Wren glanced over her shoulder. “What’s that?”

  I closed the distance between us. “After you took what you needed, why didn’t you return the sleigh to normal?” I demanded.

  She shrugged with indifference. “I tried, but nothing I did worked.”

  Clara glared at her. “So, you figured if you couldn’t return it the way that it was, you might as well use all the Christmas spirit you could get out of it, right?”

  It took an angry reprimand from Santa’s wife to finally reach Wren. She hung her head. “I’m really sorry,” she uttered in a weak voice as the guards and Deputy Buzz escorted her out the door.

  I stood in absolute silence with the others, the adrenaline of catching the culprit still burning in my veins.

  Amos broke the quiet first with a derisive snort. “The only thing that woman is sorry for is getting caught.”

  Rocky and Wyatt grumbled in agreement, but I kept my eyes on Clara. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t read the expression on her face as she stared at the small object still cradled in her palm.

  “Since you’re the most powerful witch here, I assume you can counteract whatever spell Wren cast and return the sleigh to its normal size, right?” I proposed.

  She shook her head. “I doubt it. That woman has no idea what she did in draining all of the spirit inside of it. At this point, the sleigh as it is would be more useful as an ornament to hang on a tree.”

  “What are you saying?” Wyatt asked.

  Mrs. Claus looked up and faced all of us. “I’m saying that I’m pretty sure that the sleigh is broken beyond repair.” She held the object out in front of her. “And if somebody doesn’t come up with a miracle, I don’t have any idea how my husband is going to be able to deliver presents this Christmas.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Having Santa’s wife declare that Christmas might be canceled tore me up inside. No, I had not experienced a lot of happiness surrounding the holiday, but millions of others did. But I couldn’t solve the sleigh’s disappearance only to find out that it didn’t make a difference to the holidays.

  “There must be something we can do,” I insisted. “Can’t you have a new sleigh made in time?”

  Clara sighed. “The sleigh wasn’t just something my husband rode in. There was a lot of magic used during its creation. It took a lot of time and effort to craft it into the perfect vehicle. More than just the few days we have now.”

  “Well, there must be something we can do.” I looked around at my other cohorts. “Amos, you do woodwork.”

  The older man held up his hands. “Hey, my work is on a much smaller scale. If you wanted a custom wooden dashboard, I could maybe knock that out in a few months. But this is way beyond me.”

  Wyatt stood across from me, offering me an apologetic wince when my attention fell on him. “I know you’re going to ask me next, but I just carve logs as a hobby. My skills are nowhere near what they’d need to be.”

  Crestfallen, I wrung my hands. “Well, I’m out of ideas. Unless you want a sleigh made out of ice.” I managed a weak chuckle. “I don’t suppose your husband would enjoy having his behind frozen during his entire journey.”

  Clara’s face brightened for the first time since arriving at the awards event. “What did you just say?”

  I began to repeat myself until I felt the weight of her gaze and realized she didn’t get the joke. “I wasn’t being serious,” I defended.

  “That’s actually a great idea,” Wyatt chimed in.

  I shot him a death glare. “You don’t even know if I could do it or not.”

  “Yes, I do.” He crossed the floor until he stood in front of me. Taking my hands in his, he turned them over. “I’ve seen what you can do in person and it’s absolutely unlike anything anyone else can achieve.”

  Panic rose in my chest. “You don’t know that. All I’ve done so far is a few glasses and added the water stuff with your bear. Nothing about any of that says that I could craft an entire sleigh, let alone the one that Santa might use.”

  Clara approached me. “I saw the sculpture with the fish, and I think it’s absolutely incredible and very special.”

  I would have been embarrassed by the compliment if I weren’t so freaked out over the sudden expectations resting on my shoulders. “Thanks. But I—”

  “The decision is completely up to you, Rory,” she interrupted. “If you’re truly uncertain that you could do the job, then you can choose not to.”

  “And be the cause of cancelling Christmas for everyone?” It took great effort to maintain a level of composure and not fall to pieces in front of everyone else.

  Mrs. Claus brushed past Wyatt and placed a hand on my shoulder. “No, Wren is to blame for what happened to the sleigh. You’re the reason we have a sliver of a chance to fix things.”

  I sniffed a couple of times before managing to speak again. “How do you know I could actually do it?”

  “Because I’ve watched you grow in such a short amount of time,” she answered. “You came here because you thought you could escape your life. Instead, you’ve taken bold steps to actually live it. That’s why you were able to create the beauty that you did.”

  I tugged my hands out of Wyatt’s grasp and held both out in front of me, staring at them. “But how do I know my magic won’t screw things up. It’s been broken for so long I don’t know if I could trust it.”

  Clara tilted her head. “Your magic was never broken. Maybe bent a little from doubting yourself. But never broken.”

  I started to protest and refuse the task she required. But something deep inside of me knew that if I could just trust myself, I could do it. “Maybe,” I uttered.

  Amos stepped closer to me. “If it helps, I think you should know that I believe in you.”

  “Same goes for me,” Rocky rasped from behind Mrs. Claus, raising his hand in the air.

  Nutty scuttled up my body until he perched on my shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, me, too.” He kissed my cheek once before scampering back down.

  “You already know where I stand.” Clara’s smile beamed at me with confidence.

  I glanced around at everyone, my insides warm and a little gooey from their belief in me. Even though I guessed the answer of the only person left in the room who hadn’t added his two cents yet, I still needed to hear the words.

  “Wyatt?” I barely squeaked out.

  He took my hand and tugged me towards him, catching me against his strong body and encircling his arms around me. “I think you know I’m absolutely crazy about you. Me and my bear have fallen hard for the strong, determined woman you are.”

  I hid my face against his chest. “I think I’m falling for you, too.”

  His chuckle reverberated against my cheek. “Think?”

  I couldn’t bring myself to say anything deeper with my friends listening to everything we said to each other.

  Wyatt stopped hugging me and gently pushed me back so he could look me in the eyes. “I could give you a big pep talk about how we all think you can do it, but the only one who really knows whether or not you can is you. Whatever decision you make, I will be right by your side, supporting you.”

  “You ain’t the only one.” Amos reached out to touch my arm. “I’m on Team Humbug’s side.”

  Rocky maneuvered closer and leaned his massive body over, thumping his gigantic hand on my back hard enough to knock a little of my breath out of me. Nutty threw his body against my leg and hugged me about my ankle.

  Clara couldn’t help but laugh at the odd spectacle we created. “All we need to know now is your decision. What’s it going to be, Rory?”

  I stared into Wyatt’s eyes, reveling in the absolute adoration and faith reflected back at me. Taking in a deep breath, I let it out and made up my mind. “I guess I’ll give it a try.”

  A large crowd gathered around where Clara had led me outside. The added attention did nothing to calm the nerves jangling inside me.

  “Do we really need an audience?” I murmured to her as she stood next to me.

  “Actually, they’ll be helpful,” she said. “Santa’s sleigh runs on Christmas spirit. You’ll need all of their joy and belief in the season to supercharge your work.” She took the time to wave at everyone with a bright smile, and the energy of their enthusiastic response crashed over me like a wave on the beach.

  I danced from foot to foot, nervous about what came next. “Okay, so how is this going to work?”

  Mrs. Claus refused to take the lead and make all the decisions. “I don’t know. I said I would help get you started, but from there, it’s all up to you.”

  I held up the sleigh in its miniaturized form, studying every detail with intent. “I think I can get the basic shape if we form a large block of ice and then let me sculpt it from there,” I proposed.

  Rubbing her hands together in eagerness, Clara said, “One block of ice coming up.”

  Combining our magic, we created one large hunk of shimmering ice. But unlike the ones found floating in the bay, this one contained a slight mystical glow inside of its very essence.

  I wiped a bead of sweat off my brow as I stood back looking at the raw material. Clara carried the tiny sleigh back to me and held it as I planned how to mold the frozen water into the closest form possible to the original.

  Vale and her parents joined the rest of the Humbugs, standing at the front of the crowd. All of them cheering me on was the only thing that kept thoughts of running away at bay. Wyatt’s eyes glowed as he watched me, but they also held strong emotions that bolstered my confidence.

  As I bit my lip, my stomach did flip-flops over the humongous task in front of me. “Here’s hoping I don’t screw it up.”

  Clara slapped me on my back. “The good news is that if you do, we can start over again. Your mistakes don’t have to define you, Rory. So, the only thing you can do is to try and do your best.”

  I cracked my neck from side to side and stepped up to the massive block of ice. Holding a picture in my mind of the sleigh, I drew in a calming breath and called on both my fire and ice magic to forge, melt, and mold the frozen chunk into the desired shape.

  The roar of the crowd died down as they watched each of my decisions and movements. As the form began to resemble the familiar object, murmurs of oohs and ahhs rose in the air.

  After a tense hour of work, I finished the chassis of the sleigh, complete with seats and storage area for the sack full of presents that Santa carried. Although it remained a bit plain, I wanted to make sure I got the runner mechanisms at the bottom correct so the big man could have a steady way to take off and land without worry.

  “I can help you with that,” Clara offered, adding her magic into the mix.

  We spoke to each other to coordinate our efforts and make sure the rails were formed equally. It took almost another hour to melt the ice down in places while bolstering it back up for support in others. I stood up to stretch after crouching and kneeling for longer than I’d expected. Circling around the work we’d finished, Clara and I surveyed the runners.

  “How do we know they’ll hold?” I asked her.

  With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she ran at the sleigh and hopped in before I could stop her. She paused for a moment to make sure the whole thing didn’t collapse and then threw her hands in the air in triumph. The whole audience burst into cheers and applause, and the slight glow from inside all of the ice sparkled a little more in response.

  She jumped up and down a few times. “Seems sturdy enough to me. So, can we declare the task done?”

  Now that the basic form was complete, I had a few embellishments I wanted to add. “Not quite.”

  Using my fire and ice powers, I added small details into the ice. I molded a fancier swirl to the front of the runners and contoured some of the edges. And along the main surface of the sleigh, instead of painted on green and gold filigree like the original had, I etched in snowflakes that grew in size from the front to the back. With a little extra oomph, I boosted the lights from inside to dance and dazzle like the Northern Lights. That final addition made it look like the sleigh was in motion even though it sat still in front of everyone.

  The crowd grew quiet as Clara held up her hands. “Okay, Rory. What about now? Is the sleigh finished?”

  Taking one last look, I couldn’t help the smile that grew on my face. Never in my life would I have guessed I could do anything as beautiful or important as recreate Santa’s sleigh.

  I nodded in satisfaction. “It’s finished.”

  The crowd whooped and cheered, the chaotic roar ringing in my ears. All of my friends rushed over to me and passed me from person to squirrel to troll to elf, hugging me tight and congratulating me.

  Wyatt waited his turn, his eyes blazing once again. He wrapped me into a massive embrace and lifted me off my feet.

  I tapped him on his back. “Your bear hug might break me,” I wheezed.

  He let me down with a loud guffaw. “I doubt anything could do that. But it’s nice to know you finally figured that out on your own. Good job, Rory.” Planting a warm kiss on my cheek, he released me so I could continue receiving accolades from the throng of excited onlookers.

  The more everyone expressed their enthusiasm, the more it activated the holiday spirit of the ice sleigh. After a very quick inspection of her own, Clara stood in the front of the sleigh once again.

  She held up her hands to garner attention. “I just want to give special thanks to Aurora Hart for sharing her magic with all of us. Let’s give her a round of applause.

  Clapping erupted through the whole crowd, and I shook my head. “The praise shouldn’t be just for me. I couldn’t have done this without everyone believing in me.” Glancing around at the rest of the Humbugs, my heart pounded hard in my chest. But this time, instead of nervous doubt, love and appreciation fueled it.

  Clara nodded with pride. “Very well. Because of Rory and all the rest of you in Holiday Haven, we can be assured that this Christmas will be the best one yet.”

  With a flourish of her hand, a light, sparkling snow that smelled and tasted like peppermint fell all around us. Instead of shying away from the sweetness, I relished it, giggling as it melted in my mouth.

  Amos rubbed my arm. “You know, I haven’t had this much fun in years.”

  “Does that mean you might actually be looking forward to Christmas?” Wyatt teased.

  The older man thought about it for a second, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “You know, I just might. What about the rest of you Humbugs?”

  I didn’t need to echo the rest of them to know that from here on out, Christmas would be my favorite time of the year.

  Epilogue

  Vale and I sat in her bedroom, getting ready for the Yule Ball. After all of the excitement with Wren and Santa’s sleigh, I’d had very little time to pull myself together for the event. But she had it all in hand, helping me book an emergency appointment with Vivienne at Silver & Gold Garments after hours to choose a dress.

  “Keep your eyes closed,” my best friend demanded. She brushed more makeup onto my eyelids.

  It took so much effort not to fidget as she perfected my look. I had never been that into dressing up, not that I’d had a whole lot of occasions to do so in prior years. Tonight would hold many firsts for me, and I could hardly be expected to sit still with all of the excitement and anticipation.

  “There,” Vale declared, stepping back to admire her work. “Now all you need is a little lip stain, and you’ll be perfect. But first, let’s get your dress on. I’ll have to get Mama since she knows how to tighten the corset.”

  After a few tense moments, Vale and her mother helped me step into the dress and pull it up. The sleeveless top made of dark navy-blue velvet hugged my body from my chest to my waist. The material changed into something lighter and flowing as the colors morphed from dark blue into ombre colors that ended in light gray. Whenever I moved, it looked as if the colors shifted with me. At the store, Vivienne had called it the Aurora Borealis effect. The second I’d tried it on, I knew it was meant to be mine.

  “You look absolutely regal with your hair all done up like that. And your makeup is flawless,” Aster declared.

  “Thanks to your talented daughter,” I added.

  Vale’s cheeks reddened a bit. “I better get my dress on, too.”

  My friend would have to get over the embarrassment of receiving compliments. Since Yuletide Yummies lost its owner, the store would have become defunct. However, through the encouragement of the Humbugs and by accepting a loan from her parents, Vale had become the proud new owner.

  She twirled in her berry red dress. “What do you think?”

  “I think it suits the new owner of Sugarplum’s perfectly,” I said with a wink.

  Vale placed a hand on her hip. “I told you I didn’t know whether or not I was going to change the name of the shop.”

  “But you’ve taken the concept of sweets to a whole other level now. Instead of just having the baked goods, now you’re featuring all the candies you’ve been perfecting for years. I think that store deserves your name,” I insisted.

  Aster fixed a matching bow into her daughter’s hair. “I agree with Rory.”

  “But I’m not the sole owner. With all of the elves who used to work for Wren now having a piece of the business, it doesn’t feel right to call it Sugarplum’s.” Vale frowned.

  I tweaked the end of her nose. “This is a conversation that can wait for later.” I had every intention to convince her to own her awesomeness later.

  Jingle knocked on the door. “Is everyone decent? Your escorts are here to pick you up.”

  “Come in, Papa,” Vale called out.

  Her father opened the door and gawked at the two of us. “My goodness, if I’d known there were two stars shining as brilliant as the both of you, I would have worn some sunglasses. You two try not to break too many hearts tonight.”