Page 28 of Sleigh Bells and Dragon Spells

“I’m here,” Briar said softly, turning her hand to link their fingers. “Whatever it is, I’m here.”

He squeezed her hand gently before standing, moving to the fireplace. With a wave of his hand, the flames leaped higher, pushing back the encroaching darkness. The golden light highlighted the strong lines of his face and the tension in his broad shoulders.

“I believe the dark spirit causing this storm is tied to my mother, Morganna Grashen.” He paused, glancing back at her.“She was more than just a powerful dragon—she was a force of nature, as cruel as she was beautiful.”

Briar rose, magnetically drawn to him. She moved to stand beside him, close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body. “Tell me about her. Help me understand.”

Falkor’s jaw clenched, then relaxed. “She believed love was weakness, emotions were flaws to be exploited. The holidays...” He gave a bitter laugh. “Those were her favorite times to teach these lessons.”

“What did she do?” Briar asked softly, her heart aching for the child he’d been.

“One Christmas when I was young, I made my sister Evangelina a gift—a small dragon carved from wood. I’d spent months working on it in secret.” His voice grew distant with memory. “Morganna found it before I could give it to her. She made me watch as she crushed it to dust, telling me that sentiment would be my downfall.”

Briar’s hand found his again, squeezing gently. “You were a child showing love for your sister. There’s no weakness in that.”

“Another year,” he continued, his fingers tightening around hers, “she locked Evangelina in her room on Christmas Eve, telling her it was for her own good—that learning to be alone would make her stronger. I could hear her crying through the door, but I was too afraid to help.”

“You were protecting yourself,” Briar said firmly. “That’s not cowardice, Falkor. It’s survival.”

He turned to face her fully, and the pain in his golden eyes made her heart clench. “I’ve spent centuries running from these memories, building walls around my heart, convincing myself that isolation was strength.” His free hand came up to cup her cheek, the touch surprisingly tender. “Then you walked into my life with your Christmas spirit and your endless warmth, andsuddenly the walls don’t feel like protection anymore. They feel like a prison.”

TWENTY-NINE

Briar leaned into his touch, her skin tingling where his fingers met her cheek. “The past can only control us if we let it,” she whispered. “Your mother’s cruelty shaped you, but it doesn’t have to define you.”

“When I’m with you,” he murmured, his thumb brushing across her cheekbone, “I almost believe that’s possible.”

“It is possible.” Briar stepped closer, eliminating the space between them. Her free hand came to rest over his heart, feeling its strong, steady beat. “Every time you choose kindness over cruelty, love over fear, you prove her wrong.”

Falkor’s eyes darkened, his gaze dropping to her lips before returning to her eyes. “You make me want to be more than my mother’s son,” he admitted. “More than the angry, isolated creature she created.”

“You already are.” Briar’s voice was fierce with conviction. “The man who saved me on that mountain road, who’s helping protect this town despite his own pain—that’s who you really are, Falkor. The rest is just armor you can choose to lay down.”

A log shifted in the fireplace, sending up a shower of sparks. The Christmas lights seemed to twinkle more brightly, casting a warm glow over them both. Outside, the wind howled withincreased fury, as if Morganna’s spirit sensed her hold on her son weakening.

“The storm carries her energy,” Falkor said, his voice rough with emotion. “Her spirit feeds off despair—mine especially. Even in death, she’s trying to control me, to poison everything good and bright.”

“Then we fight back with light,” Briar declared. Her hand slid up from his heart to the nape of his neck, fingers threading through his dark hair. “We fight back with joy and hope, and yes, with love.”

His breath caught at the wordlove, his golden eyes blazing with an intensity that made her heart race. “Briar...” Her name fell from his lips like a prayer.

“Your mother was wrong,” she continued, holding his gaze. “Love isn’t weakness—it’s the greatest strength we have. Every child at the orphanage taught me that. Every moment of joy shared, every hand held in darkness, every heart that chooses to stay open despite past hurts—that’s real power.”

Falkor’s arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer. His heat enveloped her, dragon-warm and intoxicating. “You make me want to believe in that power,” he murmured, his face inches from hers. “You make me want to believe in everything.”

The air between them crackled with possibility, with unspoken feelings and growing trust. Briar’s heart thundered in her chest as Falkor’s forehead came to rest against hers, their breath mingling in the quiet room.

“Then believe,” she whispered. “Believe in yourself. Believe in us. We’ll face your mother’s spirit together, and we’ll win—not through force or anger, but through everything she tried to destroy. Through hope, through joy...” She smiled softly. “Through Christmas magic.”

A chuckle rumbled through his chest, surprising them both. “Christmas magic,” he repeated, his voice warm with affection.“You’re determined to make me embrace the holiday, aren’t you?”

“One twinkling light at a time,” she promised, delighting in the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. This was the real Falkor, she realized—the one his mother had tried to bury beneath layers of pain and isolation. He was still in there, warming to life like a flower reaching for the sun.

They stayed like that for a long moment, wrapped in each other’s arms, the fire crackling behind them and the storm raging outside. But within the cabin’s walls, something had shifted. The Christmas lights no longer seemed out of place in Falkor’s domain. Instead, they stood as tiny beacons of defiance against the darkness that sought to consume them.

“Will you stay?” Falkor asked suddenly, his voice low and vulnerable. “Not just tonight, but... after. When this is over. Will you stay?”

Briar’s heart swelled with emotion. She knew what it cost him to ask, to show this much vulnerability. “Yes,” she said simply. “For as long as you want me.”

---