Neither of them moved. The dark-haired one’s smile faded, his expression shifting to something that looked dangerously like pity. “You’re waking up.”
The words shouldn’t have made sense. They shouldn’t have sent ice water rushing through my veins. They shouldn’t have felt so catastrophically true.
The blond one pointed a finger toward the mirror behind me. “Look.”
I turned, half expecting to see the Santa version of me again. Instead, the mirror was frosted over, patterns of ice spreading from the center outward, crystallizing into intricate snowflakes and spirals. It looked like something out of a winter fairy tale: beautiful, impossible, and absolutely terrifying because it hadn’t been there moments ago.
“I didn’t do that.” My voice came out as a whisper.
“You did.” The dark-haired one stepped closer, his heat filling the small space between us. “Like how you made it snow at Sinclair’s.”
My heart stuttered. “I didn’t... whoareyou?”
“I’m Pierce.” The stormy-eyed blond one remained by the door, standing guard. Against what? Who might come in? Or who might try to get out?
“Vix.” He held out his hand, but I didn’t move to take it. “Iknow this is a lot to handle, but we are trying to help you. Pierce wanted all nine of us to knock on your door, but Rudy put his hoof down about that.”
My eyes widened. “Hoof?”
Pierce glared at Vix, although that wasn’t saying much since his face seemed to be stuck in a scowl. “Foot. We all have big feet.”
“Big feet?” I laughed, the sound high and thin with hysteria. “You expect me to believe that nine men withbig feethave been following me tohelpme?”
Frost continued spreading across the mirror’s surface, branching outward like tiny lightning bolts. The bathroom had grown cold enough that I saw my breath when I spoke.
I needed to get past these two tanks and get to safety. My mind raced through potential escape routes, calculating the odds of dodging Vix or shouldering past Pierce’s immovable frame. Neither option seemed promising.
They were solid walls of muscle standing between me and the rational world where mirrors didn’t frost over and strangers didn’t talk about magic like it was as common as getting a coffee.
The bathroom felt claustrophobic, and the walls got closer with each panicked thought. This had gone beyond weird and into genuinely horrifying territory. My fingers twitched at my sides, ready to push, shove, or claw my way out if necessary. All I needed was one opening, one moment of distraction, and I’d bolt straight for the exit and into the comforting anonymity of the crowded club.
“You both need to back the fuck away from me.” I inched to the wall, hoping to slide around until they adjusted their positions so I could slip out the door.
Vix stepped closer, hands raised in a placating gesture. “We’re not trying to hurt you.”
“Oh, fantastic! Two strange men corner a woman in a bathroom and promise they’re not trying to hurt her. That’s completely reassuring!” My fingers curled into fists as my voice rose. “What is this exactly? Somekind of cult?”
Pierce’s jaw tightened. “You don’t understand the danger?—”
“The danger?” I cut him off, fury and fear battling for dominance. “The only danger I see is being trapped in a bathroom with two stalkers who talk about magic like it’s real!”
The temperature plummeted further. The mirror made a sharp cracking sound, and both men’s eyes widened. A jagged line split the frosted glass from corner to corner.
“Neve…” Vix took another step forward.
How the hell did he know my name?
I held up my hand. “Stay back! I don’t know you. I don’t know what game you’re playing.”
“This isn’t a game.” Pierce’s voice remained steady, but his eyes kept darting to the spreading frost that now crept along the bathroom walls. “You’re losing control. Let us help you.”
“Help me?” I let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. “That’s what this is supposed to be?”
Vix reached out, not quite touching me. “You forgot. It’s not your fault.”
“Forgot what?” I was shouting now, my voice bouncing off the tiled walls. “That I’m secretly a Disney princess? That I can conjure ice out of nowhere? That I hallucinate reindeer in parks who speak to me in my mind?”
Pierce’s eyebrows shot up.
