Coal’s brows dip. “Easter prep? I didn’t mean to drag you away from—”
“It’s fine. I’m not the only one in Easter with responsibilities.” But I know both Coal and I clock her strain.
Coal had extended a special invitation for Easter to join the winter Holidays collective after all the shit went down with Dad. We’d thought King Neo had been sucked along by Dad’s lies like most people, and he was, but not enough to jump onboard Coal’s New and Improved Christmas plan. Instead, Neo used the excuse of not being a winter Holiday and pulled back from his former heavy associations with Christmas, throwing himself into preparations for the upcoming Easter season. Meanwhile, Coal’s been relaying to me what little Iris tells him about how the different factions within Easter’s court are grumbling over Neo’s weakness in letting our dad manipulate him, how Iris was unable tolock downPrince Nicholas, and other such fuckery that’s all an excuse to slowly force out her family.
All the stuff she’s trying to keep afloat is why she switched toonline classes, why I don’t see her around university anymore—and why I wanted so badly to give her a happy ending too. She deserves it, deserves it so deeply my chest aches. I hate that I not only couldn’t give it to her, but that I messed up our friendship in the process.
It wasn’t entirely selfish on my part, wanting us to be together.
Iris doesn’t linger on the knowing stares both Coal and I give her, and I can’t help the weird mix of gallows’ humor camaraderie. What would Iris and I even have to talk about if wewerestill talking? She doesn’t want to talk about the political shit in Easter. I refuse to talk about my parents or anything that happened with her or my waffling position in Christmas. So, that leaves… the weather?
Iris’s lips float up in a real smile. “Congratulations, Coal. Really.”
He beams. “Yeah. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I gotta say, this theft is inconvenient to the massive party I would have immediately thrown.”
His tone counters his words the same way his hands do, thumbs flicking at each other in a nervous tic. Hex catches it too and threads his fingers into Coal’s.
“There will be a celebration,” Wren adds, phone pinched between her cheek and shoulder. “We will need to show everyone that a sudden transfer of power is in no way a sign of weakened leadership, but proof that Christmas is moving in the right direction. Particularly if news of this joy theft gets out.”
I didn’t realize it was a possibility that people might see these developments with Christmas and cry that we’re fucking things up. Everyone’s been supportive of Coal’s plans. None of our court has voiced displeasure.
But the joy theft on top of Dad taking off…
Coal hums. “That sounds like a problem for Tomorrow Coal. Hell, maybe Next Month Coal—for now, Iris? What do you know about St. Patrick’s Day?”
Iris straightens. “My father met their king once or twice, but no negotiations ever developed. He’s a pompous ass, so I’m honestly shocked he didn’t get along better with Easter and Christmas.”
“They haven’t reached out since Easter’s rather public parting from Christmas?” Coal asks.
Iris’s face screws up in part humor, part exhaustion. “While the autumn and winter Holidays may be in neat little collectives now, the spring Holidays arecontent in being independent.So says my father. The most we interact with is Valentine’s Day because of Lily’s impending wedding drama, and they’re not evenspring,really, are they? But no, we don’t check up on one another.”
Coal leans around Iris. “Wren, can you pull up profiles for the reigning family of St. Patrick’s Day? I’ve got an idea.”
“Of course.” She ends her phone call and attacks her tablet.
“Okay. So.” Coal pops his tongue. “Christmas is going through all kinds of changes. We’re evolving. So it wouldn’t be too unusual for us to suddenly be interested in visiting another Holiday, start dialogue through outreach.Yeah?”
I smirk. “Aw, your Yale is showing.”
“Shut up. But say I go to St. Patrick’s Day. Say I’m there to foster support, yadda yadda—while secretly investigating why that Holiday is trying to screw us over. I find proof that they did it, confront them, and get them to give us back the joy they stole before it becomes an issue with the winter Holidays collective.”
“You don’t think they’d be suspicious?” I ask. “Theyknow they’re screwing us over. And suddenly Christmas comes calling, wanting to be friends?”
“And I know that I don’t give a flying fuck if they know we know.” Coal takes the tablet Wren hands him and flips through what looks like dossiers. “Let them be awkward and uncertain about our intentions. Maybe they’ll slip up. It’s good that they’d be a little on edge.”
“You could visit other Holidays as well, to serve as a cover,” Hex says, but he doesn’t hide his reservation.
“There we go. This is a totally normal leader thing to do, right? A goodwill tour.”
But Wren, lingering by the desk, clears her throat. “As the reigning Santa, and still leading the ongoing meetings with the winter Holidays collective, when would you propose such a tour?”
Coal’s jaw dips open. “Ah. Shit.”
My heart kicks up, the familiar relief of finding something I cando that’s beneficial. All the other tasks I’ve managed to glob onto have been measly and paper thin. But this? It’llmatter,and the part of me that’s always two stressors away from a tension headache relaxes a smidge.
“I’ll do it.”
The room looks at me.
