“I was hoping we could chat about something before our session today.” His words bring me back to the present, and I hope he doesn’t notice the heat that has settled in my skin.
“Sure, what’s up?”
Sang waits to speak until we’re out of earshot of anyone else. “I think we should tell Ms. Suntile and Mr. Burrows about what you can do.”
I knew this was coming. Of course it was. We need to figure out the extent of this power, learn if it’s something I can do in all seasons, with all witches.
But the thought of telling them causes my stomach to twist with worry. I’d be handing over an incredible amount of control to people I’m not sure I trust. Eastern has done so much for me, but between the way Ms. Suntile acted at our training session with Mr. Hart and the fact that Mr. Burrows is still around even after his test, I wonder if they really care about me or if all they care about is my power.
“I know we need to,” I start.
“But?”
“But it feels like handing something over that I can never get back.”
Sang nods. “Believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, I do.”
I want to ask him what he means, but the words are stuck in my throat. We don’t need something else binding us together, another shared secret that makes him feel essential to my life.
When we get to the control field, I put my bag down and wait for him to pull out a lesson plan. But he pauses and looks around as if he’s thinking.
“What would you think about bailing on our session today? There’s something I want to show you.”
My brain yells at me to say no. To stick to the lesson plan. To ensure that our relationship doesn’t build into something my magic can sense.
But a small voice tells me to go. Tells me it’s okay. Reminds me I’m going to be strong enough to control my magic.
Sang fills me with contradictions. I’m torn between wanting to experience his openness and wanting to run from it as fast as I can. Part of me thinks he’s weak and foolish for giving so much of himself away.
But the more I get to know him, the more I wonder if maybe it’s a gift too few of us have. Maybe it isn’t a weakness at all.
Say no.
Go with him.
I pause. I’m not sure how many moments it takes to form a closeness that’s too close, but I’m sure we’re nowhere near it.
Which is why I say, “Let’s do it.”
I pick up my bag from the grass and follow him off the field.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“When magic courses through my body and bursts into the world, I know this was always the only option for me. I was fated for this.”
—A Season for Everything
I follow Sang through the gardens. A group of springs are kneeling on the ground, pushing their fingers into the dirt. They can plant their emotions in the earth, where they’ll grow as flowers. It’s my favorite part of spring magic because it has nothing to do with control; its sole purpose is bringing beauty into the world.
Sang keeps walking past the gardens and deep into the surrounding woods, so far from campus I can no longer see the buildings of Eastern. Evergreens and oaks stretch for acres in every direction, and I step over tree roots and duck under branches.
Birds chirp high above us, and a light breeze rustles through leaves as if they’re whispering secrets as we pass. Sunlight reaches through gaps in the trees and bathes the forest floor in streaks of gold.
Sang and I walk in a comfortable silence that strikes me as strange. Even Paige and I were always filling the silence with something, but Sang makes me feel as if my presence is all he wants.
He stops when we come to an old brick building covered in ivy and overgrowth. It’s square and small. The stone walls are crumbling, and the right side is half caved in. Moss coats the roof, and ferns rest against the base.
“Here we are,” Sang says. He opens the weathered door, and it creaks with the movement.
The first thing I notice is the smell. It isn’t musty like I thought it’d be. It’s sweet and strong, like someone took all the flowers in the entire world and put them in this old, abandoned building.
I walk inside. Rays of sunlight stretch through the holes in the roof and walls, giving the room a soft glow. Every color of the rainbow comes into view, hundreds of flowers and plants lining tables and crawling up the walls and hanging from the ceiling. There are more species than I could ever identify, and for a moment, I’m speechless.
There’s a narrow walkway through the center of the room, the only space that isn’t covered in something living. It feels like I’ve stepped through a portal to another world, a rain forest and greenhouse and enchanted garden all in one.
“What is this place?”
“It’s an abandoned immersion house, and Ms. Suntile agreed to let me use it for my research.” Sang reaches out and touches the leaves of a nearby plant. “But I also come here to think. To be alone. I wanted to keep its history intact, which is why there are so many plants here that have nothing to do with my research. I want it to feel like one of the old immersion houses.”
“You don’t really believe in immersion, do you?”
“Why not? The shaders have wishing wells and four-leaf clovers. I kind of like believing this place can make all my dreams come true.”
I look around the room. The earliest witches believed it was good luck to immerse themselves in
