James smoothed back his onyx-black hair. He then rinsed the gel off his hands in the sink and dried them, lastly straightening the pin on his lapel.

He eyed himself in the mirror. He had a sweep of dark eyeshadow above his deep blue eyes, a pristine white handkerchief in his breast pocket. He traced his fingers over the pin again.

If he kept control, no one would ever know.

The bathroom door suddenly burst open. “James, are you—“ Aspen paused. “Whoa. You look…” he trailed off, making a slow circle around James, his gaze drifting from the tips of his hair down to his smooth shoes. “Whoa. I thought the idea was to draw attention AWAY from you.”

James cracked a smile. “Very funny.”

Aspen moved closer. “I mean… wow. Can you look like this every night?”

James suddenly wrapped his arm around Aspen’s waist, pulling him in. “If, every night, you have the patience to wait for it.” He brushed back a strand of Aspen’s floppy brown hair, tracing his finger over his cheek.

“Hm. Not possible.” Aspen leaned in, and James kissed him, long and hard. By the time they pulled away, both of them were gasping for breath.

“James!” Aspen cried suddenly. He pointed to the other boy’s hand, alarmed. Tiny icicles were forming at the edge of his fingertips, with a large snowflake blossoming in the center of his palm.

“Damn it!”

James shook his hand out, trying to get it to stop, but the icicles only grew faster. The snowflake was now growing up the sleeve of his suit jacket.

He sighed shakily, taking one deep breath, then two. In and out. In an out. When he looked down again, the ice was gone.

Aspen wrapped his hands around James’s neck. “How come I get so turned on when you do that?”

He leaned in to kiss James again, but James was distracted. He moved his previously icy hand to his lapel pin, fingering it.

Aspen placed his hand over James’s. “I know you can control it.”

“My powers follow my emotions. I can’t control my emotions.”

Aspen looked up at him, his eyes emerald-green eyes twinkling. “But you can control how you react to them. Like just now.”

“And what if I can’t react to them?” James stammered, pulling away. “What if I get so nervous I can’t control it? What if I make it start to snow, or grow icicles from the rafters? What if I freeze the entire royal court unintentionally?”

Aspen sighed. “You won’t. I know you won’t. You’re not a villain.”

“The king doesn’t know that,” James countered. He removed his hand, and Aspen’s fell too, revealing the lapel pin. A burning blaze, the same red-gold hue of the king’s crown.

Aspen shook his head and straightened his black-collared shirt. “He doesn’t have to. You just have to show it to him yourself. Nobody knows you’re from the Northern Kingdom, James. Just make a good impression, act like you’re the king’s greatest admirer and shazah!” He clapped his hands. “A friendship is born.”

James laughed hollowly. “I admire your positivity, but it’s not that easy. The king is a stoic and heartless man. To accomplish the Agency’s goal, not only will I have to hide this,” he waved his hand, resulting a flurry of snow, “But I’ll have to convince the king he actually wants to be my ally.”

“Do you want me to distract the court? Perhaps I can form an Illusion of some sort.”

James considered this. “Too risky. The Southern Kingdom doesn’t even trust the Woods Between, and if it was discovered that you were an Illusionist, they’d know that’s where you were from. God forbid they learn you were in leagues with me.”

Aspen sighed. “I’m so sorry you have to attend the court alone.”

“I know. But the Agency was only able to secure one falsified invitation. And you know the fairy guards are particularly nasty about security.”

Aspen suddenly kissed him again, and snow immediately flew from James’s palms. “Oh, sorry,” Aspen said as he stopped. “I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

“That’s okay.” James shook his hands, shaking away the last of the snow. A small grin appeared on his face. “I like surprises.”

His lips had barely brushed Aspen’s again when they pulled apart, hearing shouting from outside.

“ATTENTION LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! The meeting of the Southern Royal Court is about to begin!”