Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Iwoke to a gentle tap on my arm and salt air in my nose.
“We’re here, B,” Nalin said once I pried my eyes open.
“Already?” I sat up straighter, looking out the window and confirming that we were nearing a runway. “I slept the whole time?”
“Beauty sleep comes easily when Nalin’s at the wheel.” He flashed me a grin, and I smiled while shaking my head. “We lost three hours due to the time change, so it’s nearly eight o’clock. We’re landing a little early, but Nevah should meet us soon.”
Nalin gently landed the plane—Callan had been right that he was a great pilot—and I peered through the windows.
As when I had visited the moss and tree conservatories with Callan, we appeared to be at a private airport for magical botanists.
Though it was nearly dark, glowing moonflowers and some unusually candescent tropical palm species lined the runway.
The moisture on my skin and the way my wavy hair was curling made reality sink in—I was in Florida… the other side of the country… for the first time ever. And I was there to find a book that had been missing for longer than I had been alive.
“I’ll check the quill.”
After removing it from my backpack, I said the Floracantus to activate the locating feature in the quill, and Nalin and I both watched as it began to spin. It barely rotated before it came to a stop, pointing east.
I let out a deep breath. “According to this, we’re within twenty miles of the book.”
“The aquatics entrance base is about a ten-mile drive, plus the distance to get to the conservatory itself. I think we’re on the right track,” Nalin said.
I nodded. Suddenly, it felt like everything I had been doing over the past nearly two years had been leading up to whatever came next. Getting invited to Evergreen Academy had changed my life, and I had a chance to help save the place that meant so much to me.
We both looked up at the shout of a familiar voice to see a figure jogging toward us.
“B!”
“Nevah!”
We hugged, and I was thrilled to see my old mentor. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed her until that moment.
“Callan called with your ETA,” she said.
My chest squeezed. Of course, while I had been sleeping on the plane, Callan had somehow been tracking our flight and updating Nevah.
Nevah released me and gave Nalin a welcome hug. “Great to see you. How’s the academy treating you? Dr. Lemna coming down hard on all the aquatics, as usual?”
Nalin laughed. “You know it. How about you? How is the conservatory?” Nalin and I picked up our bags, and we headed toward where a white SUV was parked near the runway, its headlights illuminating the road ahead.
“It’s been great so far. I’ll fill you in more when we’re there. You’ve been out here before, right, Nalin?” Nevah opened the liftgate, and we put our bags inside.
“Yeah. It’s been a few years, though.”
After we all climbed in, Nevah turned to smile at me as she started the car. “And it’s B’s first visit, of course. I’ve already reserved rooms for you near mine. So, tell me everything. What’s new at the school?”
I filled her in on Professor East’s departure and the changes at the academy as we drove on a road that was surrounded on both sides by fields of grass partially submerged in water.
I could see why it was a perfect location for the aquatics conservatory.
Nearly every plant around must be able to thrive in large amounts of water, making them ideal research subjects.
Soon, Nevah parked in front of a marine research facility, which advertised water excursions that benefitted local conservation efforts.
“This is it? It’s just out here in the open?” I asked, surprised at how obvious it was compared to the moss and tree conservatories.
Nevah smiled and shook her head. “Not exactly. Grab your bags.”
We followed her around the back of the building, and she entered a nondescript door marked Staff. She buzzed us through a security entrance with a wristband.
“We’ll drop the bags here. Put your phones and anything else valuable in there.” She paused at a glass window and slid it open, then typed a few numbers onto the screen, set our bags on the platform, closed the glass window, and pressed a button.
I startled as our bags disappeared into a chute below the window.
Nevah continued down the hall then exited the back door. Outside, we walked down a path along a swampy shore.
“Should I be concerned about alligators around here?” I asked, squinting at the dark water and keeping my feet clear of it.
“Nope. We planted an engineered species of seagrasses they don’t like. Evergreen Academy’s new director actually had a hand in its creation,” Nevah said, continuing to guide us near the water’s edge.
“Feathergrass?” I asked.
“Yep. I believe he patented the gene he edited.”
“For a second there, I thought we had discovered his one redeeming feature,” Nalin said.
“Why would he patent it? Don’t all magical botanists have access to it?” I asked.
“For now,” Nevah replied. “But eventually, when the human scientific market begins to catch up, he will release it there. Everyone in Florida will use it for natural gator defense on their property. He’ll be rich.”
“If he isn’t already,” Nalin quipped.
“True. Okay, this is where we get in,” Nevah stopped by the edge of the water.
“In?” I looked around, confused. The only building nearby was the one we had just left, and we were well over a hundred feet away. There were no boats in sight either.
“The water, B.” Nevah smiled and elbowed me. “Didn’t forget how to swim, did you?”
“We’re swimming?” I asked, dropping my gaze to the water, which was nearly black except for the reflections of moonlight bouncing across its surface.
“It’s the aquatics conservatory. How else did you think we would get there?”