“You want to try?” Callan asked.
“My wind powers aren’t nearly as strong as yours, but I’ll give it a go.” I focused on connecting with the trees around us to have control over their canopy movements then used a little wind to sway them so that the gap between two of them formed a large C. “Not as clear as yours,” I said.
Callan focused on the canopy again, and after several moments, the lines of sky between the treetops had formed a large heart.
I smiled then rolled over to my side to rest my head on my hand, looking at Callan. “I’ll admit this is a pretty great distraction from thoughts of tomorrow.”
“Mission accomplished,” Callan said, rolling over and facing me as well. He played with a tendril of hair falling across the side of my face. “Remember that you’ve prepared for this. The whole crew is going to be there, and we’ll be backing you every step of the way.”
“I know.” I took his hand in mine, playfully scrunching our fingers together. “I’m nervous, but I know it has to be done.”
Callan squeezed my hand.
My heart leaped at the quiet moment with him, and when he lay back, I moved to rest my head on his chest and angled my face toward the trees again. We studied the crown shyness phenomenon in silence for another half hour until Callangently helped me to my feet, and we treewalked back to the academy.
The vernal equinox was coming the next day—whether we were ready or not—but this was a memory I would hold on to.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
On the morning of the spring equinox, the students of Evergreen Academy gathered for a few hours of planting at the new botanical garden. I caught sight of Oren working with some of the tree affinity students and waved.
The forester who had helped me save Frank and unblock the quill returned the wave and walked my way. The botanical garden project had pulled him into our community, and he seemed happy to be spending time with other botanists while focusing on their shared passion—trees.
“Hey, Oren. How are the trees doing?”
“Coming along nicely. They’ll be providing good shade soon.”
“Have you had any luck with the riddle?” I asked quietly.
“Not yet. The directions from yours gave me some ideas, but I’m sure each Renaissance botanist crafted theirs a little differently. It’s only a matter of time before I figure it out. I’vealso been trying to determine what our family plant could be, like your Rosie. I’m sure it’s a tree, possibly even the one my tree house is built in. The family lore always said it grew from a cutting.”
“Sounds promising,” I replied.
Meeting other Renaissance-descended botanists like Petra and Oren made me feel less like an enigma. Even though they didn’t have all the affinity powers, they shared the connection to the book and the Floracantus-making recipes inside.
I said goodbye to Oren and tried to lose myself in transplanting some mild but still magnificent defensive plants from the academy into a portion of the garden, but my mind was racing.
Tonight was the night. For better or worse, we would make our attempt at resetting the verdant shield. Mentally, I went through my checklist to ensure things were in place.
Meadow had the petal portal pendants for sneaking people onto campus. Callan and Hollis had plans for distraction and offense while I was at the charging circle. I hated to admit it, but Alex’s intel about the jewelweed patch was likely going to be useful.
When our work at the botanical garden wrapped up, we headed back to the academy. I went to my room to change and donned a knee-length lavender dress with a tulle skirt and cap sleeves. I used my floral affinity to weave tiny purple pansy petals around the waist and along the neckline then added a few to my hair.
The dainty dress was comfortable and airy, elegant enough for the spring festivities and easy to move around in for the mission I would be conducting later in the evening. I slippedthe seeds I would need into the dress’s pocket, swiped some gold sparkles across my eyelids, and squared my shoulders.
My mind was so focused on the upcoming mission as I descended the stairs and left the school building that I almost missed the archways of wisteria leading all the way from the flower gardens to the meadow by the pond. Not until one of the flowers stretched close to my face and tickled my cheek did I focus on the landscape around me. Butterflies flitted from bloom to bloom as if racing to crisscross the expanse of the path.
Coral whistled. “The florals must have been working nonstop since this morning.”
“They must have,” I agreed, breathing in the calming scent of the wisteria and focusing on the world around me. The academy had been transformed into a spring floral fever dream, even more so than at the Floral Fete or any event I had attended in the past.
The trees and florals were obviously working together, because flowers literally floated in the air. A few of the flowers landed in each of the guests’ hair, marking us all as members of the party.
When Heath greeted us with martini glasses with edible flowers floating on the surface of the drink, I raised my glass in appreciation. “Incredible work.”
“The vernal equinox committee has been planning this for weeks. They wanted to do something extra special this year,” he replied.
“I’d say they were successful. I think this may be the most beautiful spring equinox the academy has ever seen,” Yasmin said.
