"Oh, for the Coven’s sake!" She stands up, gets dressed and I follow her movements.
The bell above the candy shop door gives a half jingle, though no one touched it. Inside, the air shifts, and the warmscent of caramel and chocolate suddenly has a colder, sharper scent, like pine needles and frost. The shop’s warm glow seems to dim as some creature moves between aisles, horns brushing the strings of the paper bats that dangle from the ceiling. Chains at the creature's side clink loudly. The doorbell jingles again. It stops mid-step, its laughter dying in its throat as it looks at my towering figure. Krampus’s glowing eyes shift towards Neo and I step in front of her, and for a heartbeat, the only sound is the faint rustle from the sack slung over his shoulder.
"Did you talk to him?" A shape appears from behind the Krampus and leans its elbow against the counter.
Chapter 5
NEO
The shop suddenly smells of frost and pine; the air glitters faintly with drifting flecks of snow that somehow don’t melt indoors. We make eye contact. He is standing near the peppermint display, as if he’d stepped straight out of a winter story.
He’s tall for an elf and has a lean, graceful build. He wears a deep green coat that’s trimmed with white fur on the edges and gold embroidery that catches the light liketiny stars. His hair has the color of freshly fallen snow, which frames his face that’s both sharp and kind. He has high cheekbones, a firm jaw and green eyes the color of holly leaves after it has been freezing. He smiles, and it feels like the room has warmed a few degrees. There’s a playful glimmer in his eyes, as if he knows my secrets… or perhaps a secret about Christmas itself? The faint jingle of the silver bells that hang from his belt seems to echo in my chest.
"I did not." I walk past Nox and switch the door sign to ‘Closed’.
"You had time while riding him, Snowflake."
It happens so fast, I almost don’t believe it is real. One moment Nox is just standing there—fucking handsome and bored. Then, without warning, his posture shifts and his shoulders tighten, his eyes narrowing like a storm rolling in.
In a blur, he closes the distance between him and the elf. The sound of the impact echoes through the air, sharp and sudden.Knocking over a candy box in his movement, the elf staggers back. The sound of it falling on the wooden floor is loud in the stunned silence that has followed.
My pulse hammers in my ears. The elf’s chest rises and drops, and he clenches his jaw. Nox’s handsome face is now shadowed by something dangerous. His hands are on the elf’s chest. For a heartbeat, he turns to me, and in that moment I know he is going to kill the elf. I slide my fingers from his arm to his shoulder and neck, capturing his chin to kiss his cheek. Nox releases his angry grip on the elf and puts his arm around my shoulders.
"Tell me what, nightshade?" He pulls out a cigarette and places it between his lips.
"Santa is dead." The elf tries to stand up, but Nox hits him in the chest again.
"Do people call you Nightshade?" Nox asks the elf while applying pressure on his chest, and I can see the poor creature struggling to breathe, but he still smiles. Asshole. Maybe Nox should kill him.
"Yeah…" I gaze over to the Krampus; he looks unimpressed while eating a candy cane. "They are searching for someone in every town to replace him this year."
"Rudolf here should do it. And… who put you in charge of everything?" Nox’s words make me release a laugh.
"The North-Pole Frost Council. I am an elf, they told me I can’t be Santa, unfortunately, so they are looking for someone new..." he coughs, "but you’d do amazing because I’ll guide you every step of the way and I’ll make sure she stays warm and cozy."
After that, Nox goes full firecracker on the elf. My bat boy gives him a nose-punch so hard, the elf probably lost three of his eight lives.
Chapter 6
NOX
Isink onto the stool next to Neo, her palm steady as stone beneath my fingers. She is gentle, precise, as if her touch could stitch flesh back together. My knuckles are raw; a smear of blood and sugar dust clings to my skin. I wipe it away with the corner of my coat; the fabric is cold against the heat of my anger.
Neo presses two fingers on the bruise; she’s searching for broken bone with the patience of someone who’s done this thousands of times. When I flinch, she flinches with me. Softly, an apology slips from my lips for scaring her. She leans closer, breath warm against my wrist. She murmurs something low and kisses me, making my jaw loosen.
Neo wraps my hand in a piece of red ribbon—hardly medical, but it’s hers. She ties it off with a small, efficient knot. Her thumb keeps rubbing the pad of my palm long after she’s finished, like it’s a promise. A promise that says: I’m here, I’m infuriated and I’m not leaving. The corner of my mouth tilts in a way that shows equal parts satisfaction and appreciation. And Neo, sticky fingered and stubborn as ever, let’s herself relax into it.
"I am going to kill him!"
Her eyes trace the shape of my shoulders and the tense line at my throat and jaw in the quiet that followsher threat. Shelet's a breath escape her, soft and controlled, not a surrender but a ledger entry. "We need him…"
"Do we?" I ask.
Neo’s eyes slice into mine, amused and dangerous in equal measure. "He’s the only one who knows where the gifts are," she says, voice soft but carrying the weight of a plan. "Without them, there is no Creepmas... we need to keep the holiday going for the sake of all children." She squeezes my hand, and that squeeze is both a plea and an order. It’s a reminder of who we are when we’re together. I swallow the burn of my upcoming rage and let the anger transform into calculation.
She leans in, her breath catching slightly as her lips hover near mine; close enough to feel the heat, the tension, the restraint. She kisses me softly, not rushed, not desperate. Justreal.
My jaw loosens beneath her touch, and I know she feels the shift—the way my anger melts into something quieter, into something that belongs only to her. Her hand stays on my cheek, her thumb brushing the edge of my jaw, grounding me.
