Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
The ghost orchids and black hellebore were as still as sentinels on the cypress trees they adorned. I felt as if all the defensive plants in the area were watching our every move as Nevah and I surveyed the illuminated arch.
Nevah took a tentative step forward but then yelped when her foot seemed to get stuck in midair. “There is some kind of invisible barrier here.”
I went to her side and put a hand to the air but felt no resistance.
Cautiously, I took a step and passed through to the other side.
My powers, which had been active on the whole walk in, instantly faded away.
If I hadn’t been sure before, I was now.
I was in a magical botanical conservatory, and there was only one it could be.
I turned back to Nevah. “That’s strange. Try again.”
Nevah stepped back then forward, but it was as if an unseen wall were keeping her out. “I only have a trailing affinity for defensives. I don’t think I’m allowed in.”
My heart sank, but I nodded. We should have seen it coming. “Why don’t you go back to the boat with Kai and Nalin and tell them everything’s okay? They’re probably getting worried.”
Indecision flashed across Nevah’s face. I knew she didn’t want to leave me, but waiting alone by the gate wasn’t an appealing option either.
And we didn’t want Kai or Nalin to try to come after us through the water hemlock.
“Okay, but we’ll wait at the boat, and if you’re not back in an hour, I’ll return.
Are you sure you’ll be okay? Can you send a message in the leaves if you need help? ”
I nodded, every part of my body feeling alive despite the lack of access to my powers.
I was humming with determination. I checked the quill and found that the distance indicator was showing one hundred feet.
“This is the place, Nevah. I’ll be okay.
I’ll meet you by the water hemlock when I’m done here. ”
Nevah’s face was tense, but she nodded. “You got this, B.”
As I walked along the shaded path, I took in the assortment of plant life lining the ground and the trees on both sides and overhead. Belladonna, wolfsbane, carrion plants, black bat’s flower, and doll’s eye surrounded me. Japanese blood grass and tangles of strangleweed were under my feet.
The path continued to be lit by glowing moonflowers until it came to an end by the water, and a green rowboat sat there, devoid of any oars. Snowy flew from my finger to the boat, and I climbed inside.
“Oof!” I exclaimed as the boat began to move, and I had to steady myself to keep from tipping over the side. The grasses in the shallow water below must be tugging it forward.
As we got farther into the water, the ambient light increased. Moonflowers and floating lantern-like lotuses illuminated the swamp all around me. Once my eyes adjusted, I began to take in my surroundings, and I inhaled sharply.
A miniature living city was in the swamp, with boats that were so covered in camouflaged plant life that they appeared to be part of the land. Dim lanterns hung from each boat, and huts of various shapes and sizes littered tiny islands.
My gaze went to the largest floating hut a few hundred feet away. That was when I noticed someone coming toward me on a standing paddleboard-style raft. It was covered in moss, and the person was rowing with a tall paddle, dipping it into the water on either side of the raft.
Like the floating dwelling spaces around us, the person practically blended into the environment, a living camouflage. Everything in the area was of a similar brown, gray, and green color palette.
My stomach clenched as the raft drew closer.
I had no way to steer the boat that had drawn me there, and it seemed to be delivering me straight to the stranger.
Was I about to be greeted as a guest or as an invader?
I slid the quill under my thigh, hoping to obscure it from view without crushing it.
“May I help you?” the person called, and finally, their face came into view as the man lifted a lamp into the air.
My brain rapidly searched for a response that would make sense without revealing my true motives. I had been so focused on following the quill that I hadn’t planned what I would say or do if I encountered other magical botanists.
“I’m a magical botanist with a defensive affinity, and I was hoping to look around the conservatory,” I finally said, keeping things as close to the truth as possible.
“Well, you wouldn’t have gotten in here if you didn’t have a defensive affinity, so that part is true.
Though something is off about your powers.
” He studied me for several moments, and I tried not to squirm, the quill feeling like a spotlight that was going to give me away as it rested under my thigh.
I hoped he was just sensing my lack of access to my powers. “Come with me,” he said.
“Where are we going?” I asked as my boat began to follow the raft toward the largest hut.
“I’m going to introduce you to the curator of the defensive plants conservatory.”