Page 6 of Christmas Wishes
Chapter Two
Blix stepped through the paddock gate and walked alongside the evergreen painted fence that separated the reindeer training area from the path leading to the barns.
There were a total of three and a tack room.
One was for the sleighs. Like a garage, almost. There were at least five sleighs, with a new one built every two years. Magic could only protect against so much with variable weather conditions from different areas of the globe. The second barn was where the two flight simulators were housed, along with the training harnesses.
The final barn had been converted into a dormitory of sorts for the reindeer shifters, at least those who were in training or still single, if they chose to stay. Every job or skill in the North Pole housed its trainees on site. They were immersed in the tasks and atmosphere around the clock to ensure proficiency and mastery.
It also helped foster friendship and a modicum of independence away from family.
Blix had loved her time atThe Confectionary, learning different pastry crafts and techniques. Her intuition with spices and measurements and textures had gone a long way in helping her perfect the different cookies she currently baked atWishes Bakery.
She’d also learned how to add and manage the amount of elf magic she put into special batches of cookies when someone needed a little sparkle in their life.
She stopped in her tracks, near stumbling over her own two feet. “That’s it,” she muttered, cocking her head to the side, thoughts whirling through her mind at lightning speed.
Could she bake some of her magic into cookies for Rand? Would it work? Would it help him remember why they did what they did at the North Pole? Would it help him remember why he had to be the one to lead to the sleigh team? Would it help him believe again and fulfill his destiny?
She’d heard of love potions. Could she create some sort of Christmas potion combining her elf magic and the spices in her kitchen? She did things like that daily, on a very small scale, but this would be a doozy.
“It couldn’t hurt to try, right?” she whispered to herself.
“Did you say something?”
Blix looked up at the male voice and smiled. Second time in less than thirty minutes she hadn’t been paying attention. She hadn’t even noticed the group of reindeer shifters headed her way. They were tall, well built and broad across the chest, their arms and legs full of muscled definition.
Every female fantasized about a reindeer shifter looking her way. Every. One.
Blix was no exception. She fantasized about the same thing. Just… There was only one she wanted to look her way.
She smiled up at the shifter who’d spoken. His dark hair and dark eyes did nothing for her. Not one tingle. “No. Just… some self-elf talk. Can you tell me if Tomas is around, though?”
“He left a while back for a meeting.”
“Oh.” Why wouldn’t Santa tell her Tomas wasn’t there? “Thanks.”
She thought about continuing toward the barns. It was possible she’d see Rand. And even if she did, she couldn’t ask him what was going on, or if the rumors were true. She had a feeling they were. Something about it made sense to her. She couldn’t put her finger on why, just that it did.
She turned back in the direction she’d come from.
With each step closer to the bakery, Blix couldn’t shake the idea of baking cookies for Rand, filling them with magic to hopefully stimulate his goodness, his beliefs. The amount of elf magic she would have to use for it to make any difference would be huge, more than she’d ever used. It would nearly deplete her internal store of magic and she’d need several days to recover.
But…
Excitement filled her. If she could help remind him, if she could help him see, help him believe… Well, it would be worth it, right?
She wished she’d had the chance to talk to Tomas. She didn’t know how long she had to make the cookies. She would need to get on it quickly though. Pulling that amount of magic would take a little time.
She picked up the pace, as fast as her small feet would carry her. She had a lot of work to do.
* * * * *
“I understand you don’t want to lead the sleigh team.”
Rand sat on one end of an antique sofa in the house he grew up in.
It was exactly like every storybook depiction he’d ever come across, and yet, it wasn’t.
