Guardian of the Pines

Cor let this pine register in his senses. Magic flowed to his fingertip, and he touched a spark to the cambium.

It circled the tree. Lines of light traveled up and down the tree’s fluid system, reaching the branch tips and spreading through the needles to set them aglow. At his feet, the magic flowed into the tangle of roots.

A grin crept over his face at the soft blue-green glow that matched the pine’s needle color. “Quite healthy,” he said.

 

Without him...they will die.

At sixteen, Cor can protect trees with his magic, but his lonely life is full of secrets. He could accept a role in the family business in the city, but his magic draws him to a hidden island of ancient pines. They. Are. Brilliant. And on the brink of extinction. Cor can save them, if only the elders will let him help.

Is it his youth? Or because he's different?

When he befriends Oyster, an island boy waging his own quiet battle, things get freakin’ harder. Cor’s struggle to understand the magical power of the massive pines is just as challenging as discovering his even more powerful feelings for Oyster.

If Cor wants to save the Pines and not lose Oyster, he will have to do something he’s never done—let Oyster and the others see who he really is.

GUARDIAN OF THE PINES joins new wizards with old friends as a generation of magic-wielders restores its connections to nature and community.