The branches of the nearest trees began to grow and bend, stretching toward me. I jumped as one brushed my arm, and I said a Floracantus to fight them back. When I looked up, Callan was free of his air bonds and nowhere in sight.
“Leaves,” I muttered, though a shiver of anticipation went through me. It felt right to be sparring with my former tutor once again. And it had been so long since I used my powers freely on campus. I was ready to see what I could do.
“Over here, local,” Callan called, and I turned to see him standing near a tree about ten feet away.
Instead of fighting back immediately, I paused to sense for the rose through the trees, trying to dig through the trees’ defenses. If my instincts were right, it was hiding in our tree house. And Callan was standing directly between it and me.
I moved toward it, but Callan’s reaction was quick. “Careful,local. What tree is this?” he asked, using wind to hold me in place.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“What tree am I standing under?”
I studied the stately tree. “Lodgepole pine, but wh?—”
Tiny seeds flew at my head, pelting the air around me like an airsoft gun. I shrieked and ducked behind the nearest tree.
“Leaves,” I breathed again, my heart racing. Then I remembered lodgepole pine was a host forArceuthobium americanum, a dwarf mistletoe whose mitochondria could heat up, build pressure within its fruit, and send the seeds out in an explosive onslaught.
It was amazing that none of the seeds had hit me. Or was it? Did Callan use his wind powers to control the seeds so they would only pass close by me?Either way, it was time to fight back.
Sure, I was sparring with the most powerful tree affinity botanist in generations, but I hadallthe affinity powers, and I needed to remember that. I formulated the steps in my head then attacked.
The tree vines moved toward Callan, which he fought off with ease. But I sent grasses and ferns for his ankles and flower petals floating through the air to block his vision. Moss snaked across his wrists, molding him to the tree behind him. I noticed he was smiling as I continued the assault.
After I called on nearly every nearby plant to tie him to the tree, I stepped in close, so that our lips were inches from each other. “Wanna tell me where that rose is now?” I asked.
“Nah. I quite like being interrogated by you,” Callan whispered, his eyes blazing.
My breath caught, and I froze, until vines snaked around my ankles, and I had to jump out of his reach. He had distracted me—much too successfully.Stay focused, Briar.
“I think the smooth talking has got to stop,” I said lightly before pulling a particularly aggressive Venus fly trap from my bag. I had grabbed it as an afterthought when leaving the Perilous Grove.
I used my wind manipulating powers to hover it in front of his mouth. “If it sees your tongue, it’s going to have it for lunch.”
Callan’s eyes widened with delight, but he didn’t say anything. He remained anchored to the tree by the many plants I had tangled him up with.
I climbed the tree and entered the tree house. Sure enough, the rose was there, floating in its capsule above the worktable. When I approached it, I noticed a leaf in the shape of a heart underneath.
I bit down a smile as I grabbed the rose and said, “Petale expandere.” The capsule exploded, and I had my third rose. I waited until I got back down to the ground to release Callan from his bonds.
He rolled his wrists as if he had been imprisoned for hours then ran a hand through his hair. With a whisk of wind, a vine snaked around my waist.
He used the vine to tug me to him, both of us leaning against the tree. “I told you that you were powerful, Briar Rose.”
“Thanks for always believing in me,” I whispered.
“Think Feathergrass is watching?” Callan asked, playing with a lock of hair by my face.
“Honestly, I couldn’t care less if he is.”
Callan’s smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “If he wanted a show, you gave him more than he bargained for.” And with that, his lips were on mine.
The rush of the game, of capturing the rose, and of being among the trees with Callan, his sandalwood and peach smell somehow still cutting through all the natural forest fragrance around us, had my head spinning as soon as our lips touched.
I could feel leaves swirling around us, Callan creating a miniature tornado, locking us in place and locking the rest of the world out.
Who cares about Capture the Roses? Who cares about Feathergrass?Thisis the moment I want to live in right now.
