We crowded around the table, a true feat of spatial engineering with ten bodies, passing plates and stealing bites from each other’s food. Dane’s foot hooked around my ankle under the table while Vix sulked over the stack of pancakes Pierce had placed in front of him.
“How are you feeling this morning? Feel any different?” Cole placed a few slices of bacon on my plate.
“I feel great. The bond feels like...” I searched for the right words while cutting into a waffle.
“Like coming home,” Kip finished, stealing a piece of bacon off Dane’s plate.
Don nodded. “The bond will settle over the next few days. Right now, it’s still new, so everything feels heightened.”
I took another bite of my waffle, maple syrup dripping down my chin as Dane leaned over to wipe it away with his thumb.
“Your father wants us at the training field in thirty minutes.” Rudy had been quiet, and through our bond, I could sense he was on edge.
Vix jumped up, rubbing his hands together. “This is your first official sleigh training! This is huge!”
My stomach fluttered with nerves as the guys finished their breakfasts and started clearing the table. The reality was setting in: I was about to learn how to be Santa’s daughter.
I held tight to the reins of my dad’s sleigh as we glided to a gentle landing on the packed snow of the training field. If I weren’t actively trying to appear composed andprofessional, I might have let out the kind of squeal normally reserved for winning the lottery.
“Not bad for your first official sleigh lesson.” Dad patted my hand, and I loosened my death grip.
Not bad? I’d just piloted an actual sleigh through the actual sky with actual magical reindeer. The child in me—the one who apparently had been trapped inside me for twelve years—wanted to fling herself into a pile of snow and make snow angels while screaming, “I flew a sleigh!” at the top of her lungs.
Instead, I nodded with what I hoped was dignified appreciation. “Thanks. It feels natural.”
“Of course it does.” Dad jumped down from the sleigh with surprising agility for a man who refused to give me a straight answer about how old he actually was. “The magic is in your blood.”
I climbed down after him. “It’s different from riding on the backs of my—” I caught myself before saying ‘men’ “—reindeer.”
“It’s a different type of magic entirely.” Dad brushed snow from his crimson coat. “Speaking of your herd, you’ll be working with them and Silven for the next few hours.”
My entire body went rigid at the name. “Silven?”
Dad nodded, adjusting his gloves. “My advisor. Been with me for centuries. He’s been working with your herd since dawn on coordination techniques.”
Something cold slithered down my spine. “Your advisor? Why haven’t I met him yet?”
“You don’t remember him? You used to train with him. He returned this morning from his vacation.”
I glanced toward the distant field where nine dots moved in formation across the snow. My herd had been blocking their emotions all morning to help me focus on my training without distraction. At first, I’d been annoyed, but the silence had helped me connect more deeply with the sleigh magic.
“He used to train me? How so?” There were memories I still couldn’t fully access, but the ones I had of training weren’t positive.
Before Dad could answer, an elf came sprinting across the field, arms waving frantically.
“Emergency in the workshop, sir! The enchantment on the self-wrapping paper station has gone haywire, and it’s wrapping everything, including the elves!”
Dad’s expression shifted from fatherly pride to Commander of Christmas Operations in an instant. “I’ll be right there.” He turned to me, already backing away. “Head that way.” He pointed toward the distant field where my reindeer were still moving in formation.
“But wait! I need to?—”
“We’ll talk later, Snowflake!” Dad called over his shoulder as he hurried away with the frantic elf. “I promise!”
I tugged my hat down firmly over my ears and started trudging toward the training field, focusing on the distant shapes of my herd. I tried reaching out through our bond again, only to hit the same emotional wall they’d put up earlier.
One moment I was slogging through ankle-deep snow, and the next?—
My stomach lurched as the world blurred around me. A rush of disorientation hit me like a brain freeze, and suddenly I was standing on the training field, my boots sinking into fresh powder.
