Page 121 of Of Magic and Reindeer
The room filled with tiny golden sparks that drifted like fireflies.
Everyone froze, staring at the magical manifestation.
“Well done, snowflake.” Dad’s voice made me turn. He stood watching me, his eyes crinkling at the corners, magic radiating from him like heat from a furnace. “This is it, you know.”
“What is?” I watched the sparks dance around my fingertips.
“The true heart of our magic.” He knelt beside me, his own magic reaching out to mingle with mine, threads weaving together. “Joy.”
The main square of the North Pole had undergone a transformation that would have made my former Christmas-hating self break out in hives.
Everywhere I looked, enchantment spilled across the space. There were booths dripping with twinkling lights that changed colors with the mood of whoever passed by, ice sculptures that moved and danced when nobody was looking directly at them, and the unmistakable scent of cinnamon, chocolate, and pine that seemed baked into the very air itself.
“You’re doing that thing again.” Pierce appeared at my side, his eyes fixed on my face.
I blinked up at him. “What thing?”
“That thing where you’re analyzing something magical instead of experiencing it.” His hand found mine, warm despite the cold. “Stop thinking so much.”
Easy for him to say. My entire life had been turned upside down in the last two months. Last year at this time, I’d been drinking wine alone in my house, ignoring holiday specials and watching true-crime episodes. Now I was standing at the North Pole, silver-haired and magic-powered, preparing to help Santa deliver joy to the world tomorrow night.
Plus, you know, the whole mated-to-nine-reindeer-shifters thing.
“I’m thinking the perfect amount, thank you very much.” I stuck my tongue out at him, immediately undermining any attempt at maturity.
Vix rocketed into view, his fiery energy practically visible as he skidded to a stop in front of us, sending a spray of snow over Pierce’s polished boots.
“Snowball war! East field! Cole’s building an ice fortress, and Dash is being all tactical about attack formations.” Vix grabbed my hand. “We need you on our team because, you know…” He wiggled his fingers dramatically. “Ice powers.”
Pierce brushed snow from his boots with exaggerated annoyance. “We’re supposed to be savoring the cultural experience of the Winter Carnival, not engaging in childish?—”
A perfectly formed snowball smacked Pierce directly in the face.
Rudy lowered his throwing arm with a satisfied smirk from twenty feet away. “Sorry. My aim’s usually better than that.”
“Better?” Pierce sputtered, wiping snow from his eye.
Rudy’s deep voice carried easily over the carnival noise. “I was aiming for your ego. It’s a much bigger target.”
I burst out laughing as Pierce’s face shifted from outrage to calculation.
“You have thirty seconds to prepare your defenses,” Pierceinformed me, his eyes never leaving Rudy. “Then I will show our alpha what happens when he challenges someone like me.”
“But I wanted to try the caramel apple bites.” I looked longingly at the booth I’d been heading toward.
Pierce was already striding purposefully toward Rudy, who stood his ground with the confident stance of someone who’d just provoked a controlled avalanche.
Vix tugged my arm. “Come on! This war is startingnow.”
An hour later, I was breathless, soaked, and laughing so hard my sides hurt. The war had devolved into complete chaos, with alliances forming and breaking every few minutes. Even the village children had joined in, thrilled to battle alongside Santa’s daughter and her reindeer.
Cole had built me a throne of snow from where I could unleash destruction, but Dash had eventually infiltrated our defenses by burrowing through it.
Dash held out a steaming mug to me as I brushed snow from my hair for the twentieth time.
I accepted the peace offering and took a sip, groaning at how rich it was. “Where did you get this?”
“Enchanted cocoa fountain by the music stage.” Dash watched me savor the drink. “Your cheeks are pink.”
