Page 44 of Santa Daddy, I'm Not the One

“Where was he last seen?” I asked.

“Near the edge of the Whispering Woods,” another elf replied. “We called to him earlier. When we didn’t see him return, we started searching for him.”

Without another word, I dashed past the elves toward the Whispering Woods, its trees whispering secrets in the wind. I knew these woods well, had roamed them for centuries, but now they felt alien, hostile even.

“Frostheart!” I bellowed through the stillness. “Show yourself!”

The forest remained silent, but I pushed on, looking for any sign of Landon or Frostheart. The snow was trampled in places as if there had been a struggle, and my heart raced with every step. I had to find him. I had to bring Landon back.

As I ventured deeper into the woods, the light from the workshop faded, and the trees grew denser. And then I heard it—a laugh, cold and mocking, drifting toward me on the breeze.

“Run, run as fast as you can. I’m afraid it’s too late to find your man.”

“Frostheart!” I roared. “Where is he?”

The laugh intensified, getting closer, and a shadow detached itself from the trees. Frostheart stepped into the clearing, his eyes glowing with malevolence.

“Looking for this?” He held out a cloak I recognized immediately. It was Landon’s.

Anger surged through me, hot and fierce. “Where is he?”

“Now don’t be so hostile. I merely helped him to find the location to cross over into his dimension.”

Time seemed to freeze as Frostheart’s words sank in. If he’d indeed brought Landon back, then…he would have already forgotten about me and our love.

“What did you do?” I rasped.

“I brought him here,” Frostheart said. “And he no longer served a purpose. Be grateful I didn’t kill him but just brought him back to where he belongs.”

“What have you done?” I roared. Raw pain streamed through my veins like lethal poison. My lungs burned from running through the forest, but it was nothing compared to the hurt lancing through my heart.

I’d lost him.

I’d lost my Landon.

“This is spectacular.” Frostheart laughed. “Seeing you completely devastated has made up for foiling my plans repeatedly. He won’t remember you, Santa. He’ll once again be the selfish, uncaring boy I brought into your world.”

So many times in the past I could have killed Frostheart, but I never did. As the epitome of cheer, how could I? I’d always been led to believe that with the right influence, anyone could change, but realization dawned on me. Frostheart would never change. And I didn’t want him to. I needed to eliminate him for tearing me and Landon apart.

“I’m going to kill you,” I whispered.

“You? Kill me? That’s the antithesis of everything you believe in.”

Anger burning inside me, I manipulated the fallen snow, swirling it around him.

“Snow? You’re going to kill me with snow? Is that even possible? Have you forgotten who I am?”

I continued until he was completely buried under the snow. With a loud cry, I ripped the snow apart into tiny particles, destroying Frostheart and scattering him along with the particles. He’d underestimated my anger, underestimated how much I was willing to bend the rules if pushed too far.

“You… you…” he sputtered as his form disintegrated before me.

“I told you. This ends now.”

And then silence. The snow stopped swirling and settled into a thick blanket that covered every inch of the forest floor.

Frostheart was gone.

But so was Landon.

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