I narrowed my eyes, still not fully trusting her after the surprise vine attack. “What do you have in mind?”
“The festivities are kind of taking a turn. I’m used to the solstice being an all-out party, but the vibes areoff this year.”
“Off, how?”
“It’s mostly because of talk of some new things being implemented. Let’s just say the environment between the teachers and the board is a little… tense.”
Concern had my stomach clenching. What was going on with the board that would upset the instructors?
“What do you mean by ‘have a bit of fun’?”
“Let’s sneak you onto campus. We can go hang out in a treehouse or spike the punch or something.”
I shifted my weight as I took her in. Was she being serious? I was already on a short string with the campus now that I had no access to my powers there. I didn’t want to give Professor East any reason to kick me out or add to his stress during a tense time. But still, if Callan were here, maybe I’d have a chance to talk to him about whatever these developments were that Meadow was hinting at. And outside of those concerns, being so near the academy now made it almost irresistible. It was a miracle I had been able to stay away for a few months as it was. It was like the invisible verdant shield that surrounded the place was inviting me in. I made up my mind.
“No to the punch spiking. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the food here. Maybe we can raid the leftovers in the kitchen.”
Meadow grinned. “Follow me.” She scaled the tree she’d come down from, and I frowned, knowing I wouldn’t be able to tree walk once we reached the brick wall.
“Don’t we have to scan our gems at the gate?”
“Nah, there’s a pass-through point right here. You’ll need one of these, though.” She pulled a glass pendant from her pocket and handed it to me. “I only have one, so we’ll have to take turns.”
“What’s this?” Even as I asked, I was already studying it. There was a preserved white flower inside.
“Petal of a Shasta lily,” Meadow said.
“And I need this… why?”
“If you have one of those”—she pointed at the pendant—“you can get through right here.”
I frowned again. This seemed like a security weakness.
“Where’d you get this?” I asked, wondering if it were a special founder’s descendant perk.
“Now that,” Meadow said, taking the pendant back, “I can’t tell you. Are you coming or not?”
I was tempted to back out, but this was a founder’s descendant. If she was anything like Callan, this was all at least mildly aboveboard. “Okay, but I’m going to have to climb down once we get over the fence.”
“Riiight,” Meadow said once I joined her in the canopy. “I was told about your little incident on the spring equinox. That was pretty badass. But cut off from your powers on campus? Brutal.”
“It has made school more challenging,” I admitted.
“All right, let’s go over. Nobody’s around this part of the academy. They’re all in the teahouse and courtyard.”
When I stood next to Meadow on the thickest part of the tree branch, the branches ahead pulled together in a tight, clear path in stark contrast to the loose overlapping they had been doing a moment before.
Meadow sighed. “And there goes all the danger. They weren’t kidding. Your tree affinity is strong.”
“Thanks?” I murmured, still unable to get a read on Meadow. We walked through the canopy until we hovered just above the brick wall, and I took a moment to mourn the impending loss of my tree walking abilities.
“Okay, I’ll cross then toss the pendant back to you,” Meadow said before dashing along the branches above the brick.
I waited until she was settled into a tree on the other side then opened my hands. When Meadow tossed the pendant, I caught it with a tight clasp of my right hand and held it firmly as I crossed the brick wall. My breath caught in my chest as I passed through where the verdant shield would be, firmly expecting something bad tohappen.
But nothing did, and I joined Meadow on the tree branch inside the campus grounds.
We both dropped to the forest floor, Meadow with much more grace than me.
