ALDER

by Melody Robinette

  “How old are you? Please tell me you’re not thirty or something. That would creep me out.”

  Victor threw his head back in a belly laugh. “I’m not thirty. But I am older than you. When I arrived in Arbor Falls to attend Aspen Academy I had many spells in my arsenal that made me appear younger than I was. If I had attended as my actual age, I would have been too old to take the Warrior Test.”

  “So...?” Autumn prodded, nudging him slightly with her hand, acutely aware of the fact that she was flirting with Victor Vaun. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-three.”

  Autumn’s mouth dropped. “So, you were twenty-two when you were dating me? I was seventeen!” She pushed him again, this time letting her fingers rest lightly on his forearm.

  He shook his head slightly, looking down at her hand. “You didn’t act seventeen. You’re like me. You have an old soul.” With slight hesitation, Victor placed his own hand over hers before looking up at her through his lashes. Their eyes remained connected and, for some maddening reason, Autumn didn’t want him to look away or let go of her hand. But let go he did, pulling slowly away from her. “You should get to bed. I wanted to take you up to the top of the mountain tomorrow if you felt like it. The view is incredible.”

  Autumn frowned slightly, standing. “Okay. That sounds nice.”

  She made her way back to her room in a cloud of confusion. After Avery, she never thought she would have feelings like this again. They weren’t as intense with Victor as they had been with Avery, but they were definitely there. Was it just a case of “loving who you’re with?” Or had she actually grown to care for the man she once thought was a monster?

  Eris was turning down her bed in her room when she opened the door.

  “Hello,” Eris said brightly. “Did you have a pleasant evening with Mr. Lavigne?” Autumn nodded absently, lost in her thoughts. “Is everything all right, Miss Autumn?”

  “Huh? Oh, um, yeah. I—I’m fine. Thank you, Eris.”

  Eris nodded, curtseyed, and left the room.

  Autumn changed out of her clothes into her favorite silk nightgown and sleeping cloak. The fire burning in the grate was more than enough to keep her warm in the winter weather, not to mention her thick, down comforter. Climbing under the covers, she lay flat on her back, thinking of how very strange her life was now.

  In a way, she was lucky. She’d had so many different experiences. Her childhood had been awesome and magical, and she’d been fortunate enough to have parents who had encouraged her imagination and unconditionally loved her the way they had. Then she had Luke, her twin, who had been her best friend and only confidant when their parents had died—and the one who had been by her side when they traveled into the Underground.

  Then they met Crystal and the rest of the Warriors, who had all become her best friends, more than friends, actually. They had been her family. Then there was Avery. The deepest, most passionate love she could have ever imagined or hoped for. She knew she would never love anyone as she loved him.

  Never.

  But then…here was Victor. A monster transformed into a man. A man who had the power to obliterate the Underground, but didn’t. A man who had dedicated his life to keeping her safe from his evil sister and his inner demons. A man who needed her more than anyone had ever needed someone. More than even Avery had ever needed her. Because, without her near, Victor’s inner demons took control, convinced him that he was as evil as he had always been taught he was. But, somehow, they stayed hidden and dormant as long as she was near. She was their kryptonite. Their Achilles heel. And Victor’s salvation.

  There was a knock on the door then, and Autumn jumped out of bed to open it, her heart inexplicably pounding. Victor stood in the doorway with a haunted look on his face.

  “Were you sleeping?” he asked.

  “No. I was just thinking,” Autumn answered, moving back to her bed and sitting on the edge, tucking her cold feet beneath her.

  “What were you thinking about?” he asked, his voice sounding concerned.

  “You, actually.”

  His eyebrows rose, and he looked at her with that intensity he always had when he did so. “Oh?”

  “Yeah. I was thinking about how different you are than I’d initially thought. How much you’ve grown.”

  “Because of you,” he said, moving into the room and closing the door behind him.

  “Because of you too.”

  He shook his head, a tortured look crossing his features. “You don’t understand. I’m nothing without you, Autumn. Nothing at all.” He drew near to her bed.

  Autumn grasped his hand and squeezed gently. Without warning, a powerful feeling took over her, something that hadn’t happened since she’d parted with Avery, her body tingling in places she wished wouldn’t because she knew what that led to. And, by the look in Victor’s eyes, Autumn could see he was feeling something similar.

  Somehow, they’d moved even closer to one another. Her heart pumped faster as she breathed in the man who loved her more than anyone else ever had.

  Victor took a step backward. “I should let you sleep. I just came to say…to say goodnight.”

  He pushed her hand from his and moved swiftly out of the room. A wave of emotions washed over Autumn—shame, guilt, desire, rejection, relief, and longing.

  All of these. All at once.

  As she tried to pull herself together, she looked up to see Victor standing in her open doorway once again. His chest was heaving as if he’d just run a mile and he wore a tormented expression. They stared at one another for several seconds and then Autumn rose slowly from her bed. An invitation.

  Taking three long strides forward, Victor took Autumn’s face in his hands, pulling her mouth firmly, yet gently to his own. His hands moved to her hips, pressing her to him, then up her back and through her hair until they came to rest again on either side of her face. Autumn pulled him onto her bed, hovering over him. They kissed each other hungrily, both starving for a physical connection. Autumn pulled off her sleeping cloak, revealing the delicate sleeping gown beneath. Victor’s fingers trailed, claw-like, down her back as his lips caressed her neck.

  Pulling off her sleeping gown then, Autumn heard Victor’s sharp intake of breath. For once, she wasn’t thinking about the consequences of her actions or the people she could hurt. All she cared about was satisfying the electric sensations pulsing through her body. Victor hesitated at first, and then gave in to her.

  All of her.

  And that’s about the time she sat bolt upright in bed, trembling in a pool of sweat. She was alone in her room, the fire roaring in the grate. It took her at least a full minute to realize that she had been dreaming. Feelings of relief and regret mixed together when she realized that everything that had just transpired between her and Victor had only taken place in the confines of her mind.

  It was just a dream.

  An exceedingly satisfying dream.

  33

  Mirage

  LUKE, Crystal, Tyler, and Anna lay flat on the ground, exhausted from an afternoon of non-stop training. Luke had thrown all of his energy into helping Atticus train Tyler and Anna. It gave him some sort of purpose other than telling the elves of the Underground how to behave, and to somehow attempt to be as good as Autumn was at working with the people of the kingdom—and failing miserably. The Warrior Training Grounds were where he really belonged. And he didn’t feel like such an old fart when he was there like he did in the castle.

  “You know,” Tyler said. “You're kind of badass for a king, Luke. Can I call you Luke?”

  Chuckling, Luke said, “Yeah, you can call me Luke. And thanks, I guess. My sister was always the structured leader. I really don’t know what the hell I’m doing, to be perfectly honest.”

  “Hush,” Crystal scolded, slapping his arm playfully. “Yes, you do. You and Autumn were just different leaders.”

  “Yeah, she was good at it, and I’m not.”

  “I wish I’d been able
to meet Autumn,” Anna said thoughtfully. “I think I would have liked her.”

  “You would have,” Luke agreed. “Everyone did.”

  “She’s the reason the warlocks are here, right?” Tyler asked.

  “For the most part, yeah,” Luke said. “Rion trusted her; therefore Sam trusted her.”

  “I think it’s awesome that we have warlocks here now,” Tyler said. “I was hanging out with Wyx the other day and—”

  “Better watch out, Tennant,” Anna cut in. “You know Zane has a thing for Wyx.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything like that, Smith,” Tyler said punching her playfully in the shoulder. “I was going to say that she’s a lot more like us than I ever realized. My parents always taught me that warlocks were wicked creatures, less superior than elves. But they’re not all that different from us, really. I’m even a little jealous. They have all of these powers. Makes me wonder what would happen if we actually did get rid of the Underground laws prohibiting interspecies procreation.”

  Everyone was silent then, thinking of the amazing and horrible possibilities of taking such a chance.

  “The other leaders would never go for it,” Anna said finally.

  Luke realized she was probably right. And, after all of the unspeakable things Victor had done, he had to say that he was thankful for this law. There didn’t need to be any more Ellocks walking around the Underground.

  “What are you lazy kids doing?” a voice called.

  The four of them looked up to see Jastin and Charlotte approaching them, walking hand in hand. The two had been inseparable since Charlotte had “woken up.” Luke didn’t blame them.

  “Lazy?” Luke called back. “We’ve been working our tails off all afternoon. Can you two say the same?”

  Charlotte and Jastin exchanged an amused glance and Charlotte said, “Well, actually…”

  Crystal laughed. “We don’t wanna know.”

  “I kind of do,” Tyler said.

  “Shut your face, you tactless infant,” Anna said smacking him in the chest.

  “Who’re you calling tactless?” he said, pulling her into a chokehold. She quickly escaped, creating a hole in the earth, which Tyler tumbled into.

  “There you guys are,” another voice said. Kyndel and Ember were entering the field as well, arms interlocked. “I’ve been looking all over for you, Luke.”

  “I’m off duty,” he shouted, covering his face with Crystal’s flaxen hair.

  “You’re the king. You’re never off duty,” Kyndel reminded him. “There was an elf who wanted to speak with you about one of the laws. He seemed pretty peeved.”

  “Which law?”

  “How should I know? He wouldn’t tell me. I’m not the king.”

  “Maybe he’s upset that you removed the law about digging a hole for your feces and covering it up with leaves,” Crystal suggested, making the group roll with laughter.

  Tyler popped out of the earth Anna had buried him in and said, “There was a law for that? Hahaha! Holy petalsies. That’s excellent!”

  Anna whispered the word “infant” and was soon being attacked by Tyler again.

  “This almost reminds me of the good ol’ days,” Charlotte said brightly, coming to sit beside Crystal and Luke, with Jastin right behind her.

  “Almost,” Kyndel said.

  “How’s Avery doing?” Charlotte asked.

  Luke and Crystal exchanged uncertain glances.

  “Umm, he’s doing…weird,” Luke said.

  “Weird?” Charlotte chuckled. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, he seems happy that his mom has her memory back and that she’s slowly regaining her strength,” Crystal said. “But he’s just been acting really strange. Like, talking to himself and leaving the castle a lot and not coming back until after dark.”

  “Don’t you think it’s weird that his mom and I got our memories back on the exact same day?” Charlotte said thoughtfully.

  “Wow. I hadn’t thought of that,” Kyndel said. “That is peculiar.”

  “I know what it was!” Luke said dramatically. Everyone turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. “It was the magic of the Underground. Right, Crys?”

  Crystal pushed him into one of the holes Anna had created.

  * * *

  When AVERY wasn’t spending time with his now-cognizant mother, which was sort of awkward, to say the least, he was visiting Autumn’s grave. But, to his dismay, he had yet to feel her presence again.

  He was glad to have his mother back, of course, but she wanted to know about everything she’d missed since Avabelle’s death. And as much as he didn’t feel like it, he told her. He recounted what had happened with Victor and he even told her about Autumn.

  “You really loved her, didn’t you?” she asked with a sad smile.

  Avery nodded, his jaw clenching. “I did. I still do. She doesn’t feel gone to me yet…somehow.”

  “I’m so sorry, Avery.”

  He shrugged.

  As much as he didn’t want to admit it, all of the talking he was doing with his mom was actually sort of helping him work through his grief. But then he would return to Autumn’s grave, and his head would get all screwed up again.

  To make matters worse, he had nightly dreams about her. She never said anything, and he was never able to get close enough to touch her. She was always just out of reach, like a mirage. A beautiful, maddening mirage.

  Tonight’s dream was different, though.

  He was in Fay Forest, looking for the perfect diamond rose to pick for her when he heard her Song. He hadn’t heard it in months and, for once, it didn’t hypnotize him. He turned around, mouth agape to see her standing in the middle of the clearing, dressed all in white, with fay fairies dancing around her, illuminating her in such a way that she appeared to be glowing.

  In her hands, she held a single red rose.

  “Autumn,” Avery breathed. “Where are you?”

  He wasn’t sure why he asked her this. Of all the things he could say to her.

  “I’m in my branch, silly,” she said with a small laugh. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “In your branch?”

  She nodded and the dream dissolved—actually, more like shattered into a million fragments. Sitting bolt upright in bed, Avery threw the covers off of himself, moving disoriented to his dresser, throwing on a mismatched pair of pants and a shirt. He stuffed his feet in some boots, not bothering to lace them before crashing out of his room onto his balcony. He leaped over the railing, landing on the terrace below.

  Autumn’s branch.

  Memories, both pleasant and unpleasant, seeped into his mind like spilled wine on fabric. Kisses they’d shared, fights they’d had, tears they’d shed. He hadn’t been there in months. Kyndel had moved down to a lower and larger branch so she could be closer to the throne room and her new office. So, this room had been vacant for several weeks.

  With shaking hands, he opened the double doors as he had so many times before. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting. Autumn’s ghost? Autumn’s memory? Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t there. Disappointment and embarrassment flooded him. Maybe he was going crazy like everyone surely thought he was.

  The image of Autumn holding a red rose floated to the surface of his mind. He moved to her vanity where he knew she had once kept his rose encased in a glass vase. It reminded her of an old favorite Outsider fairy tale, she’d told him. The glass vase sat on the vanity…but there was nothing inside. A crease formed between his brows. Who would have taken it?

  Running his hand over the top of the vanity, he searched for the last remaining connection he had to Autumn. Opening the little cabinets and large drawers at the base of the vanity until he reached the topmost drawer. Shock ran through him like lightning. The rose he’d expected to see dried up, long-since-forgotten and abandoned, was there…lying in the drawer atop jewelry, hair clips, and old photographs of Autumn’s parents. But this wasn’t what shocked him.


  What shocked him was the fact that it wasn’t dried up at all. It wasn’t withered or rippled or graying. It was alive. Brilliantly red and fresh and whole. As if nothing had happened. When his father had died, Avery’s mother cried over their Golden Rose for days. He remembered watching her, holding the dried petals in her hands. Their rose had died because he had. Red Roses were no different. There were two ways to destroy a Red Rose: breaking up, or one of the two bound elves passing away.

  Which meant…

  Autumn was alive, and she was stuck in a glass coffin six feet underground.

  34

  Hey, Fall

  After Autumn’s extremely inappropriate, yet equally satisfying dream about her and Victor, she wasn’t exactly sure how to act around him. Until now, she had sort of been living life on a day-to-day basis. But now she was looking ever so slightly into the future. She wondered what was to come. Would she and Victor start up some sort of Beauty and the Beast romance? Was this just a case of Stockholm Syndrome?

  “Miss Autumn?”

  Eris stood in her doorway with a tray of tea and pastries. Autumn blinked to clear her thoughts. “Sorry, Eris, were you knocking? I’ve been stuck in my head all day.”

  “Yes, ma’am, but it’s not a problem. I’m getting pretty good at holding a tray with one hand.”

  “Let me help you with that,” Autumn said apologetically, sweeping from her writer’s desk and taking the tray from Eris, placing it on the small table. “You’re going to make me fat, you know.”

  “You always say that Miss Autumn,” Eris said with a chuckle. “And I don’t think you’ve gained an ounce.”

  “Would you like to join me?” Autumn asked. Eris looked uncertainly over her shoulder, and Autumn waved a dismissive hand, saying, “Oh, don’t worry about Victor. I’ll just tell him I forced you to join me.”

  “Well, all right then. I’d love to.” Eris moved to the other chair and poured herself a cup of tea, the steam floating up in swirling designs before vanishing into the air. “You seem to be in better spirits lately,” she said cautiously, not meeting her eyes.