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My anxiety was running high as I fought the urge to pace a hole into my bedroom floor while I waited for Minnie to show up.
I was waiting because she had somehow, more accurately, blackmailed me into agreeing to take her to the human realm for the afternoon so she could see the Christmas lights in New York. And while I was fairly confident I could get us there and back without issue, our parents weren’t exactly fans of us jumping dimensions without them, or even not asking first.
The last time we’d pulled something like this, we ended up grounded. And being grounded for the holidays was not a goal I had.
But because I loved my sister…and because of the blackmail, I was willing to risk it.
I didn’t know what had suddenly sparked her obsession with seeing the lights, but it was all she talked about lately whenever it was just the two of us hanging out. I’d told her she could just ask Dad, but she insisted she wanted it to be just us—and that his presence would ruin whatever she was “picturing” in her head.
Which was how I found myself pacing for the last hour in my human form, already holed up in my bedroom, waiting for her to arrive. We’d decided to meet in my room and open the portal there, since if I somehow messed it up, my room would get destroyed instead of hers—as she’d so kindly put it.
Not that it made much sense. It had been over a year since the last time I’d messed up opening a portal. But mess up once, accidentally open one into a lake, and suddenly it’s, “You can’t control your birth-given ability to open portals.”
I was so busy worrying my thumbnail nearly off that I didn’t even hear the soft knock at my door—until a second, louder knock followed a moment later.
I nearly tripped over myself as I turned and rushed to the door, forcing my human face to melt away and leave my skull exposed just in case it was Dad. He’d mentioned earlier that he wanted to talk to me about a gift for Mom, though he hadn’t shown up yet.
Luckily, it wasn’t him.
Instead, Minnie stood there in black leggings and a knee-length dark purple winter dress with white lace overlay and white trim along the hem and hood, which she already had pulled up. She wore black knee-high boots laced with purple, and held a fluffy skull bunny backpack in one hand. I noticed she was still in her rag doll form, though.
“You didn’t put on your choker yet?”
“Did brother forget the distance between thy rooms?” she replied. “I did not wish for the guards to report to our mother a difference in my appearance. And brother, you speak boldly while in the comfort of your own room.”
She stepped inside as I moved aside, letting her pass before shutting the door behind us.
“Hey, I was ready,” I said. “I just didn’t know if it was you or Dad knocking, so I only let my face slip back, just in case.”
My human face slid back over my bones with ease. After staying in it for most of the summer, I barely felt the transition anymore.
Minnie reached into her pocket and pulled out the simple black choker with the skull in the center—the one Dad had made for her during the summer for when we visited the human realm. It created the illusion that her human form had returned. She’d only worn it a handful of times since then, for her theater performances, and the few occasions we’d gone out alone together. But around the castle, she rarely wore it, which made sense.
“Want help putting it on again?” I asked.
Ever since I’d been the first one to put it on her, she often asked me to do it again. She nodded, handing it to me before turning around and lowering her hood to make it easier. Her hair was already loose, pulled slightly to the sides from her hood being up.
I gently slipped my arms around her, carefully positioning the choker against her neck before clasping it closed.
She pulled her hood back up as the familiar soft glow spread from the choker, washing over her and transforming her rag doll form into a human one. By the time she turned back around, the glow had already faded—her stitches gone, and her skin looked warm and lively once more, and both her eyes were present again.
She blinked up at me. “Do I look alright?”
“Minnie,” I said softly, “you already know you always look great to me.”
She blushed and turned away, busying herself with putting on her skull bunny backpack.
I fought my own blush. I still wasn’t used to complimenting her so openly.
To distract myself, I walked to the center of my room and summoned my scythe into my hands—the technique Dad had taught me. Unlike his plain one, mine was black, topped with a green skull bearing sharp teeth where the handle met the blade. Dad thought it was interesting. Mom couldn’t have cared less when I showed them after I finally figured it out.
Minnie had indulged me the first few times I showed her, though I could tell she was only doing it because I’d been so excited.
“Alright. Where in New York do you think we should open the portal?”
“Preferably somewhere dry.”
I sighed. Seriously—it had been over a year already.
“Okay,” I said, forcing patience into my voice. “Anything else to narrow it down?”
I glanced over at Minnie and saw her deep in thought. “Perhaps Central Park,” she said at last. “But do avoid the lake.”
I rolled my eyes as I turned away. “Got it.”
Pulling out my phone, I took a moment to look up Central Park, scrolling through photos of the area before shoving it back into the pocket of my jeans. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, picturing the park clearly. When I opened them again, they glowed green as I slashed through the air with my scythe.
A portal split open before us, revealing a section of the park beneath a bridge—thankfully one without water underneath.
I leaned forward and stuck my head through first, only to immediately jerk back as icy air slammed into me. I shivered. “Yeah. It’s safe. And freaking cold.”
“Why doesn’t brother take a moment to better dress himself, then?”
I glanced down at my outfit. I’d Googled beforehand and knew New York sometimes got snow, so I was wearing thicker jeans, a long-sleeved shirt beneath my usual black-and-green melting skull hoodie, fingerless gloves, and black high-top sneakers.
“I think I’ll be fin—” I paused. “What are you doing?”
I looked up to find Minnie already rummaging through my closet.
She turned, holding up a black-and-green scarf she’d knitted for me a few years ago. I genuinely loved it—I could still see how much effort she’d put into every stitch—but since we rarely dealt with cold weather, I’d almost forgotten it existed.
“Brother could don thy previous gift.”
“I forgot I could wear that,” I admitted, stepping away from the portal and taking the scarf from her.
“You forget my gift…?” I saw sadness flicker behind her eyes.
“No- no! Not like that,” I rushed to say. “I mean I forget I can wear it when we go to cold places. I don’t use it when it’s hot, and I keep it put away so it stays safe. I told you when you gave it to me that I loved it.”
To reassure her, I pulled her into a brief one-arm hug, careful to keep my scythe angled away from her— accidentally pulling her soul out of her body would definitely ruin the plan of us leaving. As I pulled back, I realized she was already looping the scarf around my neck.
“There,” she said softly. “Now more of you will be warm.”
“Thanks.” I smiled at her, gentler than I meant to.
She smiled back, then turned toward the hooks on the back of my closet door and grabbed a black slouch beanie.
I sighed. “I try very hard to forget that thing from my brief beanie-wearing era.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” she said. “I found brother quite charming in it.”
“It was constantly sliding off the back of my head and pulling my bangs with it. It was more annoying than cool.”
“That was in your skeleton form,” she pointed out. “You have much more hair in this one.”
I gave a defeated sigh, shifted my scythe to rest in the crook of my arm, and took the beanie. “Fine. I’ll try it. But if it slides off even once, I’m throwing this dumb thing away.”
I pulled it on—and annoyingly enough, with the extra hair, it stayed put. I wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of knowing she was right.
“All right, c’mon,” I said. “We’re already risking Dad sensing the portal staying open too long just standing here.”
I stepped back toward the portal, checking that no one was nearby before stepping through. I’d gotten much better at opening portals at the right height, but while stepping through was easy for me, Minnie still needed help with the slight drop. I held her hand as she stepped down, then quickly used my scythe to seal the portal closed and dematerialize my scythe with it entirely and felt my eyes stop glowing.
The moment I finished, a blast of cold wind rushed past us, carrying the sharp sounds and scents of New York as we adjusted to suddenly standing in the loud city.
Minnie moved closer to me instinctively—either because it was colder than she’d expected, or simply because she wanted to be near me, I wasn’t entirely sure.
“Stay close to me, okay?” I said quietly. “I know we spent a summer here in the mortal world, but I’ve heard New York isn’t the safest place. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you got hurt.”
‘Or live down the grounding Dad would give me for bringing you here…’
She slipped her hand into mine. “I do not have fear. I trust that brother will protect me again, if need be.”
“Please do not say ‘again,’” I muttered.
She giggled, and I glanced around before looking back at her. “So…where are the lights you wanted to see?”
Minnie paused, then pulled her phone from her pocket with her free hand.
“We need to get to Rockefeller Center for the tree lighting ceremony, which is…” She tapped the screen, likely opening a map. “That way.” She briefly pulled her hand from mine to point ahead of us. “It says it’s on the other side of the park, but we’re only six minutes away. They light the tree at six —it’s only four now, so we have time.”
“All right.” I said. “Anywhere else you want to walk around and look at before then?”
She glanced up from her phone, then around us, thinking—until a couple of kids passed by carrying ice skates.
“How has brother improved at ice skating?”
‘Oh no.’
“Uh…I managed not to fall on my face last time,” I said cautiously. “Why?”
A mischievous smile spread across her face as she laced our fingers together again and tugged me along in the same direction the kids had gone.
It wasn’t hard to find the rink. A large crowd gathered around an outdoor ice rink in the park, most people bringing their own skates.
Off to the side stood a black-and-white stall advertising rentals, and Minnie eagerly pulled me toward it.
The stall was run by a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.
“Hey!” he greeted us. “Looking to rent some skates? If you are, you’re definitely in the right place.”
“Um- yes,” Minnie said. “How much to rent a pair each?”
She was getting better at speaking plainly after our summer here, though I could still tell she struggled to want to talk formally.
“I rent full skates and slip-on skates that attach over your shoes,” he explained. “Both are hourly. Slip-ons are ten dollars an hour, full skates are twenty. Most people skate for about two hours, but I do discounts if you come back later the same day. How long did you and your boyfriend plan to skate?”
Minnie and I both froze momentarily before we glanced at each other, blushed, then quickly looked away.
“An hour will be fine,” I said, stepping forward and pulling my wallet on it’s chain from my back pocket. “We’re heading to the tree lighting later.”
“Oh, nice,” he said. “Guess you two aren’t from around here then?”
Minnie and I exchanged a quick look. We both knew to be careful when talking to mortals.
“Uh, no,” I said finally. “She heard about it and really wanted to come, so we took a day trip.”
“That’s cool of you, man,” he said with a grin. “I remember doing stuff like that for a girl I liked when I was younger. All right, what sizes do you kids need?”
We opted for the slip-on skates; neither of us liked the idea of taking our shoes off in the cold. He showed us how to secure them, and we sat on a nearby bench to put them on.
Minnie stood up effortlessly, as if she hadn’t just strapped blades to her feet.
I on the other hand, immediately grabbed the rink wall to avoid face-planting.
She offered me her hand, which only made me worry I’d drag her down, especially with the height difference between us.
“You won’t,” she said calmly.
I swear she can read my mind sometimes.
“You say that,” I replied, “but I feel like the moment I let go of this wall, I will no longer be standing.”
“You simply need to stand as you normally would.”
“I am standing normally,” I protested. “My body just refuses to forget that I have knives attached to my feet.”
She rolled her eyes and reached forward, prying my hands from the wall and holding them firmly in hers, forcing me to stand straighter. I wobbled for a moment before stabilizing.
“Don’t you dare say it,” I warned, narrowing my eyes at her.
“I said nothing,” she replied, smirking as she slowly led us onto the ice.
Once we were moving, I felt a little more confident. I wasn’t gliding like she was—more cautiously pushing myself forward—but I was upright, and that alone felt like a victory.
Seeing that I was steady, Minnie gave my hand a small squeeze before letting go. She skated a few feet ahead, then turned smoothly and began skating backward, watching me with effortless grace. I waved her on, knowing she’d enjoy skating freely far more than watching me struggle not to fall.
And honestly? Watching her was much more entertaining anyway.
She smiled at my silent permission, turned herself back around, and pushed off.
I’d tried my hand at plenty of sports when I was younger—back when I’d been jealous of Minnie’s natural talents and desperate to find something I was good at too. But my abilities had always capped out at being a decent runner and having a strong swing with a bat. Ice skating though with its combination of grace and balance, it was definitely more her element than mine.
The rink was a decent size, giving her plenty of room to move and weave effortlessly around the other skaters. Watching Minnie glide across the ice was mesmerizing. She looked so happy—and she was breathtaking when she looked like that.
I noticed a few skaters near the center of the rink practicing spins, and Minnie must have noticed too. As she shifted toward the middle, skating backward once more before launching into a jump that landed cleanly into a spin. Without breaking momentum, she flowed into a deep backbend, her hands nearly brushing the ice.
When she rose again, her hood slipped off, letting her blonde hair spill free. I watched her become a whirl of black, purple, and blonde as she moved around the rink. I was so absorbed in watching her that I didn’t notice her skating straight toward me until she grabbed my hands and started pulling me along, skating backward at a pace far faster than I was ready for.
“W-woah, Minnie! What are you doing?!”
I tried to tug my hand free, worried we’d both crash, but she ignored me, tightening her grip and somehow keeping us both upright.
For what felt like half the rink, she dragged me along at breakneck speed. Eventually, she eased off slightly, settling into a still-quick but more manageable pace. It felt less like I was skating and more like I was being pulled along—but she was giggling.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Your face when I grabbed your hands. You looked terrified.”
“Well yeah! You grabbed me suddenly and are now dragging me along. I told you it was fine to skate by yourself.”
“And I did. But now I wish to skate with my dear brother.” She pulled me closer as she brought us to a sudden stop. “Unless you want to be my boyfriend while we’re here, like you told the rental man?”
Heat rushed to my face.
Since this summer, we’d been in a strange limbo of sorts—sort-of unofficially boyfriend and girlfriend. Unofficially, because we were literally half-siblings. But we’d agreed that unless one of us decided to call it off, we could be more…when no one who knew us as siblings was around. Which, admittedly, was complicated, considering our parents were literally the Grim Reaper and the Bitch of Hell.
‘But ideally, here in the mortal realm, no one knew who we were…so we could pretend we were really together, if only while here.’
I took a deep breath to calm myself, glancing down at Minnie’s hands still holding mine. I adjusted my grip, rubbing the sides of her hands with my thumbs.
“Do…do you want to be my girlfriend, Minnie?”
I looked up from our hands and caught her face nearly going red with blush under her bangs.
“Um…Minnie-?”
Before I could finish, she surged forward and kissed me. I slid back slightly, but my hands went protectively around her waist. I didn’t hesitate, I kissed her back. Almost immediately as the kiss happened she pulled away, burying her face into my chest.
“Uh, so…yes?”
She nodded against me, and I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my face. I held her protectively as others skated past us.
After a few minutes I gently stroked the back of her head to get her attention.
“If you want us to finish skating we can, or we can go find something else to do. This can be like an official date or something if you want.”
‘Though in hindsight it kinda feels like that had already been her goal when she blackmailed me originally into us coming here.’
Seeming to remember my words—and the fact that we were still very much in an ice skating rink, and very much in public, Minnie lifted her head and glanced around.
She appeared to silently deliberate, her eyes scanning the area before she suddenly grabbed my hand again and tugged me along. This time, though, she headed straight for the rink’s exit.
Once we were off the ice, my body abruptly remembered that I still had blades strapped to my feet. I had to step carefully as Minnie led me toward a nearby bench, her grip steady while I tried not to embarrass myself. When she finally let go and sat down with her usual grace, I more or less dropped onto the bench beside her.
She began unfastening the slip-on skates from her boots, and I followed suit, kinda relieved to be getting them off.
I’d skate again if Minnie wanted to—but I was perfectly content not feeling like I was about to eat ice every second.
When we returned the skates, the man told us we’d been out there for nearly forty-five minutes. That surprised me—though I supposed a good portion of that time had been spent watching Minnie skate…and then asking her out.
As we stepped away from the rental skates, a sharp gust of wind suddenly hit us and I watched as Minnie shivered slightly.
Without thinking twice, I tugged her closer to me. “Cold?”
“A little,” she admitted. “I thought I had chosen ideal clothing, but it appears the weather is colder than I anticipated.”
I glanced around and noticed a small cart not far off—a handwritten sign next to it advertising that they sold hot chocolate and warm cider.
“C’mon,” I said, nodding toward it. “Before you turn into an icicle and I have to explain to Mom and Dad why you’re frozen solid when we were supposed to be home all day.”
She smiled and slipped both arms around mine, hugging my arm the way she used to when we were younger. It gave me déjà vu briefly.
We waited in the pretty short line for only a couple of minutes before it was our turn and I bought each a hot chocolate since I was pretty sure Minnie didn't like cider that much. The vendor handed us each of our drinks in paper coffee cups, and we moved out of the way on the people next.
We wandered over to a tree to try to block some of the wind blowing as Minnie cradled her drink carefully between both hands.
It took me only a moment to realize she was warming her hands up from the heat of the cup before she took a tentative sip, then her eyes lit up.
“Oh. This is very good.”
I chuckled. “You say that like you weren’t expecting it to be.”
“I was not,” she said honestly. “The mortal realm continues to surprise me with how different the same things we enjoy back at home are the same, but slightly different here.”
“Yeah, our summer here definitely proved that to me.”
I leaned against the tree a bit as I also tried the hot chocolate. It definitely had a different taste to what Charles makes back at the castle, but it was good. Minnie leaned just slightly into my side, close enough that I could feel her warmth from her through my jacket and long sleeve.
It felt…easy.
‘Too easy. Things like this were almost never this easy for us.’
Eventually, Minnie tilted her head up at me, “Brother?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you…for today. For skating with me. For bringing us here.”
I smiled down at her trying to not laugh, “We still haven’t even seen the lights yet, and that is the whole reason we came. But I'm glad that this much has already made you happy.”
I watched her cheeks turn a deeper pink— more than the cold could account for—as she turned her face away and took another sip of her drink.
I chuckled softly at her shyness, especially after everything we’d done this summer. The contrast was seriously almost funny—until a sudden shiver ran up my spine. I pushed off the tree and started to scanned the area around us.
“Brother?” Minnie asked, concern flickering across her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Call me crazy…” I muttered, “But I think I just felt like a portal opening near us..? It kinda felt like the same energy dad uses when he opens one?”
Minnie suddenly also started to look around, “Does brother think father knows where we've gone?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But if he does, I’d really rather he not catch us until after the tree lighting. Ideally not at all. I’m not spending the rest of the year grounded.” I glanced back at her. “Which way did you say the tree was again?”
She lifted her hand, pointing to the right.
I slipped my free hand into hers without thinking, and she immediately laced her fingers through mine as we started off in that direction.
It was more of a walk than I’d expected for some reason even though Minnie had mentioned earlier how long it would take us to walk there it felt longer. We finished our drinks along the way and tossed the empty cups into a trash can as we went. By the time we exited the park, the crowd around us had thickened quickly.
People moved around us from every direction, and my grip on Minnie’s hand tightened instinctively—I didn’t want to lose her in the sea of strangers.
She must’ve felt the same, because she stayed as close as possible without bumping into me, practically tucked at my side as we navigated through the press of bodies.
‘They weren’t lying. New York really is overwhelming…’
It wasn’t hard to find the tree. It was massive—insanely hard to miss even from a distance—and somehow looked even bigger the closer we got.
What was hard was getting anywhere near it.
We hit the edge of a huge crowd, nearly gridlocked around the tree as far as I could see. From where we stood, the tree was still clearly visible, but I knew Minnie had probably hoped we could get closer.
I glanced around, checking to see if anyone was actually paying attention to us.
‘Probably not. We just look like normal teenagers to everyone else…at least, that’s what I’m hoping, considering what I’m about to do.’
I released Minnie’s hand and wrapped an arm around her waist. Slowly, carefully, I channeled my reaper abilities, letting both of us fade from the corporeal view of the mortals around us.
Minnie looked down at herself, then up at me as realization set in.
“Brother!” she hissed, whispering sharply—which was good, because I still wasn’t great at blocking sound.
“What?” I whispered back. “I know you wanted to be closer, and I don’t think this crowd is going to just part for us.”
“Well… yes,” she admitted. “But really? Spiritually transcending us?”
I rolled my eyes. “Minnie, it’s fine. Just—uh—stay touching me. I can’t really keep things that aren’t in contact with me phased. And I’m a little worried that when we phase back in, I might accidentally make your soul slip out of your body.” I paused. “But I’ll fix it if that happens. Promise.”
She crossed her arms, muttering, “I would very much prefer that my soul remain in my body. Thank you.”
I hung my head slightly. Somehow, this all felt more like we were actually a couple than anything else had.
Ahead of us, I heard a woman speaking into a microphone—apparently the start of the ceremony.
Taking advantage of the crowd’s attention being elsewhere, I gently pulled Minnie along as we walked through people, slipping between bodies that never realized we were passing straight through them.
‘Damn. This crowd is seriously thick.’
Phasing made it much easier. Before long, we reached a railing.
The tree stood across from us, towering and looking like a massive undecorated tree with a large star on top, while below was another dense crowd—and, finally, the stage where the woman and several others were speaking.
That explained why we could hear her before we ever saw her.
“Is this okay?” I murmured, leaning down to whisper in Minnie’s ear.
I guided her to stand in front of me, both of my hands settling around her waist. She was still shorter than me, her head fit easily beneath my chin. It was also easier to keep her phased the more contact I had with her.
She nodded, and even without seeing her face, I could tell she was blushing again.
By the time we reached the railing, the ceremony was already getting to the part of actually lighting the tree. It seemed as a countdown started, voices rising around us as the crowd joined in. As they counted down, that familiar pressure crept back—the unmistakable feeling of Dad’s energy nearby. I forced myself to focus on Minnie and the tree, afraid that if I let myself react, I’d lose control of the phasing.
“Three… two… one—”
The tree flashed, then erupted into color. Thousands of lights flooded it all at once, super brilliantly shiny and kinda overwhelming as christmas music started to blare. It was impressive—almost unreal—but what made the trip worth it was the sharp inhale Minnie took as she stared at it, frozen in awe.
I smiled, holding her a little closer as the crowd erupted in cheers and movement slowly began again—and then a hand clamped down on my right shoulder and my body went rigid.
For a split second, my concentration wavered, panic surging as I nearly lost our invisibility. I looked up slowly.
Dad stood there, also phased, his skeletal gaze fixed squarely on me—and then on Minnie in my arms.
‘Fuck me! This definitely does not look like a brother hugging his sister.’
“You want to tell me,” he said evenly, “why you and your sister are here without asking me or your mother?”
“Uh…I can explain?” I offered weakly.
At the sound of his voice, Minnie stiffened and tried to pull away from me. I reacted without thinking, sliding my hands up to her shoulders to keep her close—and to keep her phased.
Dad sighed and pinched the bridge of where his nose would be.
“Let’s go, children,” he said. “We’ll discuss this at home. I doubt you can block both your voices and keep you and your sister phased without something going wrong.”
I lowered my head kinda in shame. I knew my abilities still sucked but I was trying. As we turned to follow him, I deliberately slid my hand down to Minnie’s elbow—something more innocent, something defensible if dad had actually noticed how I was holding her a minute ago.
She, of course, chose violence.
Minnie deliberately tugged my hand back down until our fingers were interlaced again.
I swallowed the groan threatening to escape me. If Dad noticed, he didn’t comment—probably chalking it up to the fact that Minnie had always clung to me when we were younger.
Dad led us through the crowd with ease, phasing straight through bodies until we reached a narrow alley tucked out of sight. There, he summoned his scythe—a tall, polished black metal with a skull seamlessly fused into its head. It was a lot more simple than mine.
With one practiced motion, he tore open a portal and gestured for us to go through first.
I stepped forward, then tugged Minnie along by our joined hands.
We emerged in Dad’s office.
The portal snapped shut behind him as he followed, and he dropped his phasing immediately becoming solid. I carefully let mine fade as well, keeping my attention locked on Minnie—watching closely to make sure I hadn’t accidentally tugged her soul loose.
The last thing I needed—especially with Dad clearly about to yell at us—was for Minnie’s soul to get dragged out and her rag doll body to collapse without it.
Only once I was sure she was fully solid, her soul firmly where it belonged, did I finally let out a breath. I gently—but firmly—forced our hands apart now that Dad was watching, even though it felt kinda wrong to let her go.
Luckily dad had already moved behind his desk, crossing his arms over his long black robes sleeves.
“Alright, boy,” he said. “You wanna explain why I go to look for ya in your room only to find it empty—and the lingering energy of a portal? And not just anywhere, but to the mortal realm? I know we took ya there this summer, but we were real clear, no going without us.”
“Well, I—”
“I asked him to take me, Father,” Minnie cut in.
Dad looked at her, clearly torn between impressed and unimpressed—probably remembering exactly who his children were.
“I had heard of the tradition of the tree lighting in New York,” she continued, clasping her hands together as she looked down. “I begged Brother to take me, and he kindly agreed as my Christmas present. Please do not think ill of us, Father.”
She really was frighteningly good at suddenly flipping on being an actress, especially towards dad.
Silence stretched between us.
Finally, Dad sighed. “Alright. I’ll let this slide once, since I found ya before anything went wrong and it's the holidays. But not again. Or you’re both grounded ‘til you’re thirty. You hear me?”
Minnie and I nodded immediately.
“Good.” He leaned back in his chair. “Minnie, you can go on. I need to talk to ya brother for a moment.”
My stomach dropped.
Minnie froze too, our eyes snapping to each other before we looked back at Dad.
“What do you need to talk to me about?” I asked cautiously.
Dad’s eyes bored into mine.
‘Shit…He couldn’t possibly know. Right?’
I let out a slow breath. If Dad was planning to kill me—or worse, lecture me—Minnie not being here was probably for the best. My human form rippled and faded away, my bones surfacing as I slipped back into my skeletal state.
Might as well die in my true form than my human one.
Minnie glanced at me, confused. I just shrugged and nodded toward the door. After a moment, she bowed her head and quietly slipped out, closing the door behind her.
Dad waited until her footsteps faded down the hall before finally speaking.
“When I told you to take care of your sister, I didn’t mean—” He stopped himself, sighing as he propped his skull against one bony hand. His voice dropped, more to himself than to me. “That’s why she couldn’t get into Heaven, isn’t it.”
It felt like the world dropped out from under me.
‘Shit.’
“I—I didn’t— I didn’t start this,” I blurted. “And I don’t do anything she says no to! I swear, Dad!”
‘She’s the one who pushed this forward this summer. She’s the one who started all this! But I can't deny she has made me develop feelings back…’
Dad sighed again and turned his chair away from me. “I believe you, son.” His voice was tired now.
“Minnie has your mother’s ambition—wanting things she’s not meant to have. It would explain why her soul was rejected at the gates. Desires like that don’t fade easily, even after all these years.”
He paused, then added, “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
Dad turned back toward me. Whatever expression I made must’ve given me away, because his gaze narrowed suddenly.
“Nothing that far has happened yet, has it, boy?”
‘Shit. That was his serious Dad tone.’
“NOPE! Nothing like that!” I said far too quickly.
‘Please let my lying be half as good as Minnie’s.’
Dad stared at me a moment longer before his expression—about as much as a skull could manage—finally eased. He sighed again and rubbed at his temples.
“Was wishing for normal kids really such a hard thing for fate to give me…”
“Wow,” I muttered. “Harsh, Dad.”
His head snapped up. “I’m not sayin’ I don’t love ya and your sister, boy. I do! But you kids—” He trailed off, gaze drifting to the side before he shook his head. “I won’t tell ya’s mother, but be careful with who’s around. And that warning goes for the both of ya.”
His eyes flicked towards the door.
I turned just as the door creaked open. Minnie stood there in her rag doll form, stitches trailing from her eyesockets of her one present and one missing eye—her choker was gone, so her human illusion was dropped now.
“How did Father kno—”
“I was your mother’s best friend for years before she released me from that contract,” Dad interrupted gently. “Then I married her. She trained you to be like her, Minnie. I know how she sneaks.”
A fond, tired smile crossed his face.
Minnie dipped her head slightly, chastened—but not ashamed.
Dad waved a hand at us. “Alright. Both of y’all go on.”
I didn’t waste the chance. I moved quickly, stepping toward Minnie and guiding her and me out before Dad could change his mind—or decide killing me was still on the table.
Once we were clear of the office, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“That,” I muttered, “went…better than expected.”
Minnie glanced up at me.
“Yes,” she agreed softly. “Though I believe we may have used up all of our luck for today.”
I chuckled, tension finally loosening in my chest even though it was just my bones now. “Yeah. Next time we try something like this, let’s maybe not do it under the biggest Christmas tree we can find. And hey—I'm still alive.”
She smiled and slipped her hand into mine.
We walked quietly through the halls, the castle calm around us, shadows familiar and safe. For the moment, at least, no one was watching. It was just us.
And for now…that was enough.