Claus

Thirteen

Below the deck of the ship taking them to Sleet City, the three of them sipped on warm apple cider. The small cruise ship wasn't full, but even so they kept to themselves in the shadows. Through a window, she could see Sleet City, its dark rusty red buildings cutting into the sky. Streaks of light blue glowed from the buildings like beacons through the fog blanketing the night sky.

The water was choppy, Faryn's drink sloshing around in her glass, and it only continued to get worse the closer they got to shore.

Peter set down his empty cup. "If this goes horribly wrong, what's the plan?"

Cassian cut him a glare.

"It won't," Faryn said, forcing herself to sound confident, though this could definitely end up with them all arrested.

As they disembarked onto the docks, an icy wind hit them that left Peter and Cassian shivering while Faryn only grabbed onto her hat.

It wasn't hard to learn where Aurelius's home was. Tourists, as they quickly discovered, liked to see where the infamous Krampus resided. It was the house where crowds were clustered along his fence, trying to get in front of the gate. Guards held them back.

House wasn't the right term for it. Aurelius's home looked as if it were a hundred stories tall. It was a rust red color that matched the erest of the buildings in the city. Geometric designs that glowed blue were carved into the walls.

Faryn sucked in a breath as they drew closer. The doors leading inside were taller than Peter's golden ones, and far less welcoming. They were a dark gray with etchings of badaliscs, Kallikantzaroi, Karakoncolos, and yule cats. These were all creatures on her do-not-encounter-if-Faryn-wants-to-live list. Was Aurelius on good terms with them? What if he kept a yule cat as a pet?

Peter made his way through the tourists and up to the gatehouse, Faryn and Cassian at his heels. The Spring Prinde rapped on the window, and the guard shot him a withering look, but Peter was unphased.

"Tell Aurelius that Peter Ton is here to see him."

The guard straightened though he didn't look entirely convinced that the Easter Bunny was knocking on his window.

Peter uncurled his fist, and a blue fog circled his palm. It slithered through the air and into the guard's open window. The man shoved himself out of his chair to get away from the smoke, but it was useless, the magic entered the man's nostrils.

"The scents of spring. That's my friendly magic. But if you need further convincing, I'm sure I can find another trick to use."

Not taking his eyes off Peter, the guard reached for a corded phone and held it to his ears. "Tell Aurelius the Spring Prince is here to see him."

When Peter turned to face them, he looked entirely too smug. Cassian only rolled his eyes before he swept them over the crowd.

Faryn, much to her chagrin, found herself tapping her boot against the icy ground. This was Aurelius. There was no need to be nervous. Not when he had always been more of a brother to her than her own half-brother. Older brothers were supposed to adore their younger sisters, right?

The front door opened and a tall Elf, dressed in black and silver finery, strolled out, headed for the gate. The tourists oohed and ahhed that something was actually happening, and the Elf bowed to Peter. "Spring Prince."

This only made the tourists turn to Peter and ooh and ahh at him. So Peter's self-given title was catching on. This time it was Faryn who rolled her eyes. Peter was eating it up. Wasn't the idea that they shouldn't be recognized?