Chapter Fourteen
The Morning Before the Storm
Ryatt
The morning feels softer in the warm sunlight glow. The soft light filters through the frosted windows as it twinkles against the snow lining the bottom. The fire’s burned down to embers, and the air is filled with a faint warmth I’ve never felt here before.
Holly’s soft breaths steam against my chest where she lays draped. Her arm is banded across my stomach with her leg laid over mine. I didn’t know what it would be like to share a bed with someone else, but this–the contentment thrumming through me–makes it all perfect.
My northern star thrums slower now–its steady rhythm is a reminder of what changed last night. I smile softly as I stroke my hand along her temple, running my hand against her wild, amber curls that splay in every possible direction.
Holly’s always been a wild, untamed woman–less put together and far freer than me–but it’s this unfiltered moment I think I cherish more.
She’s not trying to be anyone, or worried about what I’ll think of her.
No, instead her walls are fully down–allowing me a glimpse at the raw, true version of herself.
It’s something I’ll always hold close to my heart–the knowledge that only I will ever see this.
Her scent still carries that sweetness I’ve memorized–frosted cranberries, brown sugar, and warm vanilla–but now it’s laced with something deeper, almost richer.
It’s…bourbon.
My magic rises against my skin, confirming what I’m suspecting. I realize with contentment that she now carries my scent. Not just beside her own as a passenger, but braided into her own, creating a scent that is wholly ours.
I wonder if my own has altered too.
Her eyes flutter open as she wakes up, her arm stretching out, a yawn spreading across her face.
When her eyes blink up to mine, I smile warmly at her. “Good morning Berry. Your smell has changed.”
Her shoulder lifts as she smells herself.
I chuckle. “Not that kind of smell. I forget that you don’t know about mates.
She lifts her head up, tucking a hand under her chin as she stares at me with confusion. “You’re definitely going to elaborate or I’m going to go shower and pray to the Goddess that the smell goes away.”
I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear as I stare at her. I don’t know how I got so lucky in life to deserve someone like her, but I’m grateful for whatever it was that I did right.
“Okay, so everyone has their own unique scent, but only your mates scent will be enticing. Everyone else’s will feel off to you.
Think a food that smells good until you try to take a bite out of it and it sours in your mouth.
Kind of like that. Now that we’re mated you should be able to smell my scent as well. ”
Her face drops against my chest as she sniffs deeply. I almost die laughing when she looks back up with a pondering look on her face.
“Yeah, so I don’t know if I’m doing it wrong, but you just smell manly and a little bit like sex. Is my sniffer broken or do I not get that cool upgrade since I’m not a reindeer?”
“Uh,” I reach up and scratch my head. “I don’t think your sniffer, as you put it, is broken. Maybe we should ask the elders? I have no idea.”
Holly opens her mouth to say something when her stomach chooses that exact moment to let us know that it’s time for breakfast. We both chuckle as we roll out of the bed. Holly is glancing around with one arm banded across her chest, clearly trying to determine what to put on.
My fingers snap together, and we are both covered in thick pajamas and wool socks.
“I said it last night, and I’ll say it again.
Endless wardrobe for the win. I think it’s the fact that it’s always a perfect fit too.
No need for a tailor if you have reindeer magic.
Does everyone here have the same magic, or is it like the books, and everyone has unique magic?
If it’s the latter, then I will want to learn every single magic here. ”
I hold the door open for her as she walks down the hallway back to the open space with the kitchen, dining, and living room.
There’s two other bedrooms in this house, but I’ve never taken the time to decorate them beyond a bed, nightstands, lamps, and a dresser.
Having Holly walk through my home makes me feel like I never really made this a home, more a house, a place to rest at night before rushing out the door again the next day.
My mother always said that a woman makes a home, and at this moment as I watch Holly’s hips sway down my hallway, her fingers trailing along the wall, I finally realize what she’s meant all along.
She might not have actual magic like I do, but I can feel the space already transforming as she makes a place for herself here.
When we walk into the kitchen, Chester squawks from his pillow on the couch. His eyes narrowing on the both of us as if he can’t believe we’d dare sleep in beyond his designated feeding time. Yeah, I know all about his breakfast time and the attitude he gives when it’s not met.
The first night I stayed over at Holly’s apartment, I almost lost an eye when he helped himself to the bed and attempted to swat my face, claws fully extended. Thankfully, I’m equipped with speed, otherwise I’d have to walk around with an eyepatch.
“Oh, hush, Chester,” Holly swats at him when he launches onto the kitchen island and directly where she’s setting our coffee mugs. “You won’t die if I’m not feeding you at exactly eight.”
Chester lets another string of long, drawn-out meows, which clearly is him disagreeing with her sentiment.
I start brewing our coffee while those two banter back and forth. Now that we’re here, I can't stop thinking about the phone call from my Dad asking for me to come back because he’s ill.
It’s odd that he wasn’t greeting me when I apperated in, or at least Mom showing up. Why instead was it Mrs. Claus?
I start brewing our coffee, listening to them bicker in the background. The sound is grounding, almost natural—until my thought wander.
My father’s voice echoes in the back of my mind, raspy and strained. I’m sick, Ryatt. You need to come home.
But something about it doesn’t sound right. He didn’t sound weak—just…measured. Calculated in a way he’s only used on me a few times. And if he’s really ill, why wasn’t Mom the one to greet us when we arrived? Why was it Estelle who appeared instead?
The question sits heavy in my chest, colder than the frigid temperatures outside.
We are just sitting down to enjoy the first sips of our coffee when I hear it, the tink-tink-tink of a ice clinking against glass. There’s only one thing it could be…
I set my mug down slowly, the steam curling upward like a warning flare. “Don’t make any sudden movements,” I murmur.
Holly freezes halfway through her sip. “Is this another one of those reindeer things you haven’t told me about?”
“Sort of,” I say, scanning the kitchen looking for a sign of frozen snowflakes in unusual places. “But not exactly one of mine.”
The low notes of Frosty the Snowman fill the air, like a whisper of an old radio playing quietly in the background. Then, between the coffee pot and the sugar cup, a shimmer of light flicks across the spoon as she appears, Eirvyn.
Her body glows faintly blue, each facet of her crystalline skin catching the light like freshly made icicles.
Her skirt isn’t fabric at all, but one large snowflake, perfectly built and flowing to just below her knee.
She swirls it in a slow, lazy orbit around her hips.
A crown of frost curls along her hairline, her long blue wavy hair pinned into a ponytail off the back of her head.
The smallest silver bell dangles from her ear, chiming with every tilt of her head.
“Well, well,” she says, voice soft and singsong, as if the wind itself spoke. “Prince Ryatt, I thought you’d forgotten all about me. And look—you’ve found yourself a mate. How very…warm of you.”
Before I can even respond, she holds up something in her translucent palm. Holly’s locket necklace.
“Eirvyn,” I warn, the name snapping through the air like cracking ice. “Put it back.”
She smiles—a slow, wicked little smile, showing off her sharp canines.”Oh, I will…eventually. You know how I adore shiny things.” Her gaze slides to Holly, who’s staring wide-eyed, coffee steaming in front of her. “You must be the one I’ve been hearing all those wishes about.”
“Wishes,” Holly croaks.
Eirvyn winks. “Don’t worry, little dreamer. The snow always tells me everything. Only the special snowflakes reveal the fates of those who deserve it.”
She blinks out of existence, only to land on the edge of Holly’s coffee mug. Her tiny hand dips into the creamy mixture before licking her fingers. She gags and sticks out her tongue. “Gross, I don’t know how you mortals drink essentially sugar in a cup.”
“Eirvyn,” I say through gritted teeth. “Why are you really here?”
She waves her hand at me as she balances her elbow on her knee, staring at Holly as if she’s a riddle she’ll need to solve. “You know I’ve seen what you have coming, and I must say I love it.” Her nose tilts towards the sky. “Which is a high compliment coming from me. Remember that.”
“Enough,” I snap. “State your purpose.”
Eirvyn groans loudly, her delicate shoulders drooping. “Fine.”
She blinks back into existence next to me before she snaps her fingers. A tiny scroll appears in her hand before she hands it over to me.
I roll it out, a stone dropping in my stomach as I consider all the things this could be. It’s not every day that one of Aurielle’s helpers visits you, and it’s rarely for a positive reason.
The note unfurls in my hand, slowly expanding into a letter written on old parchment. The letters glitter silver as if they are written with ice themselves.
Prince Ryatt Dasher,
The season turns, and with it your father’s light dims. The mantle of the North grows restless, waiting for the heir to take the reins.
The circle gathers at the Hall of Reins. Return home before the first bell tolls tonight or the snow will have to choose another.
Bring the bond you’ve forged—she’s part of the storm now.
~By Aurielle’s will, Keeper of the Light Eternal
My blood runs cold. I thought I had more time. I’ve always known this summons would come, it’s a birthright we are taught about from a very young age. But I didn’t think it would happen this soon. Not right after I found my mate.
“What does it say?” Holly asks, her voice soft and unsure.
I roll the scroll until it dissolves into snowflakes falling down before it disappears as if it never existed before.
“It’s time,” I say quietly, my head falling back as a groan comes from deep within my soul. “They are calling me home.”