Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
We climbed the narrow stairs that took us into the secret alcove at the top of the academy building, my nerves skyrocketing as we neared the top.
The last time I had seen Wyatt, he came to take the quill from us.
Was he here to commandeer the book we just put on display?
If so, how could he know about it already?
When we reached the landing, Wyatt was waiting, his arms crossed. Just like the first time I had seen him, I noticed the physical similarities between him and Callan and the subtle ways they were different. Wyatt’s five o’clock shadow had filled in a bit more since our January encounter.
“You wanted to see me?” Callan asked by way of greeting.
“Have a seat,” Wyatt said, gesturing at the cushiony chairs.
I sat immediately, hoping to ease some of the tension in the room. Callan didn’t follow right away, but once Wyatt sat across from me, he took the chair between us.
“Good to know you still remember our old code. It’s been a while.”
Callan gave a short nod. “It has.”
Wyatt let out a deep sigh. “Look, I understand why you’re on guard right now. I know we aren’t as close as we used to be, Cal. I’m afraid that’s a symptom of my taking the job…” He cast a glance toward me, hesitating.
“She knows you work for the DBI,” Callan said.
Wyatt’s eyebrows rose slightly, but then he nodded and continued.
“A lot of this work requires us to purposefully maintain distance. I don’t love that, but it’s an important job, and I feel called to do it.
However, what I’ve been working on and what you two have gotten involved in have overlapped for a while, and I think it’s time to clear the air. ”
I straightened, eager to ask what he was referring to, but I held back. He was Callan’s brother, after all, and it felt right to let him take the lead.
After several moments of silence, Callan spoke. “What do you think we have ‘gotten involved in’?” He made air quotes.
“Perhaps it’s best if I start at the beginning.” Wyatt shifted slightly in his seat, but there was a practiced evenness in his voice. “Last year, the DBI received intelligence that the verdant shield was faltering. We sent one of our newest agents, undercover, to investigate.”
I sucked in a breath. “Alex?”
Wyatt’s usual stoicism slipped momentarily, and I could see his shock. “You knew he was a magical botanist?”
“It’s a fairly recent discovery,” I said.
Wyatt’s eyebrows were still slightly elevated, but he didn’t ask for more details. “His objective was to keep an eye out here and alert us if the progression of the deterioration worsened.”
Callan fisted a palm against his thigh. A few vines from the upper parts of the wall stretched out their tendrils, as if flexing in response to him. “And part of that objective included getting friendly with Briar and dating her friend?”
Wyatt winced, and I could tell the lapse in control had caught everyone in the room by surprise. The vines relaxed. “That was not part of the original mission. I’m afraid Alex may have gotten a little… overzealous in his approach to monitoring the situation.”
“Then why did he enroll at SCC instead of Evergreen Academy?” Callan asked.
“Alex was a student here a few years ago. The instructors would have recognized him. Enrolling at SCC gave him plausible cover to be in town and to engage with some of the dual-enrolled students from SCC and Evergreen Academy if needed.”
“You expect me to believe that his selecting Briar as his target was mere chance?” Callan’s voice oozed disbelief.
“Not mere chance, no. We gained intelligence early in the school year that a new student who was local to the area and unfamiliar with our world had joined. She seemed like a promising dual-enrolled student to keep tabs on, as she was unlikely to be suspicious of a new friend seeking her out at Siskiyous Community College.”
I tried not to be offended by that, and Wyatt wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t suspected Alex in the least, not while we’d still been friends anyway.
“And what about dating her friend Maci? Didn’t that seem a little over the line? Or are there no professional boundaries at the DBI?” Callan asked.
“As soon as I found out about that, I recalled Alex from the field immediately. It’s why he never returned from winter break. Trust me. The DBI is handling it, and he will receive plenty of training before—if—he’s allowed back into the field.”
I could tell Callan wanted to ask more questions, to grill Wyatt further, but I was ready to move on. Neither Maci nor I was damaged by Alex. There were more important things to discuss. “So, if Alex wasn’t the one poisoning the shield, did you get intel on who was?”
Wyatt cast his gaze to Callan before refocusing on me. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Who was it?” I leaned forward. The question had been hanging over my head for so long.
Wyatt cleared his throat before answering. “It was our mother.”
Callan’s shoulders tensed then drooped, as if he’d just received news he was expecting but hoped would never come. “We thought Alex might be working for her.”
“That was a good guess. It wasn’t her directly,” Wyatt continued. “She arranged for a student here to do it. It’s my understanding that student got expelled for spiking cupcakes at the Floral Fete last year, but by that point, the soil was already severely compromised.”
I sucked in a breath. So it was true. Callan’s mom had hired or convinced a student to poison the verdant shield. But the student hadn’t been Alex. He had been working for the DBI all along.
Another thought occurred to me then, and my fingers formed fists, which I hid by stuffing my hands under my legs. If Alex had been working for the DBI when he attended the wedding, it meant the DBI were the ones responsible for activating my aunt’s powers.
“Why did Alex activate my aunt’s powers?” The words shot out of me before I could stop myself.
Wyatt winced almost imperceptibly, and again, there was a touch of surprise.
He obviously hadn’t come into the meeting aware of how much Callan and I had pieced together about his agent.
“That decision came from… higher up. Once word got out into the society that you were a descendant of Leonardo da Vinci and had all the lead affinity powers, the DBI began digging into your family tree.”
At the affronted look on my face, he put up his hands.
“Standard practice. Your aunt was your only close living relative on the da Vinci side. The DBI has always had a division working on finding the Vanished Compendium—a different division from the one I work in—and they saw their opening. An agent, code name Cobralily, gave Alex the directive to get a da Vinci journal to your aunt. It was shortly after that when I learned how close Alex had gotten with your friend and I pulled him from the academy mission.”
My mind was spinning as I processed all that had been happening behind the scenes for the past year and even longer. I still didn’t know what I was going to do about my aunt’s powers and whether I should tell her. We were both in a terrible position, and the DBI had put us there against our wishes.
“Is my aunt off limits now, or is the DBI’s Vanished Compendium team still after her?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“She was still being considered as a remote option, but now that you just put that book on display…” He let the implication sink in. “I don’t think they have a need for her. Why stealthily acquire a book when it’s already public for the world to see?”
I relaxed a little at the confirmation of what we had hoped.
“And if my word means anything to either of you, I’ll do my best to ensure that the Vanished Compendium team pulls your aunt’s name from the files.”
Callan glanced at his brother but remained quiet.
“I would appreciate that.” I took a deep breath.
Since the questions about my aunt were out of the way, I wanted to circle back to the revelation about Wendy Rhodes and the Board.
“Why did your mom arrange for the shield to be poisoned? Was it to gain access to the school?” I asked, remembering Callan’s hypothesis.
Wyatt nodded. “Seems like it. Look around. Feathergrass, our mom’s close friend and ally, is now in charge of the academy.
The Board of Regents has more influence than ever.
My best guess is that they created the appearance of things breaking down at the academy so they could swoop in and gain more control. ”
“Creating a problem so they could be the ones to fix it,” Callan murmured, giving a light shake of his head. “Unbelievable.”
“Who all knows about this?”
“Just a few officials assigned to this task force at the DBI. Given the identities of those involved, we’ve had to tread carefully.”
“Does Mom know that you know?” Callan asked.
Wyatt shook his head. “We’ve been cautious in our information gathering. As far as we can tell, she and Feathergrass think they’re in the clear.”
“When you came for the quill, what was your goal?” Callan asked, and I could hear multiple questions being asked in one.
Wyatt’s words were even and measured, as if he’d been planning how to explain it.
“We knew we had to keep the quill out of the hands of any members of the Board of Regents, since we didn’t know who could be trusted at that point.
The Vanished Compendium recovery team was breathing hard down our necks.
Mom or Feathergrass getting their hands on the Vanished Compendium would lead to far fewer options for us.
You two and whoever you have been working with had more intelligence than we did on that front.
” Wyatt gave me a nod that seemed strangely like approval.
“So you haven’t been working against us?” I asked.
“Not directly. Does the DBI think college students were the best ones to be in charge of the quill and the fate of the Vanished Compendium? No. But as it turns out, you all may have been better caretakers than we could ever have been.”
“What is the DBI’s endgame?” Callan asked.
“Believe it or not, the DBI believes in a free intellectual and academic community here at Evergreen Academy and at our research conservatories. We believe magical botanists operate best by taking a light hand in society whenever possible, not by extending our control in the bolder ways the Board of Regents seems to want.”
“So we’re on the same side?” I asked.
“If by ‘side’ you mean supporting the academy—and our society—and the traditions and conservation efforts that we have been fighting for in the shadows for years, then yes, we’re on the same side.
But what I need to know now is what the two of you have planned next.
I take it sharing that book today wasn’t the only trick up your sleeves? ”
I cast my eyes to Callan, and he studied my face for a moment before turning to his brother. “You’ve come here with a nice story, Wyatt, but why should we trust you?”
Wyatt leaned back, trying to force a casual posture, but he ran a hand through his hair, something I had seen Callan do multiple times when he was hesitating on what to say or do.
Finally, he spoke. “The origami I sent you was an olive branch. Growing up, that meant something.” His voice, which had softened, held a meaningful tone, and for a moment, I felt like an intruder on a private conversation.
Callan touched his pocket. “A truce.”
“We sent it when we wanted to clear the air after a fight. While we haven’t been fighting, exactly, I know I haven’t been around much.
I left you to the mercy of Mom and Dad and all the pressure they’ve always put on you with your magic-sensing powers when I joined the DBI.
The olive tree is my way of saying… I’m sorry.
I want to make this right. And I want to work together. ”
“And if we share our plans with you, what do we get in return?” Callan asked.
Wyatt crossed his arms. “I can give you Professor East. And we can help you put him back in charge at Evergreen Academy.”