“Great, so my magic works best when I’m not trying to use it. Super helpful.” I kicked at the snow, watching it scatter. “Andlet’s not forget that my dad, the actual Santa Claus, hasn’t bothered to call me back. Maybe he’s still afraid I’ll blow up the North Pole if I come home.”
The sky darkened above us, clouds gathering unnaturally fast. My hands tingled, ice crystals forming on my fingertips.
Vix whistled low. “Uh, guys, we might want to…”
A bolt of lightning cracked across the sky, followed immediately by thunder that shook the ground.
Blitz’s eyes widened. “That’s new.”
Panic clawed at my throat. “I’m not doing that. Am I doing that?”
Another lightning bolt, closer this time. The hair on my arms stood on end beneath my jacket.
“Everyone back!” Rudy’s command sent the others retreating several paces.
Everyone except him.
He moved toward me instead, his expression unreadable as the wind whipped around us, forming a miniature cyclone of snow.
“Stay back.” I raised my hands, ice forming in my palms. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” He stepped closer, snowflakes swirling between us.
“You don’t know that!” The ice in my hands grew, jagged and dangerous. “I can’t control this!”
“Then don’t control it.” He was close enough now that I could see the flecks of silver in his eyes. “Feel it instead.”
The storm intensified, lightning illuminating Rudy’s face in stark flashes. Yet he continued forward, undeterred.
“What are you doing?” My voice was barely audible over the howling wind.
“Trusting you.” He reached for my ice-covered hands.
“Don’t—” I tried to pull away, but his fingers closed around mine.
The moment we touched, everything stopped. The wind died. The lightning ceased. The clouds dissipated as quickly asthey’d formed, leaving only the weak arctic twilight and my ragged breathing.
Rudy’s hands were warm around my frozen ones, steady and strong. The ice melted between our palms, dripping onto the snow below.
“How did you do that?” I whispered, staring at our joined hands.
“I didn’t.” His thumb brushed over my knuckles. “You did.”
For a moment, we stood like that, connected and still. Then Rudy released my hands and stepped back, his expression closing off again.
“That’s enough for today.” He turned away, addressing the others. “She needs rest.”
I stared at my hands, still tingling from Rudy’s touch. For a moment, I’d felt complete control, not by forcing my magic to obey, but by simply letting it exist alongside me.
And all it had taken was Rudy’s touch.
The same Rudy who now walked away without looking back, leaving me standing alone in the snow, more confused than ever.
I kicked at the snow, watching it spray upward in a pathetic arc before landing with a disappointing plop. It was a truly fitting metaphor for my abilities. Yesterday I’d created a freaking magical lightning storm. Today, I couldn’t even make a decent snowball without it turning into something with teeth.
“Maybe try visualizing something... pleasant?” Dash suggested from a safe distance. After yesterday’s incident, all nine men had developed a newfound appreciation for personal space.
“Like what? Puppies? Rainbows? My parents actually picking up their fucking phones?” I pulled my phone from my pocket and glared at it for the hundredth time. Still nothing. I was on day two of calls, texts, and increasingly unhinged voicemails, and radio silence from the NorthPole’s first couple.
