Page 63 of Chasing Cheer
“You heard me. Tell him the truth. Give him the choice. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know the answer.”
Holly trembled. “I can’t do it, Lumi. I’ve never told any human who I am, least of all Ash. He would think I was crazy or joking or both. I would lose him forever. And besides, I told you I accidentally took my Cheer meter off when I was there. I didn’t even realize it. What if it had gotten lost? I forget all my usual precautions when I’m in Emerald Hollow. That can’t be safe for the North Pole.”
“The North Pole can take care of itself, Holly, as long asyoutake care ofyou. And as for Ash, if you don’t give him the choice, you’ve already lost him.”
Lumi’s words seemed to reverberate around the room, and they both sat there for a few moments in a silent standoff.
“I can’t,” Holly finally breathed, shaking her head.
Lumi met her eyes, and her expression was sterner. “Holly, you have to. This isn’t just about your love life anymore, though that was important enough. The entire North Pole is at risk now. Our operations are at risk.Christmasis at risk.”
Holly gasped. Christmas was the reason they all existed. It was the Clauses’ solemn mission to protect Christmas and put Dreams into the world.
If I can’t protect Christmas, why do I even exist?
ChapterForty-Nine
After Lumi left, Holly moved to her back deck and sat quietly under the northern lights, trying to process everything from their conversation. Her father’s easy success was due to his love of her mother. He had found his soulmate, which had changed his relationship to Cheer magic, and therefore, the Cheer meter stayed steady, regardless of the Cheer he gathered from humans.
He didn’t need to go Cheer collecting as often because the quota he needed to gather was lower than the one Holly had to attain each cycle. Holly had been racing toward an impossible goal. The deck had never been equally stacked.
Until now.
Holly shook her head, barely registering the light show in front of her. Her mind was swirling like a shaken snow globe. Everything she thought she knew about Cheer had gone out the window.
Another thought hit her suddenly. She’d always known her mom had once been a human and had been transformed into a Claus through marrying her father and taking on the magic of the North Pole.Does Ash’s ability to see the reindeer have something to do with that?Is he somehow already being transformed by North Pole magic, just by my developing feelings for him?
She dropped her face into her hands.Why did I run away like that, without a backward glance?
Clementine appeared on the deck just then, pulling her from her thoughts.
At her expression, Holly sat upright. “Clementine, what’s going on?” She studied the tight lines of Clementine’s usually controlled face. Her ears were pointed almost straight up.
“It happened while you were talking to Lumi.”
“What did?” A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t stop thinking about Ash and how she had hurt him, and now something else had happened at the North Pole.Could things get any worse?
“Ms. Claus, the North Post has gone out.”
“What?” Holly exclaimed, dread creeping into her veins.
She hurried to the front of her house and nearly sank to her knees. The North Post, which had lit the North Pole and powered its operations for as long as Holly or anyone could remember, was completely dark.
Elves, Keyblers and Kringles alike, were huddled around Merriment Square, murmuring and staring at the North Post in fright. Holly could feel their eyes landing on her. They were desperately relying on her for a solution.
Holly’s palms began to sweat, and her heart rate sped up. They were too close to Christmas. “The Dream-making operations?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.
Clementine shook her head, and Holly closed her eyes.
“A few of the elves were working the late shift and said their Dream machines stopped running suddenly.”
At that moment, Auryn appeared at her side. Holly could tell that he was struggling to hold it together, ready to help her, even as fear washed through him.
Holly straightened her shoulders. She knew what she needed to do, not just because of Lumi’s words but because she knew in her heart that there was only one way to make it right. She had to try. After grabbing a coat, she headed toward the stables.
* * *
Ash returnedto the Emerald House, drained of all energy after the interaction with Lucas.
