“You connected the dots.” Vix’s voice was soft and cautious, like I could forget it at any moment. And maybe I would, but right now it was as fresh as the snow outside.
“I had a dream, and all the other memories have become clear again.” I picked up a glass ornament from a nearby box, turning it in my hand. “I’ve been lied to for years.”
Cole wiped flour from his hands with a towel. “Your parents did what they thought was best after your magic…” His mouth slammed shut, but I couldn’t tell if it was him not wanting to tell me or some magical force preventing him.
“After my magic what?” I carefully set the ornament down, though what I really wanted to do was throw it against thewall. “Meltdown? Explosion? Catastrophe? Fill in the blank for me, since apparently I’m the only one who doesn’t know the story of my life.”
Don stepped toward me, his expression gentle. “It’s complicated, Neve.”
“Then uncomplicate it. I’m tired of breadcrumbs. I deserve the whole loaf.”
Dash rose from the couch, folding the half-finished stocking. “We should wait for Rudy.”
“Why? Is he the designated explainer?” My voice echoed in the sudden quiet. “The alpha of information dispersal?”
I spotted movement outside the living room windows. A massive reindeer galloped with powerful strides toward a small hill that rose from the landscape like a misplaced volcano.
Rudy.
My irritation shifted targets instantly. Everyone had ambushed me with Christmas cheer, each one offering pieces of themselves to rekindle my holiday spirit.
Everyone except him.
“Where is he going?” I pointed toward the window.
Eight heads turned to follow my gaze. The massive reindeer disappeared over the crest of the hill.
Pierce moved beside me. “That’s his morning routine. He’ll be back inside soon for?—”
“For what? More secrets? Everyone else has been trying to drown me in Christmas spirit, but your fearless leader can’t be bothered to participate?”
The room fell silent. In the corner, Vix shifted uncomfortably, exchanging a look with Kip that I couldn’t decipher.
I spun toward the mudroom we’d come in through the night before.
No one tried to stop me, though I heard urgent whispers. I shoved my feet into my new boots and shrugged into my jacket.
It was cold as I stepped outside, but it didn’t bother me like it normally would have. Snow crunched beneath my boots as I marched across the clearing toward the hill Rudy had been running up.
As I reached the base of the hill, Rudy reappeared, but not from over the top. He trotted into view from around the side of it, his massive reindeer form covered in snow. His movements were unsteady, almost defeated.
The sight knocked the anger right out of me.
He hadn’t seen me yet, and I watched as he shook snow from his coat, his powerful legs trembling slightly. He looked... vulnerable.
What had he been doing?
I took a step forward, and his head snapped up, his eyes locking onto mine. Even in reindeer form, I could read his expressions shifting from shock to shame and then indifference.
We stared at each other across the snow, steam rising from his nostrils in the frigid air. In that moment, he seemed more beast than man, wild and unpredictable and somehow achingly alone.
“What are you doing out here?” My voice came out softer than intended, my prepared tirade forgotten.
He didn’t move, just watched me with those unnervingly intelligent eyes.
I took another step closer. “Everyone else is inside playing Christmas elves while you’re out here doing... whatever this is.” I gestured vaguely at the hill.
Rudy’s gaze remained fixed on me, his massive antlers glittering in the faint light. They looked like a chandelier of ice.
