Page 57 of Holly and Ivar
Withtheice-carvingcontestwrapping up, Holly looped her arm through Ivar’s as they collected his nephews and began the walk back toward the inn.The boys ran ahead, bounding through the snow on a sugar high, their laughter echoing down the street, reminding her of that easy kind of happiness she’d shared with her siblings.
Around them, the crowd had thinned to clusters of families lingering near the cocoa stand.Laughter still drifted through the air, and the occasional comment about the snowball fight left her smiling.
Then, a flash of red snagged her attention.
A little girl, no more than six, came rushing through the crowd, a potted poinsettia clutched awkwardly in her mittened hands.The pot was too large for her small arms, and as she hurried past, her boot caught on an uneven patch of snow.The slip was so quick it made Holly gasp.
The girl tumbled forward with a startled cry.The poinsettia flew from her grasp, hitting the ground with a dull crack.The main stem snapped clean through, the vibrant red leaves scattered across the snow.
“My flower!”the girl wailed, tears immediately welling in her eyes.“It’s broken!I bought it for Grandma with my own money!”
Holly’s instinct was to reach for the girl, but Ivar was already there, crouching down to her level.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said gently.“Let’s take a look.”
Holly watched as he gathered the fallen plant, his hands steady and careful as he nestled the broken stem back into the pot.What happened next made her breath catch.
As Ivar’s fingers brushed the broken stem, a subtle shimmer—like heat rising from summer pavement—rippled across the plant.The stem straightened, its severed edges knitting together seamlessly.The scattered leaves perked up, their color deepening from pale to vibrant red.
The girl’s tears stopped abruptly.“You fixed it!”she exclaimed, taking the pot from him with reverent care.
“There you go,” Ivar said with a warm smile.“It just needed to be put back in its soil.Plants are tougher than they look.”
The child beamed, hugging the pot to her chest before scampering off toward an elderly woman waiting by the raffle booth.
Holly stared at him, her mind racing.“How did you do that?”she asked quietly.
Ivar turned, brow furrowed.“Do what?”
“Fix that plant.”
“I didn’t fix it,” he said, brushing soil from his palms.“I repotted it.”
“Ivar,” Holly said carefully, “the stem was completely broken.Snapped in half.”
He looked genuinely confused.“No, it wasn’t.It just lost a couple of leaves.The stem was bent, not broken.”
Holly studied his face, searching for any sign that he was aware of what had happened.There was nothing but calm confusion.
A chill that had nothing to do with the winter air ran through her.She’d been so focused on the Hales that she hadn’t fully considered what was happening with Ivar.The tree.The cardinals.And now this.
While that experience under the tree had changed them both—how could it not?—somethinginhim had changed.Hehad changed.There was a confidence, a contentedness, that was almost contagious when he was near.And that light in his eyes that drew her in… she should have paid more attention since that day in the forest.
She’d never been one to study magic, never curious about its origins.She used it when it was needed, never questioning where it came from.But Ivar hadn’t been born into it.He’d gone into the forest as an ordinary man and walked out with an ancient magic flowing through him.
She didn’t press Ivar further, not wanting to alarm him.Instead, she pulled out her phone and typed a quick message to her brother.
Holly: Call me tonight.Urgent.
***
By the time they reached the inn, daylight had faded behind the ridge, leaving the snow-covered world washed in lavender and silver.The boys waved as they ran back to their house while Holly and Ivar stepped inside.
Liv looked up from refilling a tray of cookies.“There you are!I was starting to wonder if you two had snuck off to join the carvers.”
“Tempting,” Ivar said, pulling off his gloves.“But I value my fingers too much.”
“Speak for yourself,” Holly added.“Some of those carvers had serious skill.There was a dragon.A slightly lopsided dragon, but still.”
