“Back in those days, too much snow tunneling could have effects both at the North Pole and where the snow tunnel was connected. Usually, the impacts on the human side were not noticeable, unless a human was too close to the tunnel.” She looked directly at Holly then. “That’s what I warned you about when you had to use the snow tunnel to come back last Christmas.”
Holly nodded, her face solemn. “No one was around, Lumi.”
“I know. I don’t think this is from that.” Lumi filled Clementine in on what they had discussed in Finland, that they thought some of the younger elves had learned how to snow tunnel.
Shocked, Clementine asked, “You think elves have been snow tunneling out of the North Pole without my knowing about it?”
Lumi’s face was impassive as she said, “I’ve been doing it for decades along with a few other elder elves. And as you know, there haven’t been any side effects at the North Pole. I’m very skilled and very careful. If some younger elves learned how, though, without any proper training or guidance, it would explain what we’re seeing here. So now we need to figure out who’s been snow tunneling. We think it may also be connected to a problem someone in Emerald Hollow is having.”
Holly explained the sudden appearance of Isaiah in the woods of Emerald Hollow and that he had no memories of where he came from or who he was.
Clementine’s face creased with worry. “If that’s true, this is very serious. I’m going to investigate this immediately.”
“Is there anything you want me to do?” Holly asked. She liked to leave the elf mayor to her purview over the North Pole, and she had always trusted Clementine to run things in her stead. She didn’t want to step on any slippers.
“I don’t want to draw too much attention to this just yet,” Clementine decided then turned to Lumi. “But I could use your help. I think you’ll have a better idea of where to search for who is doing this.”
Lumi nodded. “I can get started immediately.”
The two firmed up their plans while Holly listened, and they all agreed it was best if she returned to Emerald Hollow while they carried out their investigation to try to keep things as normal as possible.
Holly stopped by the North Post in Merriment Square on her way out and pressed her palm against the snowflake on the post. Her hand tingled as the Cheer she’d collected in Emerald Hollow discharged into the post. The North Pole had nearly met disaster the previous year when she had failed to collect Cheer that could charge the post and power the whole of the North Pole and its dream-making operations.
Holly breathed a sigh of relief as the post continued to glow at full brightness. At least the side effects of the snow tunneling had not affected her Cheer. The buttercup blooms themselves might not even be a huge concern on their own, but the issue with Isaiah was another matter.
Holly knew her best friend was falling for him, and he for her. For both their sakes, she needed to get Isaiah’s memories restored. If their relationship—or whatever was going on between them—was going to continue in earnest, Isaiah needed to remember his past, and the two needed to figure out what their life was going to look like going forward. None of that could happen while he had no memories of who he was before he’d arrived in Emerald Hollow.
Holly waved to the elves in Merriment Square as she headed back up the path to the stables. She could trust Clementine and Lumi to sort things out at the North Pole. But the side effects in Emerald Hollow were another story. She suddenly longed tobe back there, taking a stroll through the woods with Comet and discussing everything with Ash.
Chapter Forty-Two
SOFIA
Aweek had passed since Sofia and Isaiah returned from their overnight shopping trip to Ashland, and Isaiah had gone dark. He was no longer having lunch in her booth during her shift, and he hadn’t once asked her to accompany him to the library.
She’d only seen him twice that week, and both times, he’d been talking to the attractive female barista on the coffee shop side of the Emerald House. Sofia had thought that steam might be coming out of her ears, but she walked by quickly, hoping he hadn’t seen her.
Sofia had worked a rare morning shift, and she took off her apron with relief, ready to call it a day. She filled a paper cup with drip coffee to take with her. “Two o’clock’s not too late for coffee, right?” she asked her coworker Marissa, who was just coming in to replace her.
“Never,” Marissa said with a wink.
Sofia took a large drink. She was preparing to head out when she stopped short at the sight of Isaiah leaning against the counter, looking far too good in an athleisure outfit she’d picked out for him.
“Wrecker,” Isaiah said in greeting, his eyes crinkling in amusement.
Sofia tried to ignore how the sight of those eye crinkles made her want to see that expression again and again. “What are you doing here?”
“Am I not allowed to stop in for a cup of coffee?”
“I thought you got that from thecoffee shopthese days.” She looked him straight in the eye.
A grin spread over his face, and he took a step back to look her up and down. “Is someone jealous?”
She pursed her lips and took a sip of her drink, deciding to change the subject. If he’d intended to make her jealous, it had worked. But he didn’t need to know that. “So, is the impasse over?”
“No. But I didn’t say no contact. Just that we’re only friends unless you decide otherwise. There’s something I’d like to do today asfriends.”
“Okaaay,” she said, her curiosity defeating her stubbornness in the battle of two of her stronger emotions.
