I spoke quietly. “He has concerns about his parents and the other founders’ descendants groups. He thinks they’re all sort of… competing for my interest. And his mom is at the top of that list.”
“Fronds,” Yasmin murmured.
“I knew that woman seemed scary,” Aurielle said.
“Well, if Romeo and Juliet can manage it, so can you two,” Coral said as she upped the magnification on the microscope.
The three of us turned to her, our faces variations of amused, confused, and shocked.
“Coral, you do know how that story ended, right?” Aurielle asked.
Coral waved a hand. “Such theatrics. You two obviously aren’t going todie. But there is something romantic about fighting for love against the odds.”
“Someone has been watching too many rom-coms,” I said, hoping to turn the conversation away from Callan and me.
“All I’m saying is, you’re powerful, B. You have every single plant affinity. And strong affinities, at that. Power like yours hasn’t been seen in generations. If anyone can hang in the society of stuffy founders’ descendants, it’s you.”
“Ahh, thanks for the ego boost, Coral,” I teased, though I truly appreciated her belief in me.
“Look, you do you,” Coral continued. “But if Waylon looked at me like Mr. Founder’s Descendant looks at you, he and I would be making out in a treehouse right now.”
“Coral!” Yasmin, Aurielle, and I all gasped at our friend then collapsed into giggles. Professor Variegata shot us a look from the front of the room.
Once I composed myself, I chanced one more glance at Callan and saw that his eyes were already on me.
Chapter Thirty
After a hurried dinner in the tearoom, I made my way to Mount Shasta’s city park, wanting to arrive a little early. I tucked my car into an empty parking space. A canopy of trees spread overhead was blocking out the light from the stars. Aside from a few lights in the park, I might as well be in the middle of a forest.
I had grown up playing at this park and knew that, beyond the large grassy field and play structure, a stream snaked through the thin forest. It was the mouth of the Sacramento River and boasted some of the purest water in the world.
A few minutes later, Professor East arrived, and I joined him at a picnic table lit by a park light. He checked his watch. “She should be here any moment.” He looked at something behind me and rose. “Ah, here she is.”
I turned to see a woman approaching along the path from the parking lot. I likely would have recognized her even without Professor East to introduce us. She was wearing a soft brown backpack, hiking boots, and had sprig of lavender tucked behind her ear. She had magical botanist written all over.
“Petra, good to see you,” Professor East said as the two shook hands. “This is Briar.”
“Hello.” The field studies advisor said kindly as she reached out a hand. “I’m Petra Mancini. You can call me Petra. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. Thanks for taking me on as a research assistant. Professor East said you haven’t had one before,” I said as I shook her hand. I studied Petra more closely, the dim light of the park lamp illuminating her face. I had noticed an accent—Italian, it sounded like. Her skin was tanned and lightly lined but vibrant, and she appeared fit in a lean way, as if she spent a lot of time hiking. I’d guess she was in her fifties or sixties.
“Professor East is correct.” She was studying me, as if searching for something.
“Well, I just wanted to introduce the two of you and make sure you got connected. You have plenty of work to do, so I’ll leave you two to it,” Professor East said.
“I’ll be in touch.” Petra nodded to my instructor, and then Professor East headed toward his car.
“So is our research taking place here, at the park?”
“No, I wanted to meet here and have us drive together to my research area up on the mountain. I didn’t want to make you drive that windy road alone at night. Are you comfortable with that?”
I sucked in a breath but quickly tried to display confidence. I knew exactly which road she was talking about. It was the one where my mom’s car accident had occurred. I had been on it many times since—on school field trips, mostly, and more recently, on a trip with Callan last year. But I’d never driven it myself.
“Yes, that works for me.”
“Okay then. Let’s get going. I don’t want to keep you too late. I’m sure you have many questions, but it will be easiest to show you rather than try to explain.”
I agreed, and we got in her car, a sleek black outdoorsy SUV that was clean and tidy inside. Petra made small talk about theacademy and asked how my studies were going as we drove on the road that led to the trailhead on the mountain.
