North Pole City Tales 03 - Vixen's Valor (7 page)

“I have something to confess.”

“Oh? Perhaps we should sit then.”

“No. I’m afraid if I move I might lose my nerve. Hold me tighter.”

Vale smiled and pulled him closer. “Tell me what’s troubling you.”

“I haven’t been honest about my intentions. When I invited your advances, it was because I was only interested in your position and what you might have to offer.”

“And now?”

“Now… I’m bewitched by what you have to offer still, but not what you might have to offer in the form of prestige or power, but….” His hand went to Vale’s heart, and he swallowed hard.

“May I confess something as well?”

Vixen braced himself. What if Vale told him he had only been interested in taking him to bed? Normally such a declaration wouldn’t have bothered him in the least—in fact he’d welcome it. But coming from Vale, he didn’t think his heart could take it. Dear heavens, what was happening to him?

“Don’t look so frightened,” Vale said with a soft laugh. He put his hand to Vixen’s cheek. “I confess that I already knew of your intentions.”

Vixen felt the heat spread through his face. “You did? I don’t understand. Why would you take such a risk?”

“From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew there was something enchanting about you. There were moments when I could see through your façade to the real you, and it was inspiring. I wanted the chance to show you what it might be like if you trusted someone with your heart.”

Could Vale be the prince Vixen had been waiting to sweep him off his feet since he was but a fledgling elf? What if he left himself exposed and placed his heart in Vale’s hands? It would take so little for Vixen to fall.

“Vixen? Will you allow me the honor of courting you?”

His head was reluctant, but his heart spoke. “Yes.” It wasn’t everything he’d ever wanted. It was more. Yet if Vale were nothing but a humble elf, Vixen would still want to be in his arms. Nothing else mattered. As Vale held him close, he wished this moment would last forever. For the first time in his life, he was facing an unknown force. He hoped he was brave enough to see it through.

Chapter Six

 “V
IXEN
,
ARE
you listening?”

Vixen blinked at Dasher, embarrassed to find his Rein Dear brother had been speaking to him, and he hadn’t heard a word. It had been like this all day. He was surprised he’d managed to concentrate at the Causeway. He’d completed all his preflight checks, carried out his in-flight procedures, made the test run, completed his paperwork, filed it, even finished off a few pending tasks. Rudy had been stunned speechless when Vixen came out of his hangar at the end of their shift. Normally he was long gone by then and waiting at the White Hart.

“I said, have you heard the rumors about Rudy’s wedding?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If Jack had proposed, I would have been the first to hear about it. Rudy’s my best friend, after all.” He’d heard nothing of the sort. Not to mention a royal wedding would have been all over the papers. Jack? Proposing marriage? Absurd.

His brethren apparently didn’t agree.

“Do you know what that means? One of our brothers would be a prince!” Cupid squealed from across Vixen and Dasher before thanking Blitzen for his cup of cocoa. He settled back against the davenport cushion and snuggled up to the much larger Blitzen, who somberly put an arm around Cupid. Vixen had never noticed it before, but the two looked oddly sweet together. Dark and light.

For the love of holly, he had romance on the brain. He needed to get ahold of himself.

“What are you talking about?”

Dasher rolled his eyes at him. When had he become such an expert in all things royal? “Everyone knows if Rudy marries Jack, when the King of Frost passes his crown on to Jack, Rudy will be crowned prince.”

Cupid let out a wistful sigh. “Captain of the Rein Dear Squadron and prince! Isn’t that just so romantic?”

“It’s only a title,” Vixen said with a sniff. He ordered a couple of peppermint juleps that he made quick work of. Why did every conversation have to come back to Rudy? “It’s not as though Rudy can wield the power of Frost. Only someone connected to the Frost family can wield his power.”

“How do you know?” Dasher asked. “You’re just jealous. Nothing new there.”

Vixen glared at Dasher and ordered himself some of the White Hart’s “special” eggnog. He had a feeling he was going to need it if his brethren insisted on continuing with this annoying conversation. “I happen to have inside information. Frost Family secrets.”

Cupid, Dasher, and Blitzen leaned toward him, all of them eager to hear the gossip. Too bad they weren’t getting any. “Like what?” Cupid asked.

“Well if I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets, now would they?” He sipped his eggnog and chuckled at his brethren’s frowns.

Dasher waved a hand in dismissal at him. “Humbug. Another one of your tales.”

“All I can say is that I’ve seen a secret object. It’s very powerful. Tucked away in a secret room inside the King of Frost’s palace.” How many cups had he had? Perhaps he should let up a bit. A figure loomed over him, and he rolled his head back, smiling at the dark-haired toy soldier. “Officer Fern. How nice to see you.” Officer Fern grinned broadly at him and motioned over to a cozy loveseat for two at the far end of the pub.

“I was hoping we might go somewhere a little more… private.”

“Oh? What for?” Mm, his eggnog was super yummy. He might just have another.

“Well, I thought perhaps we might get to know each other.”

“We could do that right here.” Especially since his friends were ignoring him and conversing among themselves. Once they started talking about Rudy again and how exciting it would be to have a prince among their ranks, Vixen stood with a huff. “On second thought, let’s go over there.”

Vixen plopped down, careful not to spill his drink, though he needn’t have feared, since a tray with a selection of liquid delights was placed on the small table beside him.

“I took the liberty of ordering a variety of flavors, since I wasn’t sure which you’d enjoy more.”

“All of them,” Vixen replied. He’d had such a wonderful week; why did his friends have to go and ruin it? He supposed he could have told them about his time with Vale, show that blasted Blitzen how wrong he’d been, but he didn’t fancy gossiping about Vale. Just the thought of those sparkling gray eyes and warm smile had Vixen feeling all cozy inside.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation you were having with your Rein Dear brothers. I understand you wanting to impress them, but there’s no need to resort to embellishment. You really shouldn’t go around spreading such tales.”

Vixen nearly choked on his drink. When he recovered, he gaped at Officer Fern. “Embellishment? Tales? Are you saying I made it up?”

The toy soldier shrugged. “Well, it does sound a little farfetched, wouldn’t you agree? You wouldn’t even say what the object is.”

“Because it’s a secret,” Vixen said with a scoff. Honestly, did no one listen around here? Ooh, a cocoa cocktail.

“So secret it doesn’t exist?”

Vixen frowned at his empty glass. Had he drunk his cocoa cocktail already? He placed the glass on the tray and it tipped over. Clumsy. “It does so exist, but I promised.” He wanted to get up, but he was suddenly feeling too comfortable and sleepy. The noise in the pub around him appeared to quiet down, and Vixen settled back against the loveseat. He wished Vale were here, but his handsome lieutenant had duties to attend to, though he had promised he’d stop by the Causeway tomorrow with a special treat for him. Was it too soon for him to be missing Vale? To miss his scent, his strong arms, his sweet whispers.

“Promised what?”

Hm? Oh, Officer Fern was still here. “That I wouldn’t tell anyone. It’s very important to him. I mustn’t say. He’s very sweet and wonderful.” Vixen smiled again at the thought of Vale. “So romantic.”

“Lieutenant Vale Frost?”

“Yes.” Vixen lolled his head toward Officer Fern. “He sees me. The real me, that is. He knew, and he still cares for me.”

“Sounds like quite the catch. Did Lieutenant Frost show you this object?”

“Well, more like I stumbled upon it.” He leaned forward to whisper. “I shouldn’t have been wandering around, but I was curious. Vale found me, and he was cross at first, but then he told me all about it.” Vixen nodded and let out a dreamy sigh. “He shouldn’t have, but he’s sweet on me.”

Officer Fern leaned in, one hand coming to rest on Vixen’s cheek, the other on Vixen’s leg. “It’s a shame Rudy gets to have everything when you’re far more handsome and charming.”

Vixen frowned. “What are you talking about?” And why was Officer Fern touching him? Vixen hadn’t given his permission or expressed
that
kind of interest. He didn’t like it. Vale could touch him wherever and whenever he pleased. Vixen promptly removed Officer Fern’s wandering hands. The nerve.

“Well, once Jack marries Rudy, he’ll undoubtedly share this secret with him.”

Good heavens. What if Jack gave the scepter to Rudy, just as the Frost King had given it to his beloved? Now that he thought about it, after Rudy and Jack married, technically, Rudy would be connected to the Frost family, which meant he could wield the king’s power. “Why should Rudy get the scepter? He already has powers. He doesn’t need the power of Frost as well.”

“Sounds rather dangerous if you ask me.”

“Not if he’s married to Jack,” Vixen replied with a pout. His head was all fuzzy, like it was filled with cotton candy. Maybe he should ask Dasher to take him home. “Only someone connected to the Frost family can wield the scepter’s power. Otherwise, something terrible will happen to whoever tries to use it. Not sure what. It sounded quite dire.” Vixen yawned, wishing he could curl up and go to sleep. He also wished whatever his name was would stop asking him questions. He closed his eyes as the unpleasant voice kept yammering in his ear. Vixen heard himself reply, but soon he’d dozed off. He had no idea how long he’d been asleep when the cozy warmth enveloping him was snatched away from him.

“Vixen, wake up!”

“What?” Vixen groaned, rolling over and taking his pillow with him. What time was it? More importantly, what day was it? It was certainly too early to be pestered by his goodie-two-shoes friend. Ugh, his mouth tasted like sand. He hated sand. All those teeny-tiny hard things getting stuck in places they shouldn’t get stuck in. Plum pudding, his head was throbbing. Why had Rudy snatched his blanket away?

“You missed another meeting, for holly’s sake. Let me guess. Out at the pub until late last night?”

Pub? That was right. After the half a dozen test runs and rehearsing various flight patterns, he’d headed for the White Hart with the rest of his Rein Dear brothers. Had Rudy been there? Probably not, seeing as how Vixen couldn’t recall any lectures. Then again, he seemed to be having trouble recalling a good portion of the evening. He heard the opening and closing of drawers and moaned.

“Go away, Rudy. I need my beauty sleep.” He’d worry about the missed meeting later. Right now, he just wanted to curl up under his blanket and sleep.

“I better not find a naked toy soldier in your closet.”

“What would I be doing with a toy soldier?” Vixen grumbled, wishing his friend would do something more useful, like get him something cool for his head. It was pounding.

“What you normally do with them,” Rudy grumbled. “Though please spare me the details.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I want a toy soldier when I’m being courted by—” Wait a moment. Toy soldier, the pub… Vixen bolted upright, immediately regretting the movement. While he waited for his head to stop spinning, he tried to recall last night. Why did he get the feeling he’d done something terribly foolish? He let out a gasp and stared at Rudy.

“I need to go see Vale.”

Rudy studied him, a look of concern coming onto his face. “Vale’s with Jack and Hollis at the king’s palace. Something about an urgent meeting.” He came to sit at the edge of Vixen’s bed and held a hand to his brow. “Are you all right?”

No. He was anything but all right. Plum pudding. What had he done? He scrambled out of bed and darted around the room, plucking pieces of clothing from here and there. For the love of Kringle, he prayed the meeting had nothing to do with the scepter.

“Vixen, slow down. What’s wrong?”

Vixen came to an abrupt halt and opened his mouth, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit what he might have done. Rudy would never have been so foolish. That was why his friend was captain, because he was good and responsible and didn’t get himself into such dreadful situations. “I need to go. I’m sorry.” He swiftly dressed and rushed out the door. He dashed through his apartment and out into the hall, making certain not to run into any of his brethren. Oh, he was never going to hear the end of this if they found out. He ran out the side door of the Rein Dear estate rather than the front and hailed a sleigh, asking the driver to be as quick as can be. It would take longer than he wished for the sleigh to get to the king’s palace, but once they were off North Pole City’s main street, traffic eased and the sleigh took off.

At the palace, Vixen thanked the driver and rushed up the steps, informing the guards of who he was and how he was there to see Vale. The guards allowed him in, and Vixen found Vale pacing the grand foyer not far from where Jack and Hollis were quietly conversing. When Vale saw Vixen, he smiled brightly, and Vixen felt all the worse. He hurried over to Vixen and gave his lips a sweet kiss.

“Vixen? What are you doing here?”

Vixen took hold of Vale’s hand and pulled him to one side, speaking quietly. “I have an urgent matter to discuss with you.”

“I’m afraid it will have to wait, darling. My uncle’s called a very important meeting. Something’s terribly wrong.”

“Vale, I—”

The massive doors opened, and the chancellor appeared. His expression gave nothing away, though his somber tone said enough. “Lads.”

“Wait here,” Vale whispered in Vixen’s ear. “I’ll be back soon.” Without waiting for a reply, Vale joined his brother and cousin, the three trailing after the chancellor. Vixen couldn’t stand the thought of remaining outside. What if the king knew Vixen had stumbled upon the scepter? What if he forbade Vale from seeing Vixen ever again? His heart squeezed in his chest, and he took off after Vale, sneaking in silently behind him. Whether Vale was aware of his presence or not, he didn’t say a word. The three elves—with Vixen concealing himself behind Vale—approached the king. The monarch looked upset as he paced. The King of Frost pacing was never a good sign.