’s best medicinal healers.
“Putting that famous herbs affinity to good use,” I said.
Eli shrugged, but there was a smile behind his eyes. “Trying to. It’s hard enough for people to get medical care here, especially in some of the more remote areas. Whatever I can do to help.”
“Speaking of,” Callan said, nodding toward a space in the corner of the lobby. We went to it and huddled together. “Do you have anything you can share with us?”
“Some,” Eli said to Callan before turning to Yasmin and me. “Rhodes told me you’re researching the familial connection to making Floracantus, and you remembered the one I used last year.”
“That’s right,” I said, leaning forward. “Can you tell us how it works?”
“The Floracantus I used for increasing the nutrients in the soil is one that my people have used as long as I can remember. Each year, we give our soil a boost with that magic. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to grow most of our own food despite the soil quality not being great on the tribal lands.
“But when I was twelve or so, I was warned never to use it in front of outsiders. That’s when I learned that the Floracantus we used wasn’t in theCompendium Floracantus. It was created by one of my ancestors at least a century ago, probably longer.”
“Are there other Floracantus your tribe created?” I asked.
Eli shook his head. “That’s the only one I know of. There were more at one point, but as our people were displaced and we moved around, those traditions were lost. The one for the soil quality is the only one we managed to maintain.”
I swallowed, considering his words. “I know it’s a long shot, but do you know anything about how the Floracantus were created back then?”
“Not much. But there is one thing I can tell you. My older relatives talked about a specific plant that was important to our tribe. It was an herb that was native to the region. Oral tradition said that the plant had something to do with how the Floracantus was created.”
Callan’s expression told me he was paying close attention, considering every word Eli said. “A specific plant? You don’t know which one?”
Eli shook his head. “Sorry, no. I don’t know if it’s even growing in our area anymore.”
“Do you know what they did with the plant? What kind of role it played in the process?” Yasmin asked.
Eli shrugged. “I always heard that they had to activate the magical genes in the plant and that the genes were dormant otherwise. Lore has it they did it by adding extra fertilizer to the soil. I don’t know what the composition was specifically. But all the stories claimed the new Floracantus couldn’t be created without the activated plant.”
I considered his words. Would I need to use the same plant? As soon as I’d thought it, I discredited the idea. It didn’t seem likely that Leonardo da Vinci had used the same plant in Italy that Eli’s ancestors had used in Northern California.
“Whatever plant this was, I’m sure your family kept a close eye on it?” Callan asked.
