The clink of a spoon against glass cut through the cheerful chaos of conversation. I turned to find Krampus moving to the center of the room. He held a glass of spiced cider that looked absurdly delicate in his hand, and his expression carried a gravity that sent my heart skittering against my ribs.
This was it. The announcement. I smoothed my hands down my dress. Manager. I was about to be named manager. Official. Permanent. The thought should have been purely thrilling, but something deeper twisted beneath my breastbone, a hunger Ihadn't allowed myself to acknowledge until recently. A desire for more than just a title. For true belonging.
His eyes found mine across the room, and the corner of his mouth lifted in the barest hint of a smile that only I could see. "Tonight," he began, "we celebrate the heart of this café."
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd. Several guests raised their glasses in my direction. I felt heat creep up my neck.
"When I purchased this building centuries ago," Krampus continued, "it was merely an investment. A place for supernatural beings to gather without drawing mortal attention. A practical solution to a practical problem."
He paused, his gaze sweeping the room before settling on me again.
"But investments don't create community. They don't remember that Mrs. Howlson prefers lavender in her tea on full moon days to calm her cubs. They don't craft special mugs with cooling charms for vampires with temperature-sensitive fangs and don't stay after hours to listen to a lonely lich complain about modern literature."
The lich in question harrumphed from his corner but didn't actually disagree.
"People do these things," Krampus said, his voice softening fractionally. "Extraordinary people who see others, truly see them, and respond with kindness that goes beyond service."
The café had gone quiet, every eye in the room had turned to me, and I resisted the urge to fidget or make a self-deprecating joke. Instead, I stood straighter, accepting their gazes.
"Tonight we celebrate not just our new manager—" Krampus paused, his eyes glinting with something mischievous and fond.
Wait. What did he mean 'not just'?
"—but the new owner."
The words hung in the air for a heartbeat before their meaning penetrated my shock. Owner? My hand flew to my mouth. The room erupted in gasps and exclamations, a wave of sound that washed over me without fully registering. From the inside pocket of his jacket, Krampus produced a rolled parchment tied with a pink ribbon that exactly matched my dress. He extended it toward me, and the crowd parted further to create a path between us.
"The café is yours," he said. "I'm just the backing. The soul of this place has always been you."
The parchment glowed faintly in the light, magic radiating from it in gentle pulses I could feel even before touching it. A binding contract. A transfer of ownership.
"I don't understand," I whispered.
His eyes softened in a way I'd seen directed only at me. "You built this," he said simply. "You made it a safe place for any and all. The deed should reflect reality."
I extended trembling fingers to accept the scroll, half-expecting it to vanish like some cruel joke. But the parchment was solid, warm beneath my touch, the ribbon sliding against my skin. The moment my fingers closed around it, the café itself seemed to respond, the magical wards that protected the building from harm pulsing with golden light that traced the walls and windows in glowing patterns before settling into a contented hum.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. Glasses clinked, magical sparks shot into the air, and somewhere a werewolf let out a joyful howl that others quickly joined. Through my tear-blurred vision, I saw Silas openly crying despite his earlier claims that no one was allowed to cry and ruin their makeup tonight. When Bramble zipped over to point this out, he loudly proclaimed that he was "perspiring dramatically from his eye region due to the subpar ventilation."
Bramble herself looked suspiciously misty as she presented me with a bouquet of black roses dusted with glitter that smelled like midnight rain. "Knew he was up to something good," she whispered, her hand squeezing mine before she darted away.
I looked down at the deed in my hands, then back up at Krampus, who watched me with an expression I'd never seen before, a look that appeared dangerously close to adoration.
"Say something," he prompted gently when I remained speechless.
I turned to face the crowd inmycafé.
"This café isn't just a business," I continued, gaining strength with each word. "It's a home. For all of us who need one. And I promise to keep it that way, you are always welcome and safe within these walls to be yourself."
The cheers that followed vibrated through the floorboards, making the lights dance overhead. But all I could focus on was Krampus's face as he watched me transform from someone who served to someone who led. Who’d learned to own her power as readily as she now owned these walls.
"Thank you," I whispered to him as the celebrations resumed around us.
"No," he rumbled. "Thank you for showing me what this place could be. What you could be, when you finally believed in yourself."
I clutched the deed to my chest, feeling as though my heart might burst from the fullness within it. Owner. Mine. Home. The words echoed inside me, filling spaces that had been hollow for too long.
And for the first time in my adult life, I felt completely, utterly enough.
