“What incident?” I leaned forward, desperate for answers.
The men exchanged worried glances above my head. Pierce cleared his throat awkwardly.
Blitz slid a fresh mug of wine toward me. “I think you might need another drink.”
Chapter 19
Bloodlines
Istared at Lumi, my apparent childhood best friend. The wine suddenly tasted like battery acid in my mouth, but I took another sip anyway, needing something to calm me.
“Please, someone explain.” My voice came out brittle, threatening to shatter with the slightest pressure.
Lumi’s animated features softened. She took the stool Vix vacated, sliding onto it with a grace that seemed both familiar and alien. Her pointed ear peeked through her auburn curls again as she leaned forward, lowering her voice. “You really don’t remember any of it? Your parents never told you?”
I gripped my mug tighter. “Told me what, exactly? That I’m Santa’s daughter? That elves are real? That I spent my childhood in the North freaking Pole instead of in Los Angeles like I thought?”
The men around me shifted uncomfortably. Vix, apparently no longer concerned about whatever sculpture drama he’d been hiding from, studied my face with unusual intensity. “They couldn’t tell her, Lumi. She’s just now remembering who she is.”
Lumi’s brow furrowed. “The distance and time…” She then snorted. “Los Angeles is the most boring cover story ever.”
“Focus, Lumi.” Pierce rubbed small reassuring circles on my back.
She straightened. “Right. So, the thing is, you’re... special. Even by North Pole standards.”
“I’m getting that impression.” I thought of all the wintry tricks I’d done so far without even trying.
“You have North Pole magic in your blood. Like, serious amounts. Not just from your father, who, yes, is Santa, but from your mother too.” Lumi paused, watching me carefully. “Your mom is an elf.”
The mug slipped from my fingers, but Don caught it with impossible reflexes before it could spill.
“I’m half-elf?” My words were hollow and distant. I didn’t quite know how to feel about that. “Or wait, is my dad an elf too?”
Blitz rubbed my arm. “He is a chosen human who was gifted the magic of the North Pole.”
Lumi looked around as if checking to make sure no one who shouldn’t be listening could hear. “Your mother is one of the most powerful elves in the North Pole, and you inherited both bloodlines, plus the North Pole gifted you even more magic. It’s a lot of power for one person.”
I reached for one of my ears, wondering if I’d soon be growing points. “Power?”
“They were training you to control it, but when we were fifteen...” She glanced at Don, who gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“What?” It wasn’t the first time someone had alluded to my lack of control. “What happened when I was fifteen?”
Lumi took a deep breath. “Your magic erupted. A complete loss of control. It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. Ice and snow exploded everywhere. Time kept freezing and unfreezing. Joy turned to fear and back again in waves. The main workshop was damaged, the reindeer barn nearly collapsed, and—” She swallowed hard. “Several people were hurt. No one died,” she added quickly, seeing my expression.
The room tilted. I gripped the edge of the table to steady myself. “What did my parents do?”
“They made the choice to remove you from the North Pole.To protect you.” Lumi’s voice was barely above a whisper, and she didn’t have to say they also removed me to protect everyone else. She took my hand and squeezed.
“What caused the eruption?”
Lumi shrugged. “No one knows for sure. You were angry one moment, and then everything went sideways the next.”
The implications crashed down on me like an avalanche. My throat constricted, making it hard to breathe. My whole life had been a lie, and not just a cute “your dad’s Santa” lie, but a “you’re a magical time bomb who almost killed people” lie.
“That’s not...” I shook my head. “That can’t be.”
But even as I denied it, I felt something unspooling inside me, a thread of ice-cold power stretching outward. My emotions spiraled, and with them, reality itself wavered.
