Chapter 5

Liselotte

Panic! Gerhard’s not impressed.

His brow furrows deeper with each step we take toward Christmas Town. Yes, Krampus Industries looks dower as it drinks the magic—and therefore the color—from the air. I know what’s going on in his head. Earth is more vibrant at first glance, but this is his fresh start…even if the air isn’t so fresh. When I pointed out Krampus Industries’ silver tower, he nodded. No words. No awe in wonderment. The first inspired reaction was at the Registrar’s Office, which looks more like a Gothic mansion.

I just want him to like our new life together…

Itching my nose a few times to give myself a reason to dab my eyes with my handkerchief without attracting attention, I wipe the tears blooming under my lashes. These walls may be adorned with faded wallpaper, but they are also the eyes and ears of the Chancellor. I can’t show weakness—even the desire to impress my husband-to-be could be used to keep us from Krampus Village. Until they complete the ceremony and Gerhard is a Krampus, we’re vulnerable to the Chancellor’s spies, elven assassins, competing Krampus suitors, and those who wish to see me miserable.

The longer the Vice Chancellor thumbs through my paperwork, the lower my heart sinks.

We’ve been sabotaged…but why and by whom?

“Liselotte Krampus,” the Vice Chancellor sneers as he glares at my paperwork. “You’re early. Why did you apply for a February relocation date? You know conversions are more successful in the fading Christmas spirit. December is more magical than any other month. Why did you bring your human to our realm before your assigned date?”

“I wasn’t notified that I had an assigned date,” I reply with frost coating my words. My fingers squeeze Gerhard’s bicep with rage, but otherwise, my veneer of civility is in place. “Every second Gerhard spends on Christmas Island as a human is a threat to us. Elves target humans…I know this.”

“Then why doesn’t your paperwork match your actions?”

“May I see,” I say with sticky sweetness dropping from my tone. I release Gerhard’s elbow to receive the stack of papers. I hold them to the light to verify the sabotage. “As I suspected, someone used marshmallow filler to delete the one in twelve.”

“Liselotte, accusing someone of forgery to cover your mistake isn’t like you. What’s going on?” The grey, aged Krampus pulls his glasses down his nose to glare at me. I’ve never made a mistake or caused a problem requiring intervention by the registrar delegates. My track record is flawless because my paperwork stays on my person from when I fill in the forms to when I present it. Nobody touches my reports, forms, or letters but the Chancellors and myself.

This time was different because I wasn’t certain Gerhard would agree.

“It’s a fraud—clumsy fraud at that. Look at the move-in date two days after his conversion. Do you think you would grant my request for relocation on February thirtieth? That date doesn’t exist! Hold the paperwork to the light if you believe I would be so stupid. You can see where the paper’s thicker in places.”

I’m proud of myself for not raising my voice. My arm doesn’t tremble when I hand the papers back. I’m a frosty queen on the outside, but a boiling cauldron of rage in my heart. Who dares to mess with us? Once we have the deed to our Krampus Village home, we’ll hunt down the culprit. If they are one of the retired Krampuses stuck serving the village, I’ll make their life a living hell. I won’t be just little Liselotte, the wrongly gifted upstart who crawled out of the lowest caste…I’ll be half a breeding couple…with Gerhard’s giant frame at my back.

“Why didn’t you make retirement easy on yourself and select a male from your caste—” The Vice Chancellor drops my paperwork onto his lectern to remove his glasses. He pinches his nose and squints his eyes. I bet he’s dreading the investigation that his office must launch. Forgery and tampering with village applications can’t be ignored, but Krampus Industries must maintain a united front against the elves.

Gerhard bristles at his comment, too. His elbow tightens around my hand, but he’s silent. His expression is tight with worry until I smile up at him. He nods his chin at me in encouragement, and I fall in love a little harder. Instead of beating his chest like the dominant in our fragile relationship, he’s sticking to his promise to let me handle other Krampuses until his conversion. I keep my reputation as the fiercest of the females while holding my choice of mate on my arm.

“A Krampus like your son, Percival?” I must have a cut on my forehead from my battle with the tree because lifting my eyebrow causes a tiny sting at my hairline. Percival can open portals too. Together, we are two of the three. A Krampus from our combined genetics could be the most powerful being ever to live in Christmas Town. It’s no secret the Chancellor and his minions would love to take out Santa Claus and his elven assassins, but they lack the magic.

“Well, Percival is off the market,” the Vice Chancellor replies with a puff of his chest, so his fur presses through the neck opening of his robe. “He married the lovely Isabella Krampus two days ago. I suspect they’ve settled into their home in Krampus Village by now.”

Isabella is from one caste beneath Percival and me, but she’s sweet as a rose. With Percival’s special abilities and pedigree, they were almost guaranteed a house in Krampus Village. I’m miffed at the system but genuinely happy—for Isabella, at least. Her rise is the bright spot to Percival’s silver spoon privilege and bratty disposition.

“They are,” declares a gruff voice behind the Vice Chancellor’s shoulder. I see his shadow long before Eugene’s ugly face darkens the registrar’s back office door. “Moved half their shit myself.”

Habitually sour and looking for a punching bag, Eugene is a sadist who can’t keep his impulses under control. Fear dances down my spine. Each act of abuse I’ve endured at his hands through the years flies through my mind—from throwing me into the Sea of Faith that separates the Krampuses from the elves to tampering with my naughty list on Christmas Eve. The last time I saw him, he proposed.

I kicked him in the nuts and warped to Earth.

“Well, congratulations to them,” I say, biting my lip when my voice cracks at the end.

“Perhaps they will be our neighbors,” Gerhard replies, much to everyone’s surprise. He untangles my death grip on his arm, drops his duffle bags, and wraps a proprietary arm around me. Eugene’s gaze zeros in on Gerhard’s hand on my shoulder as if trying to burn it off with his eyes. The Vice-Chancellor stammers before recovering his serene expression.

“Yes, wouldn’t that be lovely?” I say to Gerhard, who kisses my forehead. “Certainly, you can make an exception to the scheduling and squeeze us in today. It wasn’t our fault the paperwork was…incorrect.”

“Oh no, what’s done is done. The Oracle’s well of magic was depleted with three ceremonies this morning and five yesterday. You will have to wait…for…let me see,” he drips scrying water onto the magical scheduling book. “Someone should have caught the red flags on your February—”

My eyes shift toward Eugene, who looks too surprised to be the culprit. If he’s not gloating over his handiwork, why is he here?

The Vice-Chancellor stops himself before he can incriminate someone in his office. Thanks to his self-talk, our saboteur is guilty of marshmallow-ing my paperwork and falsifying my entry in the Oracle’s book. Their punishment went from a lecture to a public hearing.

“There’s an opening in two days,” he says, dabbing his forehead with his billowing sleeve. “It’s yours. Sir, do you consent to a Krampus conversion and magical binding to Liselotte Krampus in two days' time, leaving your human existence behind and forsaking all others for an eternity with her?”

“Yes—”

“Perfect,” the Vice Chancellor says, slamming the book shut.

“Wait, every second he’s human is a risk to all Krampuses! What if he attracts the attention of the elves?” I see red but modulate my voice. Gerhard’s strong arm lends me support and multiplies my strength and control. As much as they want Gerhard and me out of this office where we won’t uncover more nefarious deeds, the Vice Chancellor pales at my mention of the elves. “I told Gerhard—”

“He knows? He knows about it all before your binding ceremony?” The Vice-Chancellor stammers.

“How do you think I brought him here? The portal depots are shut down for their annual maintenance,” I reply with an eye roll. I’m ready to strangle someone, but luckily, Eugene speaks first.

“Can I help? I can give them binding bracelets.” He bounces his shoulder off the door frame and saunters to the lectern. I always thought of him as an ogre, but the way he towers over Gerhard makes my hands shake. I wrap my arms around my fiancé’s waist to steady myself and to communicate that Eugene is not on our side…no matter what he offers.

“Those are for the children of Krampus Village,” the Vice Chancellor blusters.

True, the permanent bracelets allow the parents of Krampus Village to track their young if elves ever kidnap them. Gerhard isn’t a child. However, these magic bracelets are reserved for the kids with the most potential.

Krampuses who attend the academy with a scar from their bracelet start at a higher caste. They’re assigned to posh neighborhoods with minor delinquents. Most of them wouldn’t have been able to handle Dirk—let alone his evil neighborhood friends. Giving Gerhard such a mark would exult him higher than ninety percent of Krampuses—at my expense for wearing the corresponding mark for a mate, not a child.

Until I have a child with Gerhard…

“That’s a great idea,” I chirp. Eugene offers the bracelet as a slight against me, but the joke’s on him. Gerhard and I treat each other as equals and have divided our time wearing the pants. Eugene probably hopes to make my binding miserable by giving Gerhard a higher status.

Well, watching the mischievous smile drip from his face made my day.

“Will this binding bracelet start my conversion?”

“No,” I whisper in response to Gerhard’s whispered question against my hair. The fact that he defers to me instead of taking charge in the conversation paints a scowl on Eugene’s ugly mug. “It’s a magical tracking device that embeds in your skin. I would have the matching tether so I can always find you.”

“It’s poetic if you think about it,” he says against my hair. I’ve never so much as shaken someone’s hand in this office. I bet the spies are having kittens over Gerhard’s displays of affection…and wondering why I’m leaning into them instead of pushing him away.

“I wouldn’t recommend you having the other end, Liselotte. What will you do if he’s captured but run for help? Let’s cut that step and tether him to me. I can hunt down elves—”

“Absolutely not.”

“Liselotte, Eugene is being more generous than most Krampuses,” the Vice Chancellor suggests while giving Eugene the side eye. “I’d say he’s giving your fiancé his best chance at survival.”

He’s right, dammit.

Gerhard needs me to tuck my pride in my pocket and make the best choice for our survival. Eugene is giving us a safety net, but he also has a motive to kill Gerhard. At least Eugene wouldn’t torture my human—like the elves—for the names of the three Krampuses who can create portals out of thin air. He already knows about Percival, who can’t keep his mouth shut. What does Eugene get in the deal? Both suitors get a status bump while the insignificant wifey is left behind. If I trust Gerhard to keep me by his side, it doesn’t matter. What’s his is mine. Once we are inside Krampus Village, the caste games end, right?

“I’m sorry, Eugene, I wasn’t thinking clearly. Of course, Gerhard and I would appreciate his binding to you…not a marriage bond! I mean the binding bracelet.”

“Gerhard and Eugene, do you consent to a bracelet embedded under the fur—err, skin—to signify your bond as brothers, so you may always find one another across realms?” The Vice-Chancellor must have a hot meal waiting somewhere for him because he’s sprinkling scrying water on the Oracle book’s entry page for today as he asks the question.

“Yes,” Gerhard says, squeezing me.

“Yes, for eternity,” Eugene says with a smirk that I don’t like.

“Hmm, the Oracles agree to this. I was certain they’d…well…too late now. Lay your wrists across the pages and hold still.”

Gerhard’s free hand drapes across the Oracle book. The Vice-Chancellor turns it so his wrist is palm down on the page. Eugene crowds the Vice-Chancellor against the lectern by reaching over his shoulder to lay his arm across. The Vice-Chancellor looks alarmed as he wiggles to free himself, but Eugene’s body blocks the way. I’m happy I’m not the only one he bullies, but it’s unnerving to watch someone in power take the abuse.

The pages glow as the writing lifts from the paper. Golden letters stretch into strands. Six ribbons of gold weave into a thick braid over Gerhard’s wrist. The letters on Eugene’s side condense into blobs before hollowing into inch-wide rings. The males grit their teeth as the ink burns into their flesh. Eugene’s fur falls out in patches where the rings hook together while angry red welts surround Gerhard’s braid.

“There, now I can always find you,” Eugene says through gritted teeth.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Gerhard replies when the ink cools. He lifts his wrist to chin level to examine the wound. “I always wanted a tattoo.”

“Just don’t let him out of your sight for the next two days, Liselotte,” Eugene snaps in my direction before he stomps to the backroom of the registrar. The weight of his words sits on my shoulders like a ton of bricks. If Gerhard isn’t captured, there’s no reason to involve Eugene further.

“You are free to go,” the Vice Chancellor says with a snap of the Oracle book.

“Will you take me to your place so I can store my bags?” While Gerhard’s boost in status gives him the license to boss me around and shove my nose in the dirt, he awaits my answer patiently. With one question, he demonstrates the power is still in my hands. While the Vice Chancellor and whoever may be watching hold their breath, he lifts his bags onto his shoulders.

“Yes, let’s start packing for Krampus Village immediately. Two days is hardly enough time to box all the items I’ve acquired on Earth.” The clack of my hooves may signal a victory march, but the real battle begins now. How am I to keep Gerhard away from the elves?