After they had left that morning, there had been a fire at the Aurora Inn. Thankfully, no one had been hurt, but half the building was charred, the other half was soaked, and the whole place reeked of smoke. With Avery and Cat Damon already comfortably nestled into one of the Klaas family guest rooms, it was only natural for Noelle to also accept Nick's invitation and stay there for the night, as well.

Nick had sent for all of their remaining things, which were delivered just as Noelle had gotten out of the shower in preparation for the night's celebratory activities. Along with her own suitcase, there was a garment bag she didn't recognize. But a large gift tag attached to the hanger had her name written in scrolling calligraphy along with the words 'For the Concert.' Inside, she found a floor length, skin-tight crushed velvet dress in deep red with an off-the shoulder boat neckline and three diamond brooches that looked like snowflakes.

Noelle had expected to wear her usual black-on-black concert attire, especially as part of a holiday ensemble. Unless everyone else in the orchestra was wearing something similarly fancy, this outfit would wrongly single her out as a premier performer. It also made her once again wonder who had invited her here. Because if someone in Nick's position couldn't find out, then there must have been a worrisome reason behind it.

She wanted to ask him again if he'd learned anything new about her mysterious patron, but he hadn't yet returned home from surveying the fire damage. Since he left, the weather had also turned from bad to worse, and now it was practically a blizzard outside. With the concert starting in less than an hour and with Avery laid up in bed with what looked to be the start of the flu, Noelle was left all dressed up in Nick's living room with nowhere to go.

He may have been an expert at managing Christmas, but he was really terrible at sorting out logistics for her now. She had no idea how she would get to the concert hall in time if he didn't show up soon. Taking the underground tunnel was tempting—there would be no need to put on massive amounts of layers that was for sure—but then she remembered the ancient lock that kept unwanted people out.

So Noelle ended up pacing between the Christmas tree and the fireplace with her violin in hand while practically wearing a pattern into the Turkish rug.

Until there was a knock at the door.

Setting her instrument on an end table, Noelle rushed to the entryway expecting Nick. She didn't even consider that he'd either have a key to his own house or at least he'd know there was a doorbell. So when she pulled the door open, she was met with surprise. Stepping back as a gust of wind blew heavily falling snow toward her, Noelle squinted into the darkness at a bright figure standing on the stoop.

The woman was in all white, the color so shimmering and translucent that it was almost silver. Her skin was pale, and a crown of ice topped her equally light hair. Although a storm was surging around her, the snowflakes seemed to avoid her directly as if there was an invisible force field protecting her.

"Can I . . . can I help you?" Noelle asked tentatively, not quite sure if she should even acknowledge a stranger at someone else's home.

"Come," the woman said, extending her hand. The fingernails at the tips were like icicles. "Come with me, Noelle Nixon."

A chill ran through Noelle, but it wasn't from the exterior temperature. "How . . . how do you know my name?"

The woman tilted her head to the side and looked at her inquisitively. "You are not from here. You have been specially invited. You will change everything," she said, her voice melodically chiming like the frozen branches of a sapling moving in the breeze. "Come."

Noelle didn't make it a habit of going with complete strangers, and she wasn't about to start now. "No, thank you. But a merry Christmas to you," she said as she closed the door.

"I know why you're really here," the woman called after her.

Noelle hesitated. With the door ajar, she looked back out. "I came to play in the Christmas concert. That's all," she said, knowing that was the explanation she'd been given, but now believing more than ever that there was more behind it.

When the woman raised a finger and shook it from side to side to counter her assertions, Noelle's heart sank. If this stranger could offer details that Nick couldn't, she was ready to hear them. Although she'd prefer to stay in the warm house while doing so.

"Tell me what you know, then," Noelle said, still hiding behind the door.

"Come," the woman repeated, beckoning to her.

"No."

"Come."

This wasn't getting anywhere, but Noelle was becoming exceedingly anxious so she took a deep breath of resignation. If stepping outside meant she'd get answers, she'd do it. "Fine. Let me grab a coat and—"

"There will be no need for that," the woman cut her off.

Before Noelle could react, the entire house seemed to dissolve around her. In its place, a snowy forest appeared. Spinning around, she saw nothing, but trees illuminated by the moon.

"What? Where? How?" she mumbled in confusion.

"I cannot simply tell you what is going on," the woman said, gesturing toward a set of deep tracks in the virgin snow. "I must show you."

Noelle couldn't understand how any of this could have been real or even if it was real. Although she didn't feel cold, the snow crunched under her feet as though she were taking a midnight stroll in a wintry forest. But how could that be when she hadn't even left Nick's house?

"Come," the woman said again, stepping—or perhaps more accurately, gliding—off the traversed path into the shadow of a large fir.

Left without many options, Noelle followed. As soon as she had entered the thicket, argumentative chattering sounded from atop a nearby ridge.

She couldn't make out the words, but the small men who tumbled down the snowy hill as they wrestled each other for superiority were familiar. They looked to be two of Nick's tonttu friends, and they were definitely in disagreement about something. When they reached the bottom, they were so close to the tree line that Noelle held her breath so they wouldn't hear. Thankfully, they were soon distracted by the tracks in the snow.

But not only had their attention been drawn away from each other, their entire demeanor also changed after the discovery. The Nordic gnomes with their long beards and pointed hats went from being proud and confident to unsure and perhaps almost scared. They stopped their bickering and soon quietly followed the footprints deeper into the forest. The one in the rear looked to be trembling a bit from fright as he passed by Noelle's hiding spot.

Putting an icy fingertip to her snowflake-encrusted lips, the mysterious woman urged Noelle to keep quiet before turning to walk away. Instead of following the tonttu directly, however, she took them on a wider route to the other side of what ended up being a small clearing. From here, Noelle could just make out the tips of the tonttu's hats as they crouched behind a large boulder, but only because she knew where to look. The crack of a twig from behind her made her turn.

She almost fainted in surprise. Or in fright. Perhaps even in both.

Walking straight towards her—less than two body lengths away—was a man with pale skin, blonde hair, and dressed in all black. But if his unexpected presence hadn't been shocking enough, the two dark horns on his head and the hooves on his feet definitely did it.

Noelle froze. What was this creature with the handsome face of the overly helpful Piet (who she knew had been shady!), but the dark features of the goat man from the Sinter Klaas origin play? And what would he do now that he'd seen her?

Swiftly trying to think of a logical—or at least halfway believable—explanation for her presence in the woods, Noelle's breath hitched as she realized that the man coming right at her was not slowing. When their collision seemed imminent, she squeezed her eyes shut and braced for impact.

But it never came.

As the sound of footsteps walking away in the snow became fainter, Noelle opened her eyes again. The man was now behind her, strolling as casually as before. It was as though she was a ghost, and he'd passed right through her.

"Is this a dream?" she asked the woman.

"No, but it also isn't the present or the future," she said.

Noelle didn't need a bigger hint to make a guess. "So it's the past, then?"

The woman nodded. "Three nights ago. Or Yuletide to be precise," she said.

Yuletide. All Noelle knew about its significance was that it encompassed some of the most recognized Pagan traditions—like the decorated fir tree and holiday feast representing offerings—that Christians appropriated for the modern day Christmas.

"Why did you bring me here?" Noelle asked, sensing that the connection between the two holidays somehow also applied to her, but not seeing it without help.

The woman pointed toward Piet. "Watch."

By the light of a circle of torches, he opened a large book. Then he began chanting. The words sounded ancient and strangely, dangerous. The flames flickered as the wind picked up speed before a whirlwind of snow formed in front of the table where he stood. Out of the whirlwind, a solid shape formed. When it had fully materialized, it looked just like the woman standing next to Noelle.

"You have called, and I have appeared," the woman in the past said to Piet. "State your wish or inquiry so that we may all return to our feasts. It's not every night that fairies are gifted honey cakes."

Noelle gasped. The woman willingly admitted to being a fairy. Her display of magic should have already made that apparent, but hearing it first hand was somehow more significant.

"I will make haste, then," Piet answered, visibly straining to keep his composure. He didn't look like one who took orders easily. "My question to you, dear Halla, on this sacred night is a simple one. How do I control Yuletide?" he asked.

She laughed heartily. "Now why would you want that? Aren't you content with terrorizing children's dreams? Or relishing in their sorrow at the lumps of coal in their stockings? We all have our roles to play in this universe, but being the master of Yuletide isn't yours."

Losing his patience, Piet slammed his fist against the table and made Noelle jump. "But it should be mine! I have waited as second in line to old Sinter Klaas's legacy for centuries, all the while my stupid cousin makes a fool out of his birthright."

"Now, now," Halla said as if speaking with a child. "Jealousy is not a good look on you."

"But—"

"But, I wasn't done," she said, touching his face. "While I don't believe you are a worthy heir, I am intrigued by the request. And it would bring a little fun to our dreary winter days."

"So you will help me?" Piet asked, finally looking hopeful.

Halla kissed him before speaking into his ear. "Yes."

The scene in front of Noelle came to an abrupt standstill as if someone has paused a movie playing around her. "What was that? What did I just see?" she asked, not believing her eyes or ears. The man who'd checked her and Avery into their hotel and invited them to the skating races was a half goat who wanted to destroy Christmas. And almost worse, he was Nick's own cousin. Did Nick even know of these ambitions?

"Were the Black Buck's intentions not clear?" Halla asked.

It was frighteningly clear. That's why Noelle wanted confirmation. "That man. Does Nick know the danger he poses?" she asked, recalling the tonttu play's depiction of how one brother became the generous Father Christmas, while the other turned into the spiteful Black Buck. If the latter gained control of Yuletide—and with it, presumably the entire holiday season—Christmas would be ruined forever. She couldn't even imagine the dreary outcome.

Halla nodded. "Of course he does."

"But you agreed to help him," Noelle said, more and more unsure of whether she was speaking with an ally or a foe.

"I did."

Agitated with the terse answers, Noelle began to pace. "What did he ask of you?"

"Piet, son of the original Black Buck and now the bearer of the name and its powers, wanted to distract his cousin. You see, it's not easy to get a Klaas to relinquish control over Christmas, but it is possible if his attention is elsewhere," Halla said.

Noelle stopped and frowned. She didn't like the sound of this at all. "Distract him with what?" she asked, already fearing the answer.

Halla smiled. "Well you, of course."