by Fiona Roarke
“I want to,” he said.
“Then I will help you.” He recognized the look of resolve on Bellamy’s face—he’d seen the same one on Merri enough times to know. “She’s here tonight. I’m goin’ to dance you over to where she is, and then we’ll strategically change partners.”
Seeing as that’s exactly what he and Merri had planned to do to her, Bright was totally on board with Bellamy’s idea. “If you can do that, I promise to do everything in my power to make Merri happy.”
“That’s all I wish for,” she said.
Bright almost warned her about wishing on stars, but he decided to save the teasing for another time. “I just have one question.”
“Only one?” Bellamy’s smile lit up the room again. “What’s that?”
“Assuming I can get back into your sister’s good graces…” He stepped to the side and spun Bellamy around once again. Her skirt sparkled about her like a flurry of new-fallen snow. “How would you feel about being my sister?”
Bellamy threw back her head and laughed so hard that one of the white blossoms fell from her hair. It was a true fairy laugh, one that sounded like a river of tinkling bells. He remembered Merri laughing like that, before he ruined everything.
“Oh, my dear, sweet Bright,” she said. “Bein’ a sister is one thing I am very good at.”
Bright spotted Merri dancing in the crowd with her tall partner. It looked as if Merri was teaching him the steps as they went along, but he seemed to be a quick study. They were getting closer, so Bright guessed that Tinker had passed whatever test Merri had put to him.
Bright managed to catch Merri’s eye, and she nodded. Confirmation. Now all they needed to do was the partner exchange…
…and in one quick turn, it was done. Bellamy and Tinker were off together, to sink or swim on their own.
Merri was in his arms now, like a dream come true. Bright never wanted to let her go. Granted, it was a little like dancing with a mannequin.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said with a fake smile.
“I just need to do one thing first,” he said, holding her tightly. Because in order to pull off the mischief he’d planned, he needed a little more than his own magic. He absorbed her energy through their joined hands, and then directed it toward Bellamy and her beau. A gust of cold wind whipped through the gymnasium.
Merri’s ice-cold fingers tightened around his. “What was that? What did you do?” She looked around. “Where’s Bellamy?”
“She’s fine,” said Bright. “I did a sort of…twist on a classic winter elf communication device.”
Merri narrowed her eyes at him, waiting for him to explain further.
Bright couldn’t help but smile. He loved seeing that look again, too. “I put them in the snow globe.”
He could tell she wanted to laugh at that, but she managed to quash whatever joy had reared its ugly head. “Great,” she said. “Now we can leave.”
She started to pull away from him, but Bright didn’t let her. He remembered his conversation with Bellamy, the ease with which he’d been able to confess his feelings for Merri, and he held on. “We need to talk first.”
Without letting go of her hand, he pulled her out of the gymnasium and into the oppressive heat. He took her with him across the courtyard, past the fountain and past the library, all the way to the outer edge of campus and into the woods. When he reached the hollow tree, he finally let her go. He turned to her and took a deep breath…but the words were gone.
To her credit, she didn’t turn and run. She folded her arms across her chest and stared at him. And waited.
And waited.
Say something, he yelled at himself. How did one fix the biggest mistake of one’s life? He couldn’t afford to screw this up, but here he was, already doing it. Say something.
She rolled those exquisitely blue eyes. “So I guess you and Taylor obviously still talk,” she said, breaking the silence. He wanted to kiss her for that. Maybe he should.
“You know our families have been friends forever,” he said instead. “She’s actually engaged to my younger brother. The journalist.”
“Thuban became a professional journalist? Good for him!” Once again, she shoved that joy back down in its box. “Though I’m not sure I ever understood what you guys saw in Taylor.”
“I’m not sure I did either,” he said softly.
“You want to hear something crazy?” she asked. “I don’t hear from you in years, but it still makes me sad knowing that you talk to her more than you talk to me.” She shook her head. “It shouldn’t, but it does.”
Finally, finally, the words burst out like a flood. “Merri, I don’t talk to anyone. I left here, went on to university, and graduated with no friends. I work at my father’s office now, just like he planned from the day I was born. I have a secretary. I send emails and she talks. I attend meetings, and the board members talk. The only person in my life I’ve ever wanted to talk to was you.” He threw his hands up in the air. “And I’m so terrible at it, that I only seem to be able to do it when I’m arguing with you.”
“Okay, then let’s try this,” she said. He could hear the frustration in her voice. But she didn’t turn and walk back to the school, so he continued to hope. “I’ll ask questions and you answer.”
He braced himself. “I’m game if you are.”
“First question,” she said. “Why haven’t you spoken to me in four years?”
He took another deep breath of humid air. “You know when you screw up, and there’s this window of time in which you could fix it…but that time passes, and then you feel like it’s too late to fix it…and then more time passes…and then it’s been four years?”
“Hmm.” Merri pursed her lips. “I’m not sure I know exactly, but I suppose I can guess. Second question: Have you really been at all the Midwinter Masquerades?”
“Yes.” Every nerve in his body was on fire. He was terrified of screwing this up again.
“And you continued not to speak to me because…you thought it was too late to fix things?” Those kaleidoscope eyes pierced his soul.
“Once upon time, when I was a clueless eighteen-year-old idiot, I hurt the one person who meant the most to me, and she walked out of the room. Little did I know, she was actually walking out of my life.” Bright looked up at the sky through the bare trees and silently asked whatever stars were out there to help him get through this. “I was worried that however I tried to make it up to you, I would just end up causing you more pain. And I did, didn’t I? I saw you wince at the fountain when you saw me, and again before we entered the gym. Being forced to touch me on the dance floor hurt you. And I’m hurting you now just by making you stand here.”
Her gaze dropped to the ground. “Yes,” she whispered to her shoes. “It shouldn’t, but it does.”
“Merri,” he said. “I want to apologize.”
“You did,” she said without looking at him. “I remember quite clearly. The last words you said to me were ‘I’m sorry.’ I’ll admit, it was cold comfort when I had to throw away the dress I’d just spent a huge chunk of my savings on.”
“My most magnificent Mad Merri, I will buy you a dozen new dresses, every color of the rainbow, every year for the rest of your life to make up for that night. But that’s not what I need you to forgive me for.”
“You don’t need my forgiveness, Polaris.”
Polaris. She’d called him that the night she walked away. He never thought someone could hate their given name as much as he did right now.
“But I do,” he said. “I need you to forgive me for taking so long to realize just how deeply I was in love with you.”
“What?” She looked up at him again. He wanted to stare into those magical eyes for the rest of his life.
“I was so thickheaded that I didn’t realize it until that moment. What did I know of love? I had nothing to compare it to. My relationship to my family has always been one of obligation.” The more he spoke, the faste
r the words came. “Taylor is a fine person, but she was never going to be enough for me. I was more in love with the idea of Taylor than Taylor herself.”
Merri almost smiled at that. Maybe she’d realized the same thing about Samson.
“You were the only true friend I ever had,” he said, “so I thought what I felt for you was only friendship. But when you stood there, covered in ink from that stupid balloon, staring at me with fire in those amazing blue eyes, I considered what it would be like to lose you. And it scared me to death.”
“Why didn’t you come after me then? Or ever?” Her heart was in her voice now. “Why didn’t you do anything?”
“I was scared,” he said. “I’m still scared. I know Bellamy is. Maybe you are, too. But I think maybe when a person is in love, they have to take some risks.”
He spread his arms out wide.
“So here I am, risking it all. I love you, Merri. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to say, but I love you. I always have. And I don’t want to live without you anymore. I want to show you Vermont in the fall. I want to show you Tasmania in the summer. I want to see South Carolina in the spring and have dinner with all twelve of your brothers and sisters. I want to dance with you and laugh with you and go on crazy adventures with you and not know what’s happening tomorrow with you. Most importantly—I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in silence.”
Merri took off her mask. “There’s only one problem.”
Of course. Somehow, he had screwed this up, like he knew he would. “What’s that?”
She stepped closer to him. So close. “We’re going to have to be quiet for a few minutes longer.” She touched his cheeks with her fingers, sliding them up to remove his mask, and then she kissed him.
He froze in shock, and in the moment it took for him to recover, she giggled against his lips. He cupped her face then and kissed her back with all the love he had inside himself. He felt her whimper in the back of her throat—or maybe it was him—and her body sank against his. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, so tightly, never wanting to let her go, and shielding her from the cold.
Cold?
Bright reluctantly broke off the kiss. The heatwave had ended. Snow had begun to fall on their heads and faces and all around them.
“My winter elf,” Merri said, and then didn’t say anything more as he kissed her again.
Somewhere on campus, alarm bells began to shriek.
This time, both of them laughed.
“What did you do now?” he asked.
Merri looked back over her shoulder. “Seriously, should we be worried?”
Bright refused to loosen his grip. “Only that our legacy might be overshadowed by Hubble. Oh, and maybe this.” He took one of her hands in his and got down on one knee. “Merriaurum Grandiflora Larousse…”
“Yes?” she whispered. He felt her hand tremble ever so slightly in his own and it gave him courage. He did say he was risking it all. He had promised Bellamy he would spend the rest of his life making her sister happy. He just needed her to say that word again.
“Would you do me the honor of…helping me create an ice bridge so we can drive your brother’s pumpkinmobile onto the roof of the library?”
Merri threw her head back and laughed that full laugh of a flower fairy, half earthy woman and half tinkling bells. She pulled Bright to his feet. She slipped his mask back down over his eyes, and then put hers on as well. “I thought you’d never ask.”
They kissed again, there in the woods by the hollow tree, with the fat snow dancing waltzes all around them.
And so the Mad Bandits of Harmswood lived happily ever after.
The End
The Sorcerer’s Christmas Miracle
by Cate Dean
Christmas in Nocturne Falls was, in a word, magical.
Tami wandered along the streets, twilight creating an atmosphere that was fun and spooky at the same time.
She loved it here. She also knew that she should leave, before she became attached. Her life was in California, her job as senior librarian waiting for her. She had put off leaving long enough.
Pushing that out of her mind, she headed for Harrison Grey’s store, The Grey Wolf. She was meeting Lidia there, probably for their last morning coffee and gossip session—
“Stop it,” she muttered. “You had a good run. It’s time to go home.”
She shook off the depression that threatened at just the thought of leaving and pushed the door open. Her greeting lodged in her throat when she saw Lidia, on the floor and holding what looked like an unconscious Harrison.
“Tami—oh, thank heaven. Can you lock the door and flip the sign?”
After doing both as fast as she could, Tami ran across the store and knelt next to Lidia.
“What happened?” Up close, Harrison looked even worse—white, shaking, sweat running down his face.
“He’s trying to shift. It’s the full moon,” Lidia whispered, her voice edged with tears. “This is the worst I’ve seen it since we’ve been together. He’s losing control, Tami, and I can’t help him.”
“Are you okay here?”
Lidia nodded. “He’s over the worst. With my magic almost at full strength again, I was able to cast a calming spell when I realized what was happening. Why?”
“I need to talk to someone who might be able to help.”
“Not Jack Cross?” Tami could feel the heat flush her cheeks, at just the mention of his name. “I already talked to him about Harry. He said he couldn’t help.”
“I tend to be more persuasive than you, sweetie.” She kissed Lidia’s cheek and stood. “I’ll go out the back. Take care of him, and I’ll be back as soon as I can. Did you need anything?”
“He’ll be hungry once he’s—done.”
“I’ll swing by Howler’s and get some burgers.”
“Thanks, Tam.”
“Anytime. Call me if anything happens, okay?”
“I will.” Lidia had her head bent over Harrison before she finished saying the words.
After waiting another minute, to make sure Harrison wasn’t going to start shifting again, Tami headed through the back room, sprinting down the alley as soon as she cleared the door.
Lidia was well on her way to regaining her power, but Tami wouldn’t leave now—not until she knew that both of them would be all right. She headed straight for the only man who could help her make it happen.
Jack Cross had rented a small apartment near Delaney’s Delectables, claiming he’d wanted to stay long enough to make sure the gargoyle, Eli Saunders, wouldn’t relapse after he’d been poisoned.
Tami snorted, smiling when a couple of kids in superhero costumes stared at her. He had been just as blindsided as she had been when they’d met—and that same jolt of attraction drove through her every time she saw him. No one could have been more wrong for her, but she would use the attraction to get what she wanted.
The door to the building came into view, and Tami stopped, long enough to take a few deep breaths, and brace herself for the shock of need. Then she walked into the small foyer and straight to the apartment at the back of the hall. Before she could talk herself out of it, she knocked on the door.
“Go away.” Jack’s deep voice filtered through the door.
“I’m not here for me, Jack Cross.” Liar, liar. “Can you open the door? Or do you want all your neighbors to hear what I have to say?”
The door jerked open, and Jack appeared, wearing jeans and a rumpled, white button down shirt. Tami cursed under her breath and ignored her pounding heart.
“What do you want, Bennett?” He’d called her that since their first electric meeting—probably to distance himself. From what she could see, it wasn’t working.
“Can I come in?”
After he glared at her for an endless minute, with those intense hazel eyes, he stepped back, giving her just enough room to squeeze past him. She jumped when he slammed the door.
“What?” he said, his voice
a low growl.
“I have a favor to ask.”
His laughter made her fingers itch—and not with the need to touch him. More like the desire to strangle him. The man was infuriating.
“A favor? What makes you think I would even consider listening?”
“It’s for Lidia Reston.”
Jack’s humor faded. “Is she all right?”
“Yeah. I didn’t mean to panic you. She’s doing great, actually.” Jack had helped Lidia find the way back to her magic, and Tami would worship the ground he walked on for that. “I came to ask you to help her fiancé, Harrison.”
“The werewolf who can’t shift.”
“Yeah—well, he tried to shift this morning, to greet the full moon. I need your help, Cross. He needs your help.”
His eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms. He might as well have said no; his body language shouted the word, loud and clear. “I can’t help him.”
“I thought you were the great and powerful sorcerer.”
His nostrils flared, and Tami knew she’d hit her mark. “I have skills, and power, but I can’t change the fundamental nature of a supernatural.”
“But it has nothing to do with his nature. You don’t know what happened to him?” She was surprised that Lidia hadn’t said anything during one of her sessions with Jack. He shook his head. “He was stabbed by a rival with a silver knife, in the middle of a shift.”
Jack frowned, studying her. “It was an injury? Even with a silver knife as the weapon, he shouldn’t have lost his ability to shift.”
“Gotcha.” Tami smiled. “You’re interested now, aren’t you?”
His frown reappeared. He pushed off the door and stalked past her. “Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
He moved so fast she didn’t have time to react.
Between one second and the next, she found herself pinned to the wall, Jack towering over her. “Reading me like my thoughts are written on my face. You’re a mortal.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Tami wanted to sound angry, but her voice betrayed her, rasping out of her throat.
