Chapter 54
Chapter Fifty-Four
“Iwas worried about this,” Heath said. The floral affinity botanist was propped on a velvet green cushion in the secret tree conservatory room in the attic of Evergreen Academy.
While I had been busy working on creating and perfecting the Floracantus that would create the new verdant shield, other members of the Root and Vine Society had been doing their own parts in preparing for our mission.
One of the goals was to make more petal portals so that anyone involved in our plan could have a means of getting in and out of the academy quickly and undetected if needed.
“Duplicating the binding Floracantus to work between the pendants and the petal portals isn’t easy.
The founders were uniquely connected to the academy.
As Briar learned with breaking the curse on her magic, duplicating or undoing founders’ magic can be tricky.
I’m not sure if I can pull it off,” Heath admitted. “Are you having any luck, Briar?”
I tried one more time, but the Shasta lily wasn’t holding the magic in the way I felt it was with the original pendants. I sighed. “No.”
“Are you sure we need to make more of these?” Meadow asked. “Couldn’t we lend Wyatt one of the nine pendants we already have?”
“I want everyone in the Root and Vine Society to have their pendants on them in case something goes sideways and they need to sneak out of the academy,” I said.
“Plus, I’d like Yasmin, Aurielle, and Coral to have them for the same reason.
It wouldn’t hurt to have a few extras on top of that for unexpected circumstances.
Any advantage we have on the equinox, I want to take. ”
Meadow nodded. “Good point. But if you and Heath can’t get the Shasta lilies to hold the Floracantus, is there anyone who can?”
“Too bad we can’t sneak in and use the Dandelion of Desire,” Aurielle said. “Maybe a little extra power would help you.”
I nodded slowly, an idea forming. “The Dandelion of Desire isn’t the only thing that can give magical botanists a boost.”
“What do you mean?” Yasmin asked.
“Have you all heard of green zones?”
Meadow’s face lit up. “Sure! My mom told stories about them. But they’re classified. I’ve never known where any of them are.”
“What if I told you there’s one not too far from here?”
“Spill!” Coral demanded.
“You all know my field study last year was classified. Its location happened to be in a green zone, also classified. But I think circumstances warrant letting a few more people in on the secret. The zone is on Mount Shasta, and I know exactly where the epicenter is.”
After nightfall, we gathered at the cabin where Petra and I used to conduct my field studies.
“Can you all feel it?” I asked.
“I felt it when we were going up the trail. It’s the strangest sensation. It’s like someone added a line of electricity directly into my magic,” Meadow said, moss encircling her hands at lightning speed.
Yasmin, Aurielle, and Coral took seats on the other side of the table, and Heath sat between me and Meadow.
My friends and Meadow were there for moral support more than anything.
Plus, they were all curious to experience the green zone.
The task was for Heath and me—the lead floral affinities of the group.
With the glass heating over a camp stove, each of my friends practiced reciting familiar Floracantus with their heightened powers while we waited for the glass to liquify. Yasmin was trying one of the Floracantus from da Vinci’s journal, changing the shade of a button fern she had brought with her.
It was exciting seeing the new Floracantus I had shared at the Floral Fete being used around campus.
While there were only forty new Floracantus in the book, my classmates seemed to have plenty of fun testing them out.
A few representatives from various conservatories had made or scheduled trips to the academy to view the book for themselves.
Everyone wanted a glimpse of the previously undiscovered book, which was exactly how I had intended the work to be received.
“Shall we give it a try?” I asked Heath once the glass was pooling in the mortar bowl. I spread the Shasta lily flowers between us.
Heath reached for one of the flowers and poured the softened glass into the mold. He set the flower petals inside it then said the Floracantus we had tried on campus. “Ahh,” he said, smiling as the glass began to cool. “That feels right.”
Next to him, I tried the process, and instantly, I knew what he meant. The binding Floracantus was holding, and it felt exactly like the ones on the old pendants. “Agreed. I think this is working.”
We spent the next half hour pouring a dozen pendants, our friends continuing to experiment with their magic while Heath and I worked.
“I wonder how Hollis and Rhodes are doing with putting scouting vines near each petal portal,” Meadow said, juggling moss balls in the air.
“Callan had a nice collection of the vines growing, so they should have plenty. The question is ‘Are we going to need them?’” I said.
“I hope not, because that would mean someone outside the Root and Vine Society knows about the portals,” Yasmin replied.
I prodded one of the new pendants to see if it was cool. “I think these are ready to go. How about yours, Heath?”
“Mine too. Ready to head back? I have a date with my notebook and some night blooming flowers tonight.”
“You florals, always so romantic,” Meadow cooed.
After cleaning up the cabin, we hiked down the mountain. We were mostly quiet as we walked, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the late hour or everyone else’s mind was as full as mine as I thought through our plan. The spring equinox was a mere week away.
Once we were in the car and driving back to the academy, I broke the silence. “Who wants to store the pendants until the equinox?”
“I feel like you already have enough of a target on your back after infuriating Feathergrass with the false Vanished Compendium at the Floral Fete,” Yasmin said.
“Good call. And he knows the four of us are friends, so Coral’s and my room could be subject to his ‘random’ searches as well,” Aurielle said, making air quotes.
“Sorry, y’all. Getting caught with my own portal pendant already scares me enough,” Heath said.
Meadow stuck out her hand. “I’m pretty sure Feathergrass thinks my mom and I are firmly in his camp of thinking. He hasn’t hassled me at all this term except for not taking my studies seriously enough. The pendants should be safe with me. I’ll camouflage them with moss.”
Heath and I passed our freshly minted pendants to Meadow.
“There’s one more thing I wanted to share,” Meadow said. “I’ve been reading the founders’ history book I took from Professor East’s office, and I found something that might be important.”
“What is it?” I didn’t want to turn down any sliver that might help make our mission successful. Despite my practice sessions with Wyatt, I was still nervous about how things were going to go.
“According to the book, when the founders put the verdant shield into place, they each contributed a seed to the soil. I think it served as a sort of conduit to their magic.”
“You think I need to bring a seed when I implement the new Floracantus?”
“I think you need to bring nine seeds,” Meadow said.
Of course. One for each affinity group.
“Again, I don’t know if you’ll need it, since you’re making a new Floracantus, but I thought you should know.”
“Thanks, Meadow. I want to cover all my bases here, so I’ll make sure to have nine seeds with me at the charging circle.” I added it to my mental to-do list.
We had the petal portal pendants. I had a working Floracantus. We had won Capture the Roses, which meant I would have access to the charging circle and the Dandelion of Desire to boost my chances of success.
All we needed now were nine seeds and an uninterrupted visit to the epicenter of the verdant shield.