Page 33 of The Autumn Prince

I cocked my head at Incendis. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, well,” he said, “like Father before me, I’m able to influence the weather in the human realm. Unconsciously,” he added when I gasped, “and automatically, my very existence helps to regulate the seasons and weather patterns.”

I took his hand. “Not that I don’t trust you and think you’d be benevolent but⁠—”

“I would never use my influence for something nefarious!”

“Of course not.” I patted his hand. “I just needed to make sure.”

“I mean, I could.” He looked around with worried eyes when it wasn’t me who gasped. “But I wouldn’t! I’ve seen the devastation such things can cause. I wouldn’t.”

“We know.” I glared around the fire until my friends all nodded and agreed with me. “And the human realm probably needs all the help it can get, so thank you for your efforts.”

“They do need to do their part. It’s not all me.”

I smiled at him because he looked so nervous. “And I’m sure your help will give them hope and they’ll do even more to help themselves.”

He smiled back, looking relieved.

Whispering just to him, I said, “I think you’re a hero, Incendis.”

He sighed and kissed my temple. “Thank you.”

Suddenly, from across the fire, Solaris said, “I can’t leave it like this.”

I looked over to see him wave for Flurry and Hydris to come with him, Incendis already on his feet. The four of them walked closer to the amber, while me and my friends followed at a bit of a distance. I went right over to Wally.

“What’d I miss? What’s happening?

Wally looped his arm around my shoulders, sharing his blanket. “He didn’t want to leave without making this place look more intentional.”

“More intentional?” How could it be more intentional than the gravesite that it was?

“Like a real memorial.”

“Oh.” That made sense. Right now, it looked kind of like a warning more than anything else.

The fact that the princes were over there waving their hands, nodding at each other, and getting along had me smiling. I really did feel like they would be okay. They might’ve hesitated earlier, but they trusted each other now.

When Solaris moved away from the group, I found myself holding my breath, waiting to see what was about to happen.

He raised his arms and, all of a sudden, four huge oak trees sprang up out of the ground, two on either side of the amber. Just fully grown, covered in green leaves, and at least three stories high. Bam! Trees.

Flurry walked closer and seemed to be constructing a gazebo made of ice around the amber. It was delicate yet intricate and glittered in the moonlight. When he added several short towers that looked like a great place to put a fire, poof! Incendis filled each one with flames. That lit the entire area and could probably be seen for miles around.

Then there went Hydris clearing a strip of grass up to and around the gazebo, smooth rocks seeming to wiggle right up out of the dirt all on their own to make a path. Amber-colored flowers soon edged that path, some winding up the sides of the gazebo.

And then the oak trees gave a collective shudder and turned into willows!

I was absolutely speechless.

Milo wasn’t. “Holy fucking fuck.”

All I could do was nod agreement.

Part of me did want to question why the ice wasn’t melting, but the rest of me told that part to shut up and just accept the magic. The princes were leaving something of themselves around their father as a personalized memorial. I wasn’t going to doubt that it would last forever simply because they wanted it to.

Epilogue