Page 53 of Evergreen

For the longest time, I was in darkness. I couldn’t tell if it was days, weeks, hours, or minutes. All I could remember was lightning, a glimpse of golden eyes, and then nothing. But there was no panic, no worry. In fact, I almost felt warm in the dark, comforted in a way that I didn’t expect. And then, when I finally started to feel consciousness pulling at the corners of my mind, I realized I was still warm.

It was still dark when my eyes fluttered open, save for a tiny sliver of warm amber light spilling across the ceiling. My gaze flicked downward, and I saw it was coming from the door that stood very slightly ajar. I was no longer outside, that was for certain. But I couldn’t really place the room either. It was one I’d never been in before.

Something tightened around my waist and I glanced down, noticing a large green arm draped across me. With some effort, I turned my head to the side, my gaze came to rest on a familiar face, dark hair, and golden patterns swirling under his skin.

“L-Linden…” I managed to croak out, my throat drier than I expected.

His eyes opened immediately, going wide with relief. “Sparks,” he breathed, his arm tightening around me. “Thank the gods. You’re awake.”

My voice came out hoarse when I tried to speak again. “What happened? Where are we?”

“The infirmary back at the academy,” Linden said, reaching over to grab a glass of water from the nightstand. He helped me sit up slightly, his large hand supporting my back with surprising gentleness. “You’ve been unconscious for two days.”

Two days. The number didn’t quite compute in my foggy brain. I took the water gratefully, drinking it down in long gulps. My body felt like it had been wrung out and left to dry, every muscle aching in a way that suggested I’d pushed myself way too hard.

“The grove,” I said suddenly, the memories crashing back. The machines. The lightning. The destruction. “Linden, the grove⁠—”

“Is safe,” he said quietly, and there was something in his voice that made me look at him more carefully. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in those two days I’d been out. “You stopped them. The machines were destroyed, and the fire department put out the fires before they could spread too far into the protected area.”

Relief flooded through me, so intense that I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “The trees?”

“Some were lost,” Linden admitted, and I could see the pain that admission cost him. “But most of the grove is intact because of what you did. You saved it, Sparks. You saved my home.”

I wanted to ask more, wanted to know everything that had happened while I was out, but my throat was still too dry and my brain felt like it was wading through molasses. Instead, I just nodded and took another sip of water.

“There’s someone who wants to see you,” Linden said after a moment. “Professor Paulson. She’s been checking on you regularly. And there’s an Elder Council representative arriving today. They want to talk to you about what happened.”

My stomach twisted. An Elder Council representative. That didn’t sound good. “Am I in trouble?”

Linden’s expression faltered for a moment. He was trying to cover something up. “I don’t know yet,” he said. “You destroyed someone else’s property. But you were also doing it because you thought they were hurting me. And they were. But things are… complicated…”

Before I could respond, there was a soft knock on the door. It opened wider, and Professor Paulson stepped inside, her sharp eyes immediately finding me. There was something different about her expression. She was less stern than usual. In fact, if I wasn’t so groggy, I might even think she was smiling at me.

“Mr. Reed,” she said, moving to the foot of the bed. “I’m glad to see you’ve finally rejoined the land of the living. How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck,” I admitted. “What exactly happened? Linden said I was out for two days…”

“You channeled an enormous amount of magical energy in a very short period of time,” Professor Paulson explained, pulling up a chair beside the bed. “Your body essentially went into shock trying to process it all. The healers in the infirmary were quite impressed, actually. They said what you did was remarkable. Using weather magic with that level of precision and power simultaneously is nearly unheard of.”

I nodded slowly, trying to piece together the fragments of memory. The machines. The lightning. That feeling of my magic taking over completely, like I’d become a conduit for something far larger than myself.

“The property damage, however, is the issue we need to discuss,” she continued, and her tone became more serious. “The company that was clear-cutting the grove, Rose Development, is owned by an old witch family. And they have filed complaints with the Elder Council. They’re claiming magical assault and destruction of property. But Linden has explained the circumstances and his connection to the grove.”

I glanced at Linden, who was still holding my hand beneath the blanket. His expression was conflicted, like he wanted to tell me something but wasn’t sure how.

“What does that mean?” I asked carefully. “Am I going to be expelled? Arrested?”

“We don’t know yet,” Professor Paulson said. “Once the Elder Council arrives, we’ll know more. But I want you to know that several members of the faculty, myself included, have submitted statements on your behalf. What you did was dangerous and reckless, yes. But you also acted to protect the sacred home of someone you love. The Council tends to take those motivations into consideration.”

The words hung in the air between us. Someone you love. She knew. Of course she knew. Probably everyone knew by now, especially if Linden hadn’t left my side for two days.

“There’s more,” Linden said quietly, squeezing my hand. “The grove… well… Rose Development seems to think they own it. We’ve been looking into it and…”

He went quiet, unable to finish his sentence.

“There’s a potential,” Professor Paulson continued. “That they’re right.”

“What?” I said, pushing myself up. “How can they just own the grove? Doesn’t Linden need it to survive? They can’t just kill a dryad to get some lumber⁠—”