Page 32 of The Autumn Prince

Then Lars flickered twice more, blew us a kiss, and was gone.

Chapter 13

We stood there for a while afterward. I didn’t really knew what to do, what to say, and it seemed like no one else did either. I held Incendis, and he rested his chin on top of my head. Being here now felt like a funeral, but none of us had been ready for that.

Finally, it was Incendis’s servants and guards who kind of took over. They put up the tents and cleared an area for a fire, placing bricks that looked like dried grass in the center. I didn’t see who lit it, but soon we had a crackling fire we could sit around as several people cooked. Had this been any other day, that would’ve been a lovely way to end it.

As a chilly spring evening descended, we sat two-by-two on small rugs and ate a venison soup. I had to wonder if all the courts would get back to growing food like they had before the curse. Trading, traveling, hunting, and whatever else they’d done back then could begin again. But though I hadn’t lived this life for that long, I had a feeling things might not go back completely. These people would remember and might even make sure they wouldn’t be caught out a second time.

It was while I was watching the sun set that I really looked at Incendis as compared to his brothers. He had wings and pointed ears and a prettiness about him that seemed a bit otherworldly, but he didn’t have antlers or flowers or look like a snowstorm. I had to ask about that.

“I take after…” Incendis cleared his throat. “I took after Father more than they did in that regard.”

“Well,” Solaris said, “I didn’t look like this until recently.”

“What do you mean?” Incendis asked. “You’ve always⁠—”

“No, I lost my powers entirely and, with them, my looks.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. Like he’d turned into a troll or some⁠—

“Boring white guy with blond hair,” Wally said.

“Excuse me.” Solaris smacked Wally’s arm. “I seem to remember you rather enjoyed me like that.”

Even from across the fire, I could see Wally blushing now. He smiled like he regretted what he’d said. “I just…like this version much better.”

Solaris wasn’t the only one who snorted a disbelieving laugh.

“Was it the same for the rest of you?” I asked, super curious. “Did you lose your powers and your appearance changed as they disappeared?”

“Not me.” Flurry shook his head, making the baubles and thin shafts of ice tinkle together. “I kept my powers and I’ve looked the same this whole time.”

“My powers,” Hydris said, “were really limited. I could grow things, but they wouldn’t last if I stopped touching them.”

“Oh, but that makes sense then,” I said with some enthusiasm. “The two of you have powers to make things grow. Cutting you off from the other courts might not have done much if you could sustain yourselves indefinitely.”

And then I regretted saying all that because it made the curse sound a little more cruel.

Solaris sighed heavily. “I changed my appearance myself.”

“You did?” Wally asked.

“I lost hope.” Solaris shrugged. “No powers, no purpose. So I stopped being me.”

I couldn’t hear what Wally said to him then, but I could see the way they kissed and leaned on each other afterward. It was a beautiful thing to see how much each of my friends supported their princes. I looked to mine.

Incendis reached out to the fire and seemed to snatch a little flame from it to dance in the palm of his hand. “My powers are more practical. I can use fire defensively but I can also light every hearth in the realm if needed, no fuel required. Muting that made us rely on other means,” he said with a nod to the fire pit as the little flame raced back into it.

“The grassy brick things?”

“Dried peat moss.”

“Oh,” Hydris said, “we did the same thing.”

The others nodded, and it was kind of cool that they’d all found the same solution to a problem. I wasn’t sure if they could see it yet, but they were very alike.

“Most of my power is focused on the human realm.”