Below the deck of the ship taking them to Sleet City, the three of them sipped on warm apple cider. The small cruise ship wasn't full, but even so they kept to themselves in the shadows. Through a window, she could see Sleet City, its dark rusty red buildings cutting into the sky. Streaks of light blue glowed from the buildings like beacons through the fog blanketing the night sky.

The water was choppy, Faryn's drink sloshing around in her glass, and it only continued to get worse the closer they got to shore.

Peter set down his empty cup. "If this goes horribly wrong, what's the plan?"

Cassian cut him a glare.

"It won't," Faryn said, forcing herself to sound confident, though this could definitely end up with them all arrested.

As they disembarked onto the docks, an icy wind hit them that left Peter and Cassian shivering while Faryn only grabbed onto her hat.

It wasn't hard to learn where Aurelius's home was. Tourists, as they quickly discovered, liked to see where the infamous Krampus resided. It was the house where crowds were clustered along his fence, trying to get in front of the gate. Guards held them back.

House wasn't the right term for it. Aurelius's home looked as if it were a hundred stories tall. It was a rust red color that matched the erest of the buildings in the city. Geometric designs that glowed blue were carved into the walls.

Faryn sucked in a breath as they drew closer. The doors leading inside were taller than Peter's golden ones, and far less welcoming. They were a dark gray with etchings of badaliscs, Kallikantzaroi, Karakoncolos, and yule cats. These were all creatures on her do-not-encounter-if-Faryn-wants-to-live list. Was Aurelius on good terms with them? What if he kept a yule cat as a pet?

Peter made his way through the tourists and up to the gatehouse, Faryn and Cassian at his heels. The Spring Prinde rapped on the window, and the guard shot him a withering look, but Peter was unphased.

"Tell Aurelius that Peter Ton is here to see him."

The guard straightened though he didn't look entirely convinced that the Easter Bunny was knocking on his window.

Peter uncurled his fist, and a blue fog circled his palm. It slithered through the air and into the guard's open window. The man shoved himself out of his chair to get away from the smoke, but it was useless, the magic entered the man's nostrils.

"The scents of spring. That's my friendly magic. But if you need further convincing, I'm sure I can find another trick to use."

Not taking his eyes off Peter, the guard reached for a corded phone and held it to his ears. "Tell Aurelius the Spring Prince is here to see him."

When Peter turned to face them, he looked entirely too smug. Cassian only rolled his eyes before he swept them over the crowd.

Faryn, much to her chagrin, found herself tapping her boot against the icy ground. This was Aurelius. There was no need to be nervous. Not when he had always been more of a brother to her than her own half-brother. Older brothers were supposed to adore their younger sisters, right?

The front door opened and a tall Elf, dressed in black and silver finery, strolled out, headed for the gate. The tourists oohed and ahhed that something was actually happening, and the Elf bowed to Peter. "Spring Prince."

This only made the tourists turn to Peter and ooh and ahh at him. So Peter's self-given title was catching on. This time it was Faryn who rolled her eyes. Peter was eating it up. Wasn't the idea that they shouldn't be recognized?

Guards held the crowd back as the three of them were allowed to enter the courtyard. The Elf looked at Cassian and Faryn and no sign of recognition sparked in his green eyes, and when he asked for their names, they gave him the names of two who worked for Peter.

The Elf led them inside. The hallway the doors opened into was so entirely large and wide that it looked as if it were made for giants like Chrysanthos's palace had. But while The Green Man's hallways were expansive, they were also bright and enchanting. Aurelius's walls were a rusted red like outside, and any light that came from the wrought iron chandeliers barely made a dent in the gloom the trio was swathed in. Faryn inched toward Cassian who gave her an odd look but didn't move away.

The Elf led them through the twists and turns of the hallways that eventually grew a little less larger than life, but still daunting to venture down before they finally reached the throne room of Krampus. There the Elf asked them to wait and let them know Aurelius would be with them shortly.

Faryn's stomach churned. She'd barely been able to get even yogurt down this morning.

What would he say when he saw her? Was she wrong to expect his help? Did she think their friendship was stronger than it actually was and did she care more about him than he cared for her?

She let out a shaky breath, catching the eye of Peter. She didn't need to cause him or Cassian any doubts or misgivings. The doubts were only her mind working against her. She was overthinking everything and who could blame her? She was wanted, and it was a blessing the Elf hadn't known who she was.

Faryn had never wished for fame, and she certainly hadn't wished for infamy.

All she wanted at this point was to clear her name. Then she could go back to dreaming about her future and actually planning it.

The walls around them swept upward, the ceiling so far away from the top of her head it gave the illusion the room stretched as tall as the building itself; though, Faryn was certain that was not the case. The walls and floor were an inky black like the fog Aurelius often hid inside, and red banners bearing the Krampus symbol in black hung along the walls. At the front of the room, on top of a dais was a red crystal throne. Along the back, seven quartz-like crystals fanned. The seat of Krampus was a dichotomy of sharp and smooth. Like Krampus. The world knew him as a prickly character, the enemy of dear Ol' Saint Nick and so naturally he must therefore be hated. But he was deeper than that. He could be kind. He protected those he cared for. He was so much better than what the world thought of him. Like Faryn.

A door along the wall near the throne opened, and Aurelius walked in dressed in all black. "Peter, I'm so glad we can finally meet, but I'll confess that this all was unex—" His eyes landed on Faryn, and he jolted.

Just seeing him, her shoulders relaxed. There had been no need to worry. This was Aurelius. He would help her. It was only being apart that made her doubt him.

"Faryn." His voice was hoarse. He looked at her as if she were a ghost; his face had paled, and he was rigid.

Her anxiety swept right back in.

"Why are you here?"

"We need help, Aurelius. Jack's already tried to kill me. You're the only one in Winter who believes I'm innocent. I—I need you." Her voice broke on those words. She hated saying them. "If I had any other choice, I wouldn't bring you into this, but I need you to help me clear my name. And my mother, she . . . I can't get ahold of her. I'm worried what—"

"You can't be here." Gone was the tension in his voice. All that was left was coldness. "You have to leave." Aurelius stared at her as if he had never seen her before in his life.

Heat flooded her cheeks. "Aurelius."

"If I house you, give you shelter, I'll only implicate myself, as you've already done to these two." He gestured to Cassian and Peter whose hand tightened into a fist. No power leaked out of it.

"Aren't you already under suspicion?" A muscle ticked in Peter's jaw. "Winter was at my doorstep before Faryn showed up. After all, we both stand to gain far more by Nick going away than Faryn ever would."

Aurelius narrowed his eyes at the Spring Prince. "You saw the video of the two of them."

Cassian stepped in front of Faryn, angling himself between her and Aurelius's disdain. She couldn't understand it. Her mind refused to accept it.

"It didn't look good," Aurelius continued. "Or did I watch it wrong?"

"Frost was going to kill her if I hadn't stopped him. I had no intention of taking her side. Do you wish for me to apologize that I wasn't of the mind she should die without a trial? Especially not at the hands of her own cousin."

Aurelius's throat bobbed. "I know you are innocent, Faryn. But I cannot offer you shelter."

Nausea worked its way up her throat. She had led Peter and Cassian here because she had convinced them that Aurelius would help. "Since when do you care about what half of Winter thinks?"

"If I helped you, it around be a slap in the face to your brother."

Faryn physically jerked as if it were she who'd been slapped. "My brother? Why do you care—"

"Because I'm his friend."

Faryn trembled. "You can't be. You're . . . you're Krampus. My whole life you've told me how awful he was."

"I'm sorry." His face finally looked remorseful. "That was before I knew him." Aurelius had known her first then but was choosing Niklaus.

She wrapped her arms around herself as if they were a shield. "He's the more valuable friendship to you."

For a moment Aurelius looked the years that he was. "I know it couldn't have been easy for you to get here. You can stay the night, but you must leave tomorrow. Find Mother Nature. She'll be able to offer you sanctuary and give you the ability to enter Ruhnerium safely."

Peter cleared his throat. "That's a fine suggestion and all but do you even know where Ziva is now?"

"The last I heard she was in Reyarney."

The Prince of Spring snorted. "I don't know how you forgot, but we have the future Tooth Fairy with us."

Faryn furrowed her brow. What was his point? She didn't have much knowledge of the Irish city but she tried flipping through what she knew only to come up empty. Even Aurelius looked confused.

Stepping forward, Cassian placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. They hadn't spent much time getting along but maybe they viewed Krampus as the bigger enemy. "I'm friends with Arlo," he said to Peter, and a flicker of something sparked in her mind. Arlo. The king of the mouse shifters. And also the counterpart of the Tooth Fairy. Ratoncito Pérez. Like Krampus and Santa were always supposed to be enemies, the two of them were as well. But it seemed the sons of Flossie and Nick weren't inclined to follow that particular tradition. "He won't turn us in."

Aurelius released a huff and turned away. "An attendant will show you to your rooms. I'll see you at dinner."

Faryn stepped forward. "Aurelius, can we talk?"

He didn't bother looking back. "I'll see you at dinner."

Something in her had broken. She didn't know what, only that there was a jagged piece dangling from its proper place within her. She had led them here, with guarantees that Aurelius was her friend, that he wasn't the villain Cassian and Peter had thought he was.

The way he had treated her, he might as well have been a stranger. 

What would you do if you were Faryn?

The next update will be Friday!