ALDER

by Melody Robinette

  “Well, she was crushed by your ‘death.’ We all were, though. You know that,” Autumn said. “I actually spoke at your funeral.”

  “Really? Aw, thanks, Fall! What did you say? Here lies the greatest Warrior that ever lived. We shall never replace or forget him. Ever. Because he is the best.”

  Autumn laughed. “Yeah, I think that’s pretty close.”

  Forrest stuffed a scone in his mouth and let out a moan. “Holy petalsies. These are amazing.”

  Autumn nodded her agreement as she washed down her larger-than-was-deemed-ladylike-bite. “Eris makes them.”

  “Eris? She’s the Atrum girl who brought the tray of food, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Forrest nibbled thoughtfully at his scone. “Isn’t it weird that we’re here in Vyra’s old lair, eating food made by and served to us by an Atrum without even worrying about it being poisoned or anything?” Autumn snorted at this. “I’m serious!” Forrest continued. “I’d always been taught that all Atrums were evil. Even the kids. All of them. But no one who makes food that tastes like this,” he held up his scone with reverence, “could possibly be evil.”

  Autumn nodded her concurrence. “It’s an old prejudice that has carried on through the generations. We’ve just never bothered questioning it. Just like with the other magical creatures. It’s sad, really.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Forrest agreed, looking out the window for a long minute. “So, how do you think everyone in Arbor Falls is holding up without us? Falling apart, I’m sure.”

  The corners of Autumn’s mouth turned down then. “No, actually, I think they’re doing okay. Victor and I went there to fix Charlotte’s memory, and I saw several of them. They were just sort of going on about their lives. Except for…” she trailed off, putting down her scone, suddenly no longer hungry.

  “Except for who? Avery?” Forrest guessed.

  Autumn nodded solemnly. “Yeah. I saw him walking to the Warrior Burial Grounds. I followed him there, and I think…I think he felt my presence.”

  “Felt your presence?” Forrest sent her a mystified glance. “How?”

  Autumn shrugged, looking down at her clasped hands. “I don’t know how to explain it. We have this sort of internal connection. We always have, ever since we first met, and we can just sort of sense when the other is near.”

  “Huh. I think I felt something like that when I was around Willow now that I think about it. I just thought it was gas.”

  Throwing her head back in laughter, Autumn smacked Forrest playfully on the arm. “You’re so gross!”

  Just then a knock sounded on the door.

  “Come in!” Forrest called out. “Beware of the gas!”

  Victor stepped inside of the room and Autumn and Forrest quieted their laughter, hunching over slightly like a pair of kids who’ve just been caught passing notes by their teacher. His eyebrow rose at the two of them.

  “Forrest, do you mind if I borrow Autumn for a moment?” Victor asked, looking distracted.

  “Not at all,” Forrest said, waving a hand dramatically for Autumn to leave. She chuckled and hopped out of her chair to join Victor in the hallway.

  “What’s up?” she asked him brightly.

  Victor wore a blank expression as he grasped her hand and pulled her gently down the passageway. “I wanted to speak with you.”

  “Where are we going?” Autumn asked, beginning to grow slightly nervous for reasons unknown to her.

  “To the library. It’s quiet. And I know how you like it in there.”

  What did that matter? Wait, was he going to propose to her or something? Offer her a diamond rose? Was that why he had been so distant lately? Autumn tried to keep her face impassive as she followed him into the familiar library, coming to sit on the couch beside the fireplace, which was now burning in full force to ward off the chill of winter.

  Straightening out her dress, Autumn didn’t make eye contact with Victor for some time until he took one of her hands and her hazel eyes flashed up to meet his emerald ones, which were turned down in apparent sorrow.

  “What’s the matter?” Autumn asked, forgetting her worries about him giving her a diamond rose. Clearly, that wasn’t it.

  “Autumn, I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me these past few months. You have lit these dark cliffs with your ever-present light and, in turn, you have illuminated my soul. My Power may be Light, but my Light is no comparison to yours. I think the reason you change me is because you have so much goodness in you that it just sort of transfers to others. And I will never forget how you gave me another chance to prove myself to you.”

  “Forget?” Autumn said, thoroughly confused now. His jaw clenched and eyebrows turned upwards slightly. “Why would you forget? I’m right here. I’m always going to be here.”

  Victor shook his head at this. “When Forrest awoke, I realized something. I realized how utterly miserable you are now.” Autumn started to protest, but Victor held a hand up asking her to let him finish. “You know how to put on a brave face and pretend you’re okay while you’re trying to save the world, but I can see through all that. When Forrest awoke, I saw a small spark of what you used to be. You laughed with him and joked with him. An actual laugh. One I haven’t heard in a while. And I realized then what I had to do.”

  Autumn’s body filled with dread. She’d had a feeling this might happen. “You’re going to erase Forrest’s memories of this, aren’t you? You’re sending him away.”

  Victor smiled sadly. “That does sound like something I would do, doesn’t it?”

  “Can I at least say goodbye to him?”

  “I will send Forrest away when he is well enough, but he’s not the only one I’m sending away.”

  “What do you mean? Are there others here? Who else would you—?”

  “You,” Victor answered, fixing her with that intense look of his.

  “Me?” Autumn’s brows met, her mouth falling slightly open. “What do you—?”

  “I mean…I am letting you go,” Victor answered, his voice wavering.

  “Do you not love me anymore? Did I do something wrong?” Panic was starting to rise in Autumn’s chest. He couldn’t let her go, or else everything she had been through would have been for nothing. And, if she wasn’t there with him, he would return to his former evil state and then he would let the Shadows attack Arbor Falls again. She bit her lip, holding back tears. “Please don’t send me away. Just tell me what you need. Please. You can’t let the Shadows—”

  Victor placed a trembling hand on Autumn’s cheek and smiled slightly at her pleading. “I’m letting you go because I love you, Autumn Rose. Because I value your happiness more than I value my own.”

  Thoughts of what Forrest had said about the Phantom of the Opera flashed in her mind. “The Phantom lets Christine go because he loves her too much to make her unhappy. He just wants her to be happy, see? So Victor can’t love you. Because, if he really, truly loved you…he would let you go.”

  “I see.”

  A mixture of emotions flooded her. Happiness, relief, fear, sadness, regret, doubt, excitement, and despair. She wasn’t sure which she felt most of all. Because, after everything he had done, she had grown to care for Victor, and if she was indeed leaving, she was going to miss him more than he even knew. “But, how will you stay good? How will you keep your darkness from taking over again?”

  “Vyra is no longer here to control me,” he said, his hand resting lightly on hers. “And I have Rion and Eris and others who have stuck with me through it all. And, if I ever start to forget, I will come visit you so you can bring back my light. If that’s all right.”

  Tears welled up in Autumn’s eyes. “That’s all right.”

  Victor pulled her to him, squeezing her tightly. “I love you, Autumn Rose.”

  A stray tear fell from her overflowing eyes, landing on his chest, darkening the red fabric so that it looked almost black. “I love you too, Victor,” she said. And she meant it. She may
not have loved him in the same way that he loved her, or the way she loved Avery, but she did love him. Love has many forms, after all.

  * * *

  VICTOR didn’t want to let her go. Not yet, anyway. She felt so good in his arms, and he regretted not embracing her more during her time at Bluff Bastion. He regretted a lot of things. It was hard to believe how equally full and broken his heart felt at that moment with Autumn’s small, yet strong arms wrapped around his torso, pulling him to her, not letting go.

  She’d said she loved him. He knew how she meant it, of course. She loved him as she loved Forrest and Crystal. She loved him as a friend and confidant. He could live with this, though. This he could accept. As long as Autumn had love for him, he would be able to maintain his goodness.

  And, for the first time in his life, a feeling of pride swelled in his chest. He had done something truly selfless for once in his miserable life. Though, he wondered if any act could truly be selfless if it made the person feel good for doing it. Autumn’s happiness would make Victor feel better about himself. So was this act selfless, then? Or was it just less selfish than all of the others?

  For now, he didn’t really care. He had minutes, maybe only seconds left, to hold Autumn like this. He had to savor it.

  Their embrace was cut short as the library doors slammed open and they both whirled around to see Thorn clutching at his rapidly rising and falling chest.

  “Thorn, what—?” Victor began angrily.

  “I’m sorry, Sir, but it’s the Shadows. They’re evacuating the island.”

  Victor stood then, his body trembling from a toxic mixture of different emotions. Fear, rage, pain, and the overwhelming and heartbreaking love he felt for Autumn. “What do you mean they’re leaving the island? I gave no such orders!”

  Thorn jumped slightly at Victor’s angry voice. “I—I know, Sir. But something has happened. I’m not sure what, but they just started to leave, and none of the Atrums could stop them. They’re heading towards Arbor Falls.”

  “Oh my God,” Autumn breathed, her eyes wide and terror-stricken.

  Victor wracked his brain to make sense of what was happening. How could the Shadows just detach themselves from his control? Then he remembered something Vyra had told him long ago. Not long after she had created the Shadows.

  “They will follow you as long as you are as evil as them,” she had said to him. “They thrive off of our malevolence. So, you just keep that black heart of yours beating, dear brother. And don’t let it turn soft.”

  He had thought she was just threatening him as she always did. But now, he feared that what she had told him had been quite literal. And he could pinpoint the exact moment the Shadows broke away from his control, the moment he had put Autumn’s happiness above his own.

  “Can you get the control back?” Autumn said desperately. “You’re an Ellock, right? You’re stronger than anything in the Underground.”

  Victor shook his head, expression hardening. “Shadows were created from my blood. They aren’t as powerful as me individually, but as a group, they are, essentially more powerful.”

  Autumn let out a small sob. “So, this is just it then? There’s nothing we can do?”

  “No, there is.” Then he looked to his servant, who was awaiting more orders. “Thorn, retrieve two pairs of armor,” Victor said, and in answer to Autumn’s wide, questioning eyes, he added, “We’re going to fight.”

  41

  Murky Waters

  KYNDEL and Ember led their pegasi out of the Training Grounds where the Underground fighters were situated, trying to figure out a plan of attack. Too many cooks in the kitchen, Kyndel thought. She sort of thought Luke should have the last say since he was the king and all.

  “So, what exactly are we watching for at Alder Island?” Ember asked Luke. “You know there hasn’t been a Shadow attack in, like, months. And if Autumn really is over there, I don’t think Victor is planning on releasing them anytime soon.”

  “We don’t know how much Victor can see,” Luke said. “He could be watching us right this very moment.”

  “Hey, Victor!” Kyndel shouted at nothing in particular. “Bring Autumn back, you ass!”

  Ember raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend. “What are you doing?”

  “Talking to Victor,” Kyndel said. “If he’s watching us, then we wouldn’t be able to see him.”

  Ember looked at Kyndel blankly for a moment before turning back to Luke. “How long would you like us to stay out there?”

  He ran a hand through his red hair, clearly flustered by how much pressure he was under. “Until it gets dark, I guess.”

  “Okay. But what if—?” Kyndel began.

  “Just go make sure Victor doesn’t send an army of anything, all right?” Luke interrupted in frustration. “I’ve got to get back.”

  “Jeez. He’s in a bad mood,” Ember muttered under her breath as she climbed atop Blaze, her pegasus.

  “He’s a new king and just found out yesterday that his sister may or may not be alive, and he’s trying to keep everything under control here while arranging a war. Pretty sure he has a right to be a little moody,” Kyndel said in his defense.

  “Man, you’re like his bestie ever since he appointed you as Castle Lawkeeper,” Ember teased as Kyndel climbed astride her pegasus, Relic, and rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. “Love you!” Ember added before urging Blaze to jet into the sky with Kyndel and Relic close on her heels.

  They flew side by side in silence—mostly due to the deafening sound of the wind in their ears—to the edge of the Opacious Sea. When Alder Island came into view, the pegasi stopped almost without prompting, though they kept their wings pumping so they would be suspended in midair.

  “Let’s play a game,” Kyndel said after a couple minutes of disgusted staring at the Shadows swarming on the bank of Alder Island.

  “What kind of a game?”

  “I don’t know. It’s not even really a game. But we can ask each other questions about our futures, like where we think we'll end up and what we hope for and stuff.”

  “Our futures?” Ember snorted. “Don’t you want to get past the impending battle before we do all that?”

  “You mean live past the battle?” Kyndel said dully.

  Ember bit her lip but didn’t admit to this. “Okay, fine, let’s play the future game.”

  “I just think it’ll give us something to look forward to. Something to hope for, you know?”

  “Yeah…I know. Okay, I’ll start. Where would you most like to visit someday?”

  Kyndel beamed at Ember’s participation. “I actually think I’d like to travel some in the Outside.

  “You? In the Outside? Shut up.”

  “I’m serious,” Kyndel said defensively. “I was sort of a brat when I went there for Halloween last year—jeez, was that only last year? Feels like forever ago. Anyway, I didn’t really appreciate the adventure of it all. And you get used to the smell after a while. But it’s just so much older and different than the Underground. You should see their buildings.”

  “I have, actually,” Ember murmured.

  “Really? You’ve been there?” Kyndel was struck by the fact that she'd been with Ember for several months now and still didn’t know everything about her.

  “Yeah. My, uh, my dad took my mom and me to London when I was five. And then he just sort of left us in a pub and never came back.”

  Kyndel’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my gosh, Em, you never told me about your real dad. You’ve only ever told me about your stepdad who—uh…” Raped you, Kyndel thought but didn’t verbalize.

  “Well, I don’t really remember all that much about my real dad, to be honest. My mom met my stepdad a few months after we came back to the Underground, and he sort of burned himself into my memory, erasing all the happy things that happened before that.”

  Kyndel frowned. “Oh.”

  Ember sighed. “Okay, now it’s your turn to ask me a question.”

  Take
n aback slightly by the quick change in subject, Kyndel said, “Oh, um… Do you want kids someday?”

  Ember looked over at Kyndel then with a crooked smile. “Yes, actually. Just one, though. People make a big deal about kids having siblings, but I’d rather just focus on trying not to screw up one child.”

  “So, who do you want to have kids with?” Kyndel asked slyly.

  Ember flashed Kyndel a tight-lipped smile, one of her cheeks dimpling with the action. “You, silly.”

  Kyndel wasn’t sure why, but this made her stomach flutter and eyes well up. “I know that’s not possible, but it’s nice to think about.”

  “It is possible, actually,” Ember countered.

  Kyndel shot her a bemused look. “What? How?”

  “If we used a warlock as a third donor. They have a spell for mixing multiple DNAs. Though, it’s usually between three warlocks and not two elves and a warlock. But, I’ve already talked to Leon about it, and he said he thinks it would still work.”

  Kyndel’s mouth fell open. “But if we mixed our DNA with a warlock, that would make our baby an—”

  “An Ellock. Yep.”

  Kyndel was about to tell her what a horrible idea that was, but was cut off by Ember’s loud curse and pointing finger. Whipping her head around, Kyndel’s eyes flashed to look at Alder Island and the sea that was now teaming with Shadows moving sickly through the water towards the opposite shore.

  Towards Arbor Falls.

  42

  Noli Timere

  AVERY slung his bow and quiver of arrows onto his back before slipping Autumn’s red rose inside his Warrior vest and zipping it tightly to secure it in place. He had taken to keeping it with him at all times, checking it often to make sure it was still alive—because that meant Autumn was too.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?” his mom asked, hovering in the doorway of his room.

  “No, Mom. You’re not strong enough yet.”