Evergreen

A grumpy witch. A sunshine dryad. A kiss that wakes the wood…

Cass:
I came to Widdershins to get away from home and party, not plant trees. After I accidentally set the campus greenhouse on fire, expulsion is on the table. Unless I work off every bit of the damage, dawn to dusk, until the semester ends. And the guy I have to answer to is Linden—seven-foot something, shoulders like a barn door, and the kind of smile that makes everyone’s heart melt, including mine. He wakes seeds with a touch, knows every plant by name, and calls me “Sparks” even though I hate it. I try to be unimpressed. My magic… does not cooperate.
The more time we spend together—hauling charred debris, coaxing scorched beds back to life, rebuilding the whole ruined conservatory pane by pane—the calmer my storms get. A part of me wants to be with him, to give happiness a chance. But dryads are bound to their heartwood. Can I really commit to a guy who has to answer to the trees to keep his power?

Linden:
I like sunshine, water, and Cass Reed. I take care of the Grove, the bees, and anyone who wanders in looking tired. Cass pretends he doesn’t need help and I pretend I don’t notice his magic going haywire every time I’m near. I’m a simple guy. I lift heavy things, coax saplings to grow, and make Cass laugh at least once a day. I’d love nothing more than to sweep him up in my arms and run away, the two of us bonded forever.
But roots matter. If I’m away from the Heartwood too long, I fade. And now a development company has bought up my family’s grove and means to raze it to the ground. I’m graduating with roots I can’t dig up, and Cass still has two years left at Widdershins. Our paths seem to be diverging.
I have a forest that counts on me to survive. But my heart may never recover if I let Cass go.