Miss Frost Chills the Cheater

by Kristen Painter

  Sin drove, smiling the whole way.

  It amused me. I finished the piece of eggnog fudge I’d brought along to keep my strength up. “You really like this thing, don’t you?”

  “I do. I want one in Nocturne Falls.”

  “Sorry. This is proprietary NP property. But you can use one anytime you’re here.”

  He shrugged. “I guess we’ll just have to move here sooner.”

  I stared at him for a moment, not sure if he was kidding or not. Before I could ask, he spoke again.

  “Believe it or not, I’m hungry again. Even after everything we ate earlier.”

  “I offered you fudge.”

  “I know. I was foolish to turn it down. I even thought about digging into my own stash and didn’t. I’ll learn your sugary ways, I promise.”

  I snorted at his silliness. “Well, there will be twice as many vendors tonight, so you’re in luck. And you know me, I can always eat.”

  “One of many things I love about you.”

  Even though we were early for the competition, the crowds were already crazy. As a result, we took advantage of one of the reserved for royalty parking spots, then hiked toward Yule Square. A delicate drifting of snow had begun to fall, but the sky was still filled with stars. Obviously, my father’s contribution toward making tonight even more magical.

  Sin took my hand as we made our way through the throngs. “I suppose you’ve been to a lot of these.”

  “I have. As a matter of fact, I’ve even been the emcee several times.”

  He seemed surprised by that. “How come you’re not the emcee tonight?”

  “Because tonight, I’m just a citizen of the realm. And my cousin, Francis Snow—he’s my aunt Martha’s brother’s son—has taken over since I moved to Nocturne Falls. Which I’m totally fine with, but I really hope he doesn’t call me out or pull me onstage or anything like that. I just want to blend in with the crowd and enjoy the night like everyone else.”

  Sin’s gaze went past my shoulder. “I think it’s too late for blending in.”

  I looked in the direction he was staring and saw two older women standing in a shop doorway, watching us. And looking very judgmental.

  Sin sighed. “I suppose they don’t think I’m worthy of their princess.”

  I stared at them a second longer, giving them a look back that said I didn’t appreciate their judging him. But I’d been afraid of this. So afraid I hadn’t wanted to put it into words. There was a problem beyond Sin not liking the royal life.

  The citizens of the North Pole, a few of them dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists, might not accept the Winter Princess marrying a man who wasn’t an elf.

  I pulled him aside next to one of the shops and out of the flow of pedestrian traffic. This wasn’t the time or place I’d wanted to have this conversation—I actually didn’t want to have this conversation at all—but we needed to talk about this. “Listen, I have to tell you something. About those women.”

  He nodded. “They don’t think I’m the right guy for you.”

  I frowned. I couldn’t pretend. “It’s something like that. It’s because—”

  “I don’t have pointed ears and blue hair and can’t make snow fall from my fingertips.”

  I let out a long breath. Of course he knew. Sin was a smart guy and very perceptive. “I’m sorry. It’s a very old-fashioned way of thinking, but yes, that’s exactly it.”

  He smiled as he leaned in and kissed my forehead. “It’s okay.”

  “It is? Because it’s not okay with me.”

  “Well, not okay, but I get it. Not only am I a commoner, but I’m not a winter elf. If everyone accepted that with open arms, I’d frankly be a little suspicious.”

  “You would?”

  “Sure. That would be too easy.” He grinned, big and wide. “But I’m very lovable. I’ll win them over.”

  I laughed, more relieved than I could say. “You are very lovable. And I’m sure you’re right, you’ll win them. But you have to know it’s not going to happen instantly. This is a tough, old-school crowd.”

  “It’s not a big deal. I promise.”

  I took a breath. I’d been so worried about so much, and all for naught. So what if his acceptance was an uphill climb? If he was okay with it, then to some degree, I would be too. I wasn’t happy about the antiquated attitudes, but I wasn’t going to let them rule my thoughts. “Still hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  I looped my arm through his, and we headed back into the fray. I loved this sweet, sexy man so much. “How about steak-on-a-stick?”

  He lifted his head and sniffed the air. “Is that what I smell?”

  The meaty, charcoal aroma wafted over us. “Yes. And it tastes even better.”

  He hesitated. “It’s not reindeer, is it? I’d feel weird about that.”

  “No!” I laughed. “It’s beef. I swear.”

  “Good. I’m in. Is everything on a stick?”

  “No. Well. A lot.” I shrugged. “Makes for easy walking and eating.”

  “That it does.”

  The line for steak-on-a-stick was long, but we hung in there and ended up ordering two apiece. Hey, one for each hand. And they weren’t that big. More like slice-of-steak-on-a-stick.

  Of course, that meant we couldn’t hold hands for a few minutes, but it was worth it, especially when we got to the hunk of bread under the steak at the bottom of the stick. By the time you got to it, the bread had soaked up all the yummy juices and was almost more delicious than the steak. Almost.

  We found a spot near the front of the main stage along with a thousand other people and hung out, eating our steak and chatting.

  Once, I could have sworn I heard the word necromancer whispered behind me, but when I turned, no one seemed to be focused on us. I decided it was just my overactive imagination. Or the slight breeze that had picked it up. Or a million other things.

  How could anyone know that Sin was a necromancer? I didn’t think anyone in my family would have said anything, but then, it was possible that one of the staff had overheard them discussing him.

  One thing I’d learned a long time ago was that household staff had ears and tongues and liked to use them. They were supposed to keep everything they heard to themselves, but they didn’t. It was just elf nature to share the most interesting things gleaned in the palace. And everywhere else, really.

  The North Pole was a huge small town. Gossip, rumors, and truth spread like a crack through ice on a warm day. A lot like Nocturne Falls in that way, but probably worse. That was a big part of why the most important meetings and conversations in the palace were done without any staff present.

  And look, I wasn’t saying those employed by the palace weren’t trustworthy, but things happened. We’d learned to deal with it a long time ago. Like before my dad even took the throne.

  So was it possible that the truth about Sin’s background was spreading? One hundred percent. I hadn’t done anything to hide it, and I wasn’t going to, but I hadn’t exactly broadcasted it either.

  I got closer to Sin and bent my head a little so he couldn’t see my face, then scanned the crowd around us as stealthily as possible. I caught a couple people looking our way, but I couldn’t be sure that meant anything.

  People liked to look at royalty. And I could only imagine how interesting it was to have a nice long look at Sin. The princess’s beau. They’d want to know what he was wearing, what he looked like, judge if he was handsome enough, or if his ears stuck out, if he was too fat, too short, too tall, too thin. Everything about him would be scrutinized.

  I was sure a full account of his public appearance would be written up in the Pole Post, probably in the News About Town section as a fluff piece. There was a slim chance he’d show up on the front page, but I was hoping the Tinkers’ Tourney would keep him off it.

  A little murmur went through the crowd, but this time it wasn’t because of me or the man at my side. My cousin Francis had walked out onto the stage.
The lights came up, illuminating the whole square. Then a spotlight found him in his navy-blue velvet suit trimmed in silver. He wore glittery, silver shoes that sparkled under the lights. Even his hair, nearly the same bright blue as mine, had been tipped in silver glitter.

  He looked every inch the emcee.

  Music swelled up, carrying over the crowd and announcing things were about to begin. I was glad. The competition would give people something else to talk about.

  “Testing, testing…” My cousin tapped the mic, and the audience settled down. He waved and smiled, the perfect emcee, totally at ease. Seriously, so much better than I had been. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, elves of all ages. How is everyone in the North Pole tonight?”

  Lots of hooting, hollering, and cheering answered him. We whooped and clapped a little ourselves.

  Francis smiled, lightly touching his chest. “I hate to disappoint you, but I am not here to sing.”

  The crowd laughed.

  “There is something else going on…” He put a finger to his chin and stared skyward like he couldn’t remember. More laughter and a few people started to yell out reminders.

  “What’s that? The Thinkers Journey? The what?” He leaned in and cupped his ear like he was trying to hear better. “Oh! The Tinkers’ Tourney! That’s right.” But his smile told everyone he was just teasing them, which of course, we all knew. “What an exciting night it’s going to be too!”

  More applause.

  “I’m not going to keep you waiting. I know why you’re here. So let’s meet those tinkers and see their toys!” He moved to the side of the stage as the lights came on behind him, revealing the three competing tinkers and their covered toys.

  With a big flourish, he pointed to the tinkers. “Check them out! Let’s hear how ready you are to see those toys too!”

  A new round of cheers started. Man, he was good at getting people revved up. He should have had this job the whole time.

  “Now you all know how this is done. With a drum roll and a countdown, the toys will be revealed at the same time. Then each tinker will be given a chance to demonstrate their toy and tell us about it.”

  Francis pointed at the audience. “Then you lovely people have three days to vote for your favorite until, at last, our secret panel decides the winner. Who’s ready to see what these talented tinkers have brought us?”

  We all hooted and cheered some more, Sin and I included.

  “All right, drum roll, please.”

  The tinny jingle of bells came out of the speakers, causing the audience to laugh. Francis planted a hand on his hip and stared at the tech booth. “Does that sound like a drum roll to you guys?”

  A real drum roll spilled out of the speakers then. Francis started to count down. “Three…two…one!”

  The covers disappeared off the toys as the tinkers stood beside their creations. One was beaming, one was biting his lip, and the third was twisting her hands together nervously.

  I studied the toys. There were signs on each display. The first toy was called Glitterskins and seemed to be a little machine that produced sheets of adhesive glitter that could be applied to anything. I immediately wanted that for the shop. Kids would love it. And so would parents, if the glitter stayed in one place.

  The second was titled Mrs. Clucks-A-Lot and looked like a cute fluffy white chicken. Apparently, it laid eggs with prizes in them and could be taught to do all kinds of things. It also had a built-in alarm.

  The third sign said Mega Chick and also seemed to be a mechanical chicken, but it was shiny and silver and looked a lot more like an android than a pet. Coincidentally, it also laid prize-laden eggs and had an alarm function.

  “That’s…odd,” Sin said. “Two of them came up with robot chickens that lay eggs?”

  “Well…chickens do lay eggs. Seems like a natural feature to include. But yeah. It’s weird. I’ve never seen two toys so similar.”

  Obviously, we weren’t the only ones who’d noticed. The whole audience was buzzing with it. The tinkers were just starting to realize what had happened. The woman with the Glitterskins suddenly looked a lot less nervous. Like maybe she thought this made her a sure thing.

  Francis hadn’t really looked at the toys yet, as his eyes had been on the audience, but he was figuring out something was amiss as the audience had stopped reacting the way they normally did. He followed the pointing and turned to see the toys.

  “Jumping jingle bells. What the—” He ran a hand through his hair, smearing the glittered tips over his whole head. He laughed nervously. “I don’t think this has ever happened before.”

  I sighed. “I don’t think it has either.” I glanced up at Sin. “This isn’t good.”

  “I can imagine.”

  Francis pulled the mic away from his mouth so he couldn’t be heard and started talking to the tinkers. There was a lot of head shaking and confused looks. Then Francis spun back to the crowd, smiling his big emcee smile again as he raised the mic. “Seems we’ve had a mix-up and need to figure a few things out. An announcement will be made. Thank you all for coming out and have a good night!”

  The stage went dark, but there was enough light to see Francis direct the tinkers off stage.

  “That is so weird.” I couldn’t imagine what was going on. How had this happened?

  Around us, the crowd was demonstrably unhappy. Whispers turned to muttering, which turned to outright complaints of shady business.

  “Something’s up. Someone cheated.”

  “Tinkers don’t cheat,” another shouted back.

  “They do now,” came a fast response.

  “It’s bad magic, I tell you.”

  A couple heads turned toward us. Gazes focused on me. I stared back. What on earth did they expect me to say? I didn’t know any more about it than they did.

  A man near me shifted his gaze from me to Sin. “What do you know about it, necromancer? Because you might not be the only bad magic in town, but you’re certainly the newest.”

  “What?” I glared at the man. “Are you accusing my boyfriend of being involved in this? What could he have possibly done? He just got here only today and has never been here before.”

  “He’s not one of us,” the man snapped back.

  “How dare you?” I was trembling with anger. “Your small mind is not an indicator of his guilt. The fact that I’m with him should be good enough for you.” I looked around at the crowd now circling us. Some of them shrank back as if they suddenly realized what they were doing. “For all of you.”

  Sin put his hand on my arm. “We should go.”

  I nodded, keeping my eyes on those around us. I’d never needed security in town before. Would life with Sin change that?

  I wasn’t afraid yet, but the man who’d started the whole thing wasn’t ready to back down. He puffed out his chest. “If you’re so sure of your boyfriend, Princess, maybe you should prove his innocence.”

  Another man jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t speak to Her Royal Highness that way.”

  A kind interjection, but too little too late. My anger got the best of me. “I don’t have to prove anything. I know he’s innocent. But I’ll do it anyway.”

  Sin drove us back to the palace, which was good, because I was too angry to drive. My hands were shaking, and my heart was racing, and I really wanted to hit something. I wasn’t going to, that wouldn’t solve anything, but the feeling was there.

  What I needed was sugar. And lots of it.

  Plus, a talk with my parents. I had to tell them what was going on. How Sin had been singled out. It was shocking, but at least it had only been by a small handful. I also had to tell them I’d said I would figure out what had gone so wonky with the tinkers and their toys.

  My words had been a gut reaction. Pure emotion spilling out of me in a need to protect the man I loved. But how exactly was I going to determine why two tinkers had made nearly identical toys?

  I sighed and put my head into my hands as I slump
ed down in the crawler’s passenger seat.

  “Hey,” Sin said quietly. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll be out of here by morning if you just—”

  “What?” I jerked upright again. “No. Leaving is not the answer.”

  “It’s not the complete answer, but I think it might help.”

  “No, it wouldn’t. People would think you were running. And they might take that as an admission of guilt.”

  “I realize that, but I also think if I left, all of the noise about me would disappear. Then you can figure out what’s really going on and how those tinkers ended up with the same toy.”

  “Please don’t go. I know the people here. You leaving would just complicate things. This will all get worked out, I promise.” No clue how, but I was already invested. I was not letting this wonderful man take the blame for something he hadn’t done.

  “I’m sure it will, I just thought a little space might help.”

  “I would miss you terribly. In fact, if you go, I go.”

  He blinked at me. “You’re willing to put your royal reputation on the line for me when your citizens think I’m bad magic?”

  “Yes.” I said it loudly while giving him my best reassuring look. “I know you’re not bad magic. And only some of the citizens think that. Very few, I’m sure. Just say you won’t leave.”

  “I won’t.” Then he let out a weary sigh, eyes on the road ahead. “Necromancers are a misunderstood supernatural. People think all kinds of terrible things about us because of our connection to death. It happens so often I’ve come to expect it. Being accused of rigging a toy competition, though? That’s a new one.”

  I sighed again, thinking of my ex Greyson and how he’d broken up with me because of my involvement with a necromancer. “Winter elves, like many other kinds of people, can be a superstitious lot.”

  “So…didn’t you think my coming here might cause a bit of a problem?”

  “I worried about it a little, yes. But I never thought something like this would happen. And I don’t care. It doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

  He smiled as he drove through the palace gates. “I’m glad. It doesn’t change the way I feel about you either. But that doesn’t solve this problem.”