“I’m sure they did. But like I said, I don’t know the current status of it.”
Yasmin gasped, and each of us swiveled our heads toward her. “Your family keeps a close eye on a plant, B.”
“What are you—oh!” I exclaimed, catching her meaning. “Rosie?”
Yasmin nodded. “Think about it. The plant has been kept in your family for generations. None of us has been able to identify it. What if it’s actually been in your family for hundreds of years?”
“You think someone transported it across continents?” I asked.
“Maybe. All they would have needed is a cutting. Perhaps the plant grew somewhere in the United States too. Without knowing what it is, it’s impossible to say for sure. Think about it. How many families do you know that keep a family plant?”
Callan and Eli raised their hands, and Yasmin waved them off with a shake of her hand. “Okay, magical botanist families are obviously an exception. But your family didn’t know they were magical botanists for at least a few generations. So why were they carefully preserving Rosie?”
My pulse was racing. Yasmin was right. She had to be. “Yasmin, you’re brilliant. I’ll swing by my aunt’s house tonight to take a fresh cutting, then we can experiment with trying to activate it.”
“It’s a solid lead,” Callan said, clapping Eli on the shoulder.
“Thank you so much for your help, Eli,” I said. “This is far more information than we started with.”
“I’m glad I could help, even if I couldn’t provide specifics. My tribe is aware of what’s been going on at the academy and in the Society, and they’re prepared to isolate themselves even further if things in the Society don’t settle down, but we younger generations don’t want that. I hope to be practicing medicine with this guy one day.” He nodded toward Callan.
An usher came our way then, signaling that the show was about to start. The four of us went inside and found seats together.
As the play unfolded, I tried to stay in the moment, marveling at the amazing work of the acting students and appreciating the way the props and costumes we had been creating for months came together to bring the show to life. When our flower prop had its big moment, I leaned in a little closer.
Cupid’s bow struck the flower, and as we had planned, the touch activated the little cells inside the flower, and they lit up, running tiny lights of electricity through the petals and stem. Yasmin elbowed me and smiled at the gasps of delight from the audience.
When the show ended, we stood with the rest of the crowd, clapping loudly until the curtain was closed. When I finally couldn’t be patient any longer, I waded through the crowd toward the exit, eager to get to my aunt and Bryce’s house.
Callan and Yasmin were right on my heels when we reached the parking lot and said goodbye to Eli. We didn’t have a moment to spare.
It was time to figure out what, if anything, our family rose bush was hiding.
Chapter Forty-Three
“Are you going to sneak up and take a cutting, or are you going to tell your aunt what you’re doing?” Yasmin asked as we pulled up in front of Aunt Vera’s home.
“I don’t see Bryce’s car, so it’s just my aunt here. I’ll tell her so she doesn’t think someone is trying to raid her flower beds.”
“Want us to come?” Callan asked.
When I nodded, we left the car and walked to the house. Callan and Yasmin waited by Rosie while I went in the house and found my aunt watching television.
“Hey, B. I didn’t know you were coming over tonight,” she said, pausing her show.
“Sorry, it wasn’t planned. I’m here for Evergreen Academy reasons. Can I take a cutting of Rosie?”
Aunt Vera stood up, looking intrigued. “Are you going to use your flower witch skills?”
I laughed. “Magical botanist skills, Aunt Vera. Want tohelp? We could test out what we’re trying to do here if you have any fertilizer.”
“I have a few bags in the garage. Take your cutting and come right in.” She glanced out the door and waved at Callan and Yasmin.
I took the cutting, and soon, we were all gathered around the dining room table. “We’re trying to activate some genes in Rosie,” I explained. “She’s been in our family a long time, and we think she might be an ingredient in some magic we’re trying to do.”
“Really?” Aunt Vera looked surprised. “I guess I always wondered what the history was behind her. The only thing we were told growing up was that we couldn’t let Rosie die, and we had to keep her in the family.”
Callan, Yasmin, and I exchanged meaningful glances. That boded well, based on what Eli had told us. I took some of the fertilizer and spread it onto the soil containing the cutting.
