“Yes, we’re going to Arbor Lake,” Avery answered, his voice muffled by the comforter.
“Unless,” Autumn added, “you and Archer can’t work things out. Then maybe we’ll have to—”
“I’ll just go ask nicely,” they heard Belle grumble through the door.
Avery chuckled, and Autumn sighed, rolling over until she was snuggled up against his chest. “Your daughter is wildfire,” Avery murmured, kissing her on the forehead.
“Why is she my daughter this early in the morning?”
“She looks just like you,” he answered, tousling her hair. It was true, she did. Same auburn curls, same milky-white skin. Her eyes, though, were Avery’s steely gray.
“Yes, but she has your eyes,” Autumn reminded him. “Besides, she acts just like you.”
Which, she did. Belle and Archer were twins. How could they not be when Autumn and Avery had both been twins themselves? But they’d inherited a sort of jumbled mix of their parents’ features. Belle with her auburn curls and stormy gray eyes, and Archer with his golden hair and the Oaken trademark hazel eyes. However, Archer was the mild-tempered ones of the twins, valuing books and quiet more than sports and—ironically enough—archery. And, like his mother, he cared more about others than himself and wanted to help them as much as he could. That was, unless it was his sister shooting arrows at his door while he was trying to read a good book.
“Did Luke want us to wait or just meet them there?” Avery asked.
“He didn’t specify, but Ella wanted us to wait so she could walk there with Belle. You know how much she idolizes her.”
“Ah, so we go by what the four-year-old says.”
“Don’t we always?” Autumn whispered before kissing him on the cheek, then the jaw, then down to his neck, eliciting a moan that rumbled through his chest.
“Okay, come here,” he said, pulling her closer so she was laying over him. “They can take themselves to Arbor Lake. Let’s just stay here and do this.”
“Was last night not enough?” Autumn murmured, kissing him deeply.
“Never.”
Autumn giggled, pecking him quickly on the lips again before rolling off of him. “I’ve gotta shower and get ready before the kids try to break down our door again.”
“Compromise,” Avery said, throwing the covers off himself. “I’ll shower with you,”
“Deal.”
Autumn, Avery, Archer, and Belle met up with Luke and his family in the throne room after a battle to get Archer dressed, which he was reluctant to do as he was “at a good part” in his book—which just happened to be a book he’d acquired from the Outside. Autumn and Avery had decided to be completely honest with their children about their past, their parents, and the Outside.
So, after much prodding and a little bribing, Archer reluctantly put his book down and threw on the first thing he could find so they could go meet his cousins.
“Alexander, get off of the throne!” Luke bellowed as he swept Ella up into his arms. “I swear we were not this hyper when we were kids.”
“I wasn’t.” Autumn chuckled. “You, on the other hand, were worse.” She watched in amusement as Belle ran after Alexander with her bow held high in the air, screaming at the top of her lungs.
Xander and Ella both had strawberry blonde hair. It was as if their genes had been confused as to which of their parent’s hair colors were more dominant—Luke’s carroty red or Crystal’s platinum blonde—and just decided to fuse the two together in compromise. While Xander may not have looked just like Luke, he certainly acted just like his father, so Autumn had no trouble seeing her brother in him. Watching him and Belle chase after each other reminded Autumn of two mini versions of her and Luke. It was almost spooky sometimes. Archer walked calmly beside his father, which was a feat in and of itself, as he had a book held up before his face.
“I kind of want another one,” Crystal said with a giggle at Luke’s look of horror.
“Crys, Ella is four. She’s going to be starting school soon. You seriously want to have another baby in the house for five years?”
“Oh, hush. You know you’re going to miss her being around all day, distracting you from your kingly duties,” Crystal said. “Alexander! We’re leaving!”
“Yeah, Daddy. You’re going to miss me,” Ella said in her twinkling voice, her long, strawberry blonde hair tied up in two ponytails. She was petite, even for her young age, practically swallowed by her father’s arms.
Luke’s hazel eyes met his daughter’s, the same shade. “You’re right, Baby. I am.”
Autumn and Crystal exchanged an amused glance.
“Yay, the royals are here!” Ember called teasingly when their group arrived at Arbor Lake.
“Ember,” Kyndel scolded. “Now Lorcan is going to start calling them that.”
“Eh, they’ll get that all their lives,” Ember said, waving her hand. “Better to prepare them now.”
“Thanks, Em,” Autumn said as Belle, Xander, and Ella ran off to play with Lorcan.
After the much-debated Underground law stating that it was legal for two magical creatures of different races to procreate went into effect, Ember and Kyndel approached the warlock, Leon, about being their donor. Because he was a warlock, he was able to do what, to everyone’s knowledge, had never been done before—mix three strands of DNA from two different magical races. So, essentially, Lorcan had three birth parents. And it was evident. He’d inherited his father’s shining black hair—minus the glitter—Ember’s amber-colored eyes, and Kyndel’s lion-like features.
Lorcan wasn’t the only Ellock that had been born since Victor’s death. Several others were now in existence, but the Underground leaders were watching them all like hawks. So far, Lorcan hadn’t exhibited any evil tendencies, though his powers were clearly already stronger than his peers.
“It’s a beautiful day today,” Crystal noted as she plopped down on the ground beside Luke and Kyndel. “Last week was unbearably hot.”
“Some of us like the heat,” Ember said, winking at Kyndel, who rolled her eyes.
Every Sunday the original Quinn Warriors brought their families to Arbor Lake and let their kids play while they basically lounged around and talked—not all that different than what they’d done ten years ago, though their topics of conversation had changed quite a bit.
“Oh, look, here comes Charlotte and Jastin and their litter,” Ember remarked with a repugnant frown.
The others turned to see a pregnant Charlotte holding the hand of her two-year-old daughter, Taylor’s, hand, while Jastin carried their one-year-old daughter, Rayne. Following behind them were four-year-old Jazlin and seven-year-old Oliver.
“They look so happy. D’you think they’re faking it?” Ember muttered through her smiling teeth. “Hey, guys!”
“You would know better than any of us, Em,” Autumn said. “You work with Charlotte every day.”
“Yes, but we don’t talk about our children or families. We talk about gross Healer things,” Ember said with a wink.
“Hey!” Charlotte said brightly, letting go of Taylor’s hand so she could toddle after her siblings.
“Do y’all know what you’re having yet?” Luke asked. “Hopefully another boy for poor Oliver?”
“Aw, Ollie loves his sisters,” Jastin said, bouncing Rayne up and down on his lap.
“Yeah, but when they get older, he’s going to slowly start feeling outnumbered,” Luke said seriously.
“We don’t want to know what we’re having,” Charlotte said. “As long as he or she is healthy.”
Autumn caught Ember rolling her eyes and Kyndel shooting her a harsh look.
“Are Forrest and Willow coming?” Avery asked.
“I think so,” Crystal said. “Harvest told Ella she would bring her baby tigerfly today.”
“Oh, great,” Luke grumbled. “Now Ella is going to want a tigerfly.”
As if on cue, Forrest, Willow, and their daughter, Harvest, appeared over the h
ill. Harvest’s little arms were full of an orange furball Autumn assumed was her new tigerfly.
When the other kids caught sight of Harvest and what she was holding they squealed and ran over.
“Okay, now, be careful with her,” Harvest said, sounding far older than five. “She was only just weaned from her mother two weeks ago.”
“What does that even mean?” Belle said with a raised eyebrow.
“It means she isn’t sucking at her mom’s teat anymore, Belle,” Xander said making the others laugh hysterically.
“Gross!”
“Our children are so proper and put together,” Luke muttered to Autumn.
“Like you were?”
“How’s the farm going, Forrest?” Ember asked him as he and Willow settled down in the group.
“It’s a wildlife sanctuary,” Willow corrected her. “And it’s doing very well. We’ve nursed five animals back to health just this week. Feel free to bring Lorcan anytime you want.”
“Uh, did no one bring food this time?” Forrest asked, oblivious to the current conversation. “Cause I purposefully didn’t eat breakfast.”
“Eris and Edric are bringing the food this time,” Autumn answered.
Not long after Eris and the other Atrums had arrived in Arbor Falls following the war, she’d met Edric and they’d basically fallen in love in the span of a week. It had been both amazing and disgusting for the other Warriors to watch. In fact, they exchanged golden roses before Willow and Forrest or Luke and Crystal. Edric was the Sports Magister now, and Eris owned her own bakery in City Circle after working in Arbor Castle.
“Yes,” Forrest said, bringing his fist down dramatically. “Eris makes the best scones ever in existence.”
When Eris and Edric showed up with their daughter, Lariat, and their toddler son, Blaze, the others jumped up to relieve them of some of their baskets full of food.
“Did you bring scones?” Forrest asked eagerly.
“Yep!” Eris answered with a chuckle as Forrest quickly settled his basket on the ground and began rummaging through it.
The kids were distracted by the food only long enough to take a few bites of fruit and scones before they grew bored with eating and ran off again. Belle showed the others her new “trick” with her bow and arrow, which was that she had learned how to string two arrows and shoot them at the same time. Each kid took turns trying the trick with Belle’s help, except for Archer of course, who was content reading his book sprawled out on one of the hovering hammocks.
“You think Archer will ever take an interest in archery or any other physical things?” Edric asked, and Eris punched him in the side. “What? Was that rude? Sorry.”
Autumn laughed, and Avery put a hand on her knee, squeezing it. Archer was like his mother in that he experienced things in his mind before he even thought to experience them in real life. But he had an imagination and compassion like she did. Not only did he read stories, but he liked to tell them as well. Autumn had given him countless journals, which he’d filled up in no time. And, like his mother, he had no prejudices, no judgments. He looked at everyone as equals—a quality Autumn knew ultimately helped her change Victor’s heart and win the war.
After all, it takes an open mind to change the world.
Autumn smiled proudly at her son and said with confidence, “He will be just fine.”
* * *
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LINKS TO ALL UNDERGROUND BOOKS
Alex and Azalea (Novella .5)
Oaken (Book 1)
Ash (Book 2)
Alder (Book 3)
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About the Author
Melody is the Amazon Bestselling Author of the Underground Series. She lives in Texas with her husband and two fat cats. When she isn’t teaching, she can be found in a cozy coffee shop with a latte in her hand, typing madly away with little awareness of the world around her. As a dreamer by nature—her story worlds are where she is happiest.
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