It was his favorite birch tree in the clearing, and yet sitting in its shadow brought back painful memories. Changmin could not linger for long. He shoved his hands into his winter coat and leaned against the pale bark, trying to sort through all the foul critters of the realm and if any could be responsible.

There were the witches, known for brilliant but deadly creations that ran wild. However, those lovely ladies adored traveling to the realms for ingredients; ruining relationships with the people there would not benefit them in any way. Cait Sith, that tricky devil, could have used his metal claws, but as Yunho had said, their layout didn’t match the gouges in the wood. The smoky badger that lived under Yi Xiang’s mansion had the sick sense of amusement to go with the attacks, but again there remained the issue of those claw marks…and the numbers. They seemed so random, he really could not make a pattern from the reports.

Grumbling, he dug out his phone, a new addition to keeping up with the Lists that continuously changed during the year—it was startling how quickly a child could become naughty, and how difficult it was to see their name back on the Nice List. The elves had insisted and by last year’s end, they had armed him with a flat piece of glass. As much as he scowled and grumbled at its near uselessness with all else, he could not help but like that silly “flapping pigeon” game.

He scrolled through the photo gallery, searching for the grainy pictures from earlier. Bingo.

They were carved into the doors in almost exactly the same spot across. All the same. 2358. What did it mean? Frustration bubbled in him again, and he closed his eyes, trying to figure out if that number held a particular meaning. When nothing came to mind, he shifted his seated position on the ground, giving up and going back to his gloomy state.

Combining our forces may be our only option, Changmin thought grudgingly. After all, Yunho is their king, and no matter how uncontrollable they are, they still adhere to his proclamations.

As much as he did not want to work with Yunho, if he had to, he had to. The other realms would not bother with him, and Changmin knew that. He would have to be the one to convince him that working together could be to their advantage.

“Why me?” he lamented to the grey skies above. He did love Halloweentown so much; the bitterness of all that had transpired between the two rulers could not erase his other memories of the town. How could he forget that crisp autumn flavor in the air, as eternal as the thrilling bite of his winter? Or the sunset viewed from Moonlight Hill, and how the colors fell onto the landscape around the cemetery? Sometimes, in such an atmosphere, it was easy to get caught up in all the beauty and wonder at the fact that it was contained in a terrifying realm. The citizens treated him with great respect—even now, they were playful but careful to not upset the prince.

He would have to finish the investigation quickly, and then leave. Changmin could not bear being around Yunho and having those old wounds open up again—knowing that right beside him stood a man with as many emotional scars.

I took myself out of the equation for good reason. If I stay longer than I must…who knows what will happen?

Because of where he was, and what lived there, the strange noises did not rouse suspicion at first. He ignored the low hissing and the leaves that crunched beneath the creature’s weight. He did not look around when a great silhouette slid across the dead trees around him. So lost was he in those past memories, he only looked up when something solid sprung forward, and pinned him to the cold earth.

Whatever it was, it was insanely fast and large and heavy, and had the most putrid breath.

Changmin barely registered that it looked much like an oversized panther before fangs the size of small knives sunk into his side, and an electric shock seized him. Venom! His fingers fumbled at the furry jaw, only to have the creature bite harder. Unconsciousness began to overtake him, and the last thing he heard before passing out was a low rattling growl that sounded like, “Tick tock, princeling…”

Not for the first time, Changmin and Yunho found their long limbs twined together on top of the grand obsidian table in the manor’s dining hall; the servants had been dismissed to their quarters so no one remained to disrupt their time together. The Nightmare King spread his fingers across Changmin’s chest and let his back curve into the warm hand that caressed him. “You know, I used to tease you about your stiffness, but it never once crossed my mind that you’d be stiff in a way I don’t mind,” he chuckled, laughing a little louder when Changmin’s palm hit his lower back sharply. “Lighten up, snowpuff. An hour ago, you seemed to have loosened up around me—”

“I thought that was you around me.”

“Sandy Claws has a sense of humor, and it is a wicked one!” Yunho pushed onto one of his elbows, skin heating when he realized how hungrily the prince gazed at his body, even while pressed against the entire length of his own. “Want to go another round?”

“Might we move this to your bedroom if we do more?” Changmin asked, stretching his arms out and wincing when he heard the bones crack. “A dining table, while very original and stable for two gentlemen such as ourselves, is not the most comfortable of places to have on. Please?” he added, realizing that Yunho might not care where it happened—only that it did happen.

Yunho grinned. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll think about it.” Sighing, he dropped back onto that gloriously broad chest and let the corner of his mouth brush the bare skin. Changmin shivered a little beneath him and drew his body closer. “Halloween is in five nights, and I am more concerned about exploring what makes you moan and groan over my other responsibilities. I would have never foreseen myself lying here beside you—the great Winter Prince of Christmastown—and craving your touch as I would crave air and water.”

“Air is a necessity to live, Yunho. Though I can’t lie and say hearing you admit that…” He trailed off, and Yunho’s nails digging into his chest made him continue. “I mean, hearing you say that makes me feel…wanted. Important. And for a reason outside of my job. If it weren’t for the joy and happiness that courses through so many people on my day…who knows if I would love the job as much?”

“Doing all this for the children is a great thing. You taught me that. I would be blind if I denied it.” Yunho took a deep breath, bracing himself for the age-old argument that was sure to follow. “Sometimes I think about what life would be like if we weren’t two big realm rulers. What if others could take over for Halloweentown and Christmastown and we could be…”

The last word remained stuck in his throat as Changmin heaved a sigh, shifting underneath his hands until he sat up, leaning back on his hands. “Yunho, time and again you ask me to make a commitment I just cannot make. We—the both of us—have so many duties and responsibilities as realm rulers, and no one could handle the stress we take. As it is, we have both heard whispers of rebel factions within our realms. No one is ever satisfied with how we do our jobs. Imagine what they would do as a consequence of us abdicating. Would you be so hasty as to place this weight on another’s shoulders for a very selfish reason such as running away together? Would you want those who go against the tide to be right?”

“Why not?” Yunho shot back, straddling his lover’s long legs until their faces were inches apart. “Don’t mistake me for some pushover cherub of Valentino’s, prince—but don’t think that my place in life means I can’t be a fool in love. You sneer at the idea, but I can see the gears working in your mind. You want it, too. You like the idea of being crazy and just…giving it all up.”

“I never said—”

“We could anoint two other rulers in our absence and leave for however long. We could even work in a clause in the new contract that states the basis of our return. We could…truly just be Yunho and Changmin. Don’t you…don’t you want that?” he asked with a hint of desperation.

Changmin’s expression was bittersweet and wistful. “It sounds like a dream in another life, but I would never give it up. I can’t. My father left this world with expectations of me as ruler in his stead, and it would dishonor his memory if I gave it up for something so—”

“So what?” Yunho’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“So tempting…appealing…idiotic…pick one.”

“I love you,” Yunho whispered, and the thick emotion behind it made his voice quake. Changmin’s hands cupped the slim face that smiled sadly at him. “I once thought that was enough to have your attentions, but it seems like it will never be enough. As always, I come second to all else.”

“Don’t say that,” and a warm, hungry mouth found the king’s, drawing him into a kiss of oblivion. It drew little noises from them both, and for a while they sat in awkward positions, unwilling to move for fear of breaking that kiss. Changmin’s fingers the sides of Yunho’s face and then trailed down his arms, pushing him back onto the table. Teeth grazed a bottom lip, and then somehow Yunho lay across Changmin’s chest again, lips sliding unrushed against the prince’s as their hands began to explore more intimate places. Changmin broke away finally, breathing hard. “Don’t say that,” he repeated, and Yunho was delighted to hear how rough his voice had become. “Don’t ever consider yourself second to anything. You are…you are as constant in my life as the moon.”

“She comes and goes, highness,” Yunho noted, but it was so very romantic, and he rarely heard something like that come out of his prince.

Making an effort to be playful, Changmin nuzzled his neck and pressed a kiss there. “Let’s move this to your bedroom, please. We can discuss this further, with a blanket over me. I must confess that while I love the cold, I do still shiver from time to time.”

“Sure that’s not just how I make you feel?”

“Bite your tongue, darling king. Or rather, save that bite for later.”

“That’s more like it,” Yunho growled, drawing him forward for another quick kiss. Laughing when Changmin whined at the loss of contact, he swung his legs off the side of the table and strolled off. Awareness prickled his skin, and he smiled wider—the prince may play cool now and then, but Yunho knew he had a fine back and it drew Changmin’s gaze…a lot. He stole a tablecloth off a pedestal in the foyer of his manor, wrapped it around his waist (in the event that a servant was still awake) and set off for his bedchamber.

Changmin would never make it up the stairs, though. Before Yunho had even finished clearing the bed of parchment, plans, and last-minute requests from the denizens of Halloweentown…the winter prince had already fled his domain.