7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

‘Anyone ready for pie?’ Sig asked.

I couldn’t believe it: I was full to bursting … and yet I could definitely fit in more of Sigrid’s cooking. She had made pecan, apple, pumpkin, banana cream, chocolate, and coconut-cream pies.

When she went into the kitchen to get the gingerbread biscuits, she let out a stream of swear words that I would never have expected to hear from the hearth witch. ‘Someone’s taken all the gingerbread men! Again!’

‘The gingerbread thief strikes one more time,’ Stan murmured, looking at us all suspiciously.

‘Well, it can’t be Liv,’ Sigrid said. ‘She wasn’t here when the first batch went missing.’

‘Naturally,’ Liv said drolly. ‘I’m wholly innocent.’ Gunnar snorted heavily but other than that said nothing.

‘Seriously,’ Sigrid said, hands on her hips once again. ‘Fess up! You won’t get in trouble if you tell me the truth.’

‘God,’ Stan muttered to Sidnee. ‘Flashback to being seventeen.’

Sidnee giggled. ‘Oh my goodness, yes. Sig used to say that all the time.’

‘And it was true!’ Sigrid huffed. ‘So confess.’ The room stayed silent.

Connor was looking at his phone. He cleared his throat. ‘Actually, I think I’ve located the thief and it’s not one of us.’

‘Who is it?’ I demanded.

Connor grimaced. ‘I was pretty sure when they stole the lights so I had Margrave go check.’

‘Check what?’

Connor shot me an amused yet resigned look. ‘You’re going to love this.’

‘What?’ I asked, bouncing on the balls of my feet. ‘What am I going to love?’

He led us out of the kitchen door into the garden. Straight away I spotted where the battery-powered fairy lights had gone: they were now adorning a rock garden where a small tribe of tiny people were singing and partying – hard. As far as I could tell, the little people were all women and they were using the gingerbread men as dates, dancing with them like drunken girls at hen parties would dance with a blow-up man doll. It was a sight you wouldn’t see every day.

The mini-humans couldn’t have been more than the size of my hand. ‘What the hell?’ I asked. ‘Pixies?’

Gunnar grinned at me. ‘Not pixies. Ircenrraat.’

‘What?’

Stan rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t you know anything? The Ircenrraat are the little people.’

Sigrid hushed him. ‘Don’t let them hear you call them that! You know they don’t like it.’

He shrugged mischievously. ‘Oh no!’ he said with faux regret. ‘I guess now they’ll egg Connor’s house.’

Gunnar shook his head. ‘They’re smarter than that. They’ll follow you all the way to your houseboat and you’ll be finding bits of rotting fish in there for days. So shut your trap.’

Connor ushered us back inside so we could defrost. Gods, it was cold outside though it didn’t bother me like it had when I was human. Even so, I was happy to warm myself by the fire.

Liv turned to Connor. ‘You knew you had a colony out there?’ He shrugged.

‘Why didn’t you move them?’ Stan demanded. A beat later he answered his own question. ‘Oh man, you’re afraid of them!’

‘I’m not afraid of them but I’m rightly wary. Do you want to ask them to move?’ Connor countered.

Stan flushed. ‘Erm, no. You’re all right.’

‘Wise choice,’ Thomas nodded. ‘They’re not to be trifled with.’

‘Enough.’ Sigrid clapped her hands. ‘Eat the pies before they get cold!’

That was my kind of order! I gorged myself – and I wasn’t the only one. I discovered that I adored pecan pie, something I’d never had before, but then everything Sig made was divine.

Liv had been mostly quiet during the sing-along and the exchange of gifts. While everyone was eating slices of pie, she sat down at the table with Gunnar. He looked at her, grunted and looked away.

‘Thanks for giving me a day of truce,’ she said quietly. ‘I am truly sorry. I owe you for my bad behaviour, besides the whole curse thing. I just want you to know I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again. I’m turning over a new leaf.’

He didn’t reply, but I thought I saw the tiniest softening in his expression. Then Sigrid placed a plate of three different kinds of pie in front of him. He looked up at his wife and his gaze hardened on Liv again; the memory of her cursing Sig was still fresh in his mind.

To Liv’s credit, she simply nodded and moved to the couch where she daintily ate one slice of apple pie. She was a wise woman and she was giving him space. It was definitely a start, and I was pretty sure I’d just witnessed the smallest chink in Gunnar’s armour.

Across the room, she met my eyes and smiled.