Page 62 of Scary & Bright

“There you go, little one,” Loek cooed as he gestured to my own matching woolly white bathrobe, which was laying in the pillows beside me. I pulled it over me and cinched it around my waist, happy for the bit of comfortable modesty.

“And here’s this, too,” he continued, handing me my own cup of coffee. “Vanilla creamer with sugar and cinnamon.”

Just the way I liked it. Once I got past the foggy-headed awkwardness of waking up naked under a Christmas tree, it was actually a really sweet way to wake up. I could absolutely get used to it.

Not to mention… we actually had presents. Just beside our nest on the floor were two gifts wrapped in glimmering, metallic paper and tied with perfect golden bows.

“I thought we could open them together,” Loek said as he crawled back under the tree and took a seat next to me. “Though I did see this and couldn’t help but read it.” He passed me a piece of parchment paper with elegantly curling handwriting written across it. “You’ll get a kick out of it, I’m sure.”

Holly and Loek,

It is difficult for me to find the words that I’d like to say, and I wish I were better at being sentimental when it comes to things like this. You would think Santa Claus would be better at finding kind words and arranging them eloquently, but this situation is one that still baffles me.

Sending my twin brother to live the life I forced you into was wrong of me, Loek, and I hope you find it within your heart to forgive me.

And Holly, you’re a woman worth your weight in gold, and more. I hope to see more of you and get to know you. My brother is lucky to have found someone who will fight for him the way you have.

That being said, Carol and I would love to offer you both an open invitation to the North Pole. Please come for dinner. Stay as long as you like. Or come and go as you please. Whatever best suits you.

I hope you find the gifts I’ve left you to be of use in this new chapter of your lives.

Merry Christmas,

Nikolaus, aka Santa Claus

PS. Milk and cookies are traditionally left out for me, but I won’t hold it against you. At least not this time.

PPS. If you’re going to sleep in the nude, perhaps choose anywhere that isn’t under the tree on Christmas Eve to do so. That was a very unwelcome surprise, I’ll have you know.

“Wow, that was actually really sweet…” I said, folding the note back up. “At least until the last part.”

“Whoops.” Loek shrugged. “Anyway, let’s get the hell into these presents, eh!?” He scampered across the pillows and carefully tossed the presents to where I was sitting.

“They’re addressed to us both, so… on the count of three?” Loek suggested, taking one in his hands as he snuggled in beside me.

I nodded and took the other before we counted down in unison, then ripped open Santa’s gifts.

Mine was an unusual contraption that resembled something like a fancy car radio with a touch-screen display. Inside Loek’s was a neatly tied bundle of flowers and a golden bridle—for Coal, I assumed.

“I hope you have some sort of idea of what this is,” I said, confused. “Because I genuinely have no idea.”

I began to search the packaging for another note, or anything else to give us an idea of what exactly Santa had gifted us.

“I guess he really meant it.” Loek chuckled, grabbing the car radio-looking thing from my lap. “He actually does want us to visit.” He looked to me with a big happy grin on his face and realized immediately that I was still in the dark.

“This,” he held up the radio thing, “is the same sort of contraption that allows Santa’s sleigh to move through space and time. It’s the secret behind his ability to get to every home on the planet on Christmas Eve, despite time crossovers and datelines.”

“And these things,” he held up the bridle and the dried flowers, “are going to help Coal get off the ground. I doubt he’ll ever be as powerful as Santa’s own fleet—there was a reason he was gifted to me in the first place—but he’ll fly.”

Now my expression matched his own. I felt a huge, stupid grin stretch across my face.

“We can go anywhere?” I asked, my mind already floating a thousand different ideas.

“Anywhere,” Loek said. “Discreetly, of course. I still have horns and goat legs.” He reached around me and pulled me into him. “Think of anywhere in the world, Holly, and we’ll go. Together.”

I leaned against him, feeling safer and happier than I ever had.

“Which leads me to my Christmas gift to you,” Loek said as he fished in the pocket of his robe.