Page 30 of Tis The Season for Secrets
A few eyes fell on Juliet once they left, and she shifted uncomfortably. She was used to people staring at her because of who she was; now they were staring because of who she might be. She didn’t know which was worse, but neither were pleasant.
Outside the window, Lyla appeared rather animated while Will crossed his arms over his chest, only nodding at intervals. Judging from Lyla’s flushed cheeks and the way she pointed at Juliet through the window, she was giving Will a piece of her mind about bringing her here with no warning. Juliet almost felt bad for him as he ducked his head. Lyla didn’t know that it was her mistake that they’d ended up in Yule. Then again, this was the last place she’d imagined when she said she wanted to return home.
Even if the shock was still wearing off, she took some comfort in knowing that Yule was real, and that somewhere in this snow-coated land was her mom. She was sure of it, especially after Lyla’s explanations. She was one step closer to figuring out the puzzle of her past. She sipped her hot chocolate while Will andLyla went back and forth, finding that the sugar and warmth did wonders for her anxiety.
A tense silence fell over the table when they returned. Juliet wasn’t going to be the first to speak in case she revealed something she shouldn’t.
At last Lyla took a deep breath. “Well, you’ve both got yourselves into quite the pickle.”
“You’re not one to judge,” Will muttered, and Lyla rolled her eyes at him.
“Don’t start, Will. Mason was grieving when he brought me here from the Outside. Whereasyou’vebroken several rules while under orders from the Chief of Guardians!”
Juliet had no idea what they were talking about, but she got the impression she wasn’t supposed to.
“Like I said outside, it was an accident,” Will snapped. “She didn’t know the bell would bring her here, and we were going to leave before Juliet decided to run away from me.”
Juliet was about to defend herself, but Lyla got there first.
“Can you blame her? A strange man enters her life, and all of a sudden she’s transported across the world and—”
“Are you talking about me or Mason?” Will cut in lightly, but Juliet wasn’t sure what the joke meant. Had Mason brought Lyla here under false pretences?
“Leave him out of this!”
“I’m not strange,” Will muttered.
Juliet had grasped enough to realise that Will must have told Lyla who she was. “You told me I shouldn’t tell anyone who I am!”
“I had to tell her, or she’d have blabbed to her fiancé about her new outsider friend. Mason would’ve enquired further, and we’d havebothbeen outed,” Will said crossly.
“I don’t blab!” Lyla protested. Juliet believed her; she seemed genuinely concerned. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to marry him.”
“What?!” Juliet was feeling rather lost.
“Mason rewrote that rule when he took over as Klaus. Now, partners can be brought to Yule so long as there’s an intention to be together for the foreseeable future,” Lyla explained.
“You don’t have to make it sound like marrying me is a death sentence,” Will said.
“I didn’t even know there used to be a rule about being engaged,” said Juliet slowly.
Will shook his head. “You’re a legacy. You have a right to be here.”
“She’s a banished legacy– it’s different. Frosts are legends here, and not the good kind. You should remember that, Will, before you bring her back. There’s a procedure to all this, and Juliet will suffer the consequences if she doesn’t abide by it. Talk about throwing her to the wolves!” Lyla eyed her sympathetically. “Both of you should leave, and only return when you’ve got everything in order. I’ll help you handle things with Mason when the time is right.” She gave Juliet a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Mason has a big heart; it’s the council you have to worry about,” she added, which was less reassuring.
“I agree, and we should go before we’re spotted,” Will said.
Juliet didn’t fancy running into any of these council members, but she was relieved to know she had one person on her side within Yule. It made the magical place seem more real, instead of some fever dream induced by the horrid mousse she’d eaten at the gala. She’d better start reading those letters in the chest before she made any other life-altering mistakes.
“Thank you for being so kind and for helping us keep our secret,” she said to her new friend.
“Happy to help. I know how hard it is to get used to the idea of this place. If you ever need any help, just ask,” Lyla said, giving her a small hug as they said goodbye. “And keep her safe!” she added sternly to Will.
Neither of them spoke on the way back to Will’s house. Juliet had barely had time to think of what to say when the door slammed behind her.
“Why are you always running away from me? I don’t think it’s safe to shower around you.” Will glared at her, backing her up against the door.
“I didn’t mean to run off! I just went to get some air and I got lost.” She fumbled through the excuse, while he stared at her like he was trying to decide what to do with her.
