He has the power to grant her freedom, or to keep her trapped forever.
At the first sign of glimmering lights above the highest Haleston peak, the unsealing of the Iced Path inside the haunted forest begins. Upon entering the haunted forest, brave men and women are tested to win admittance into the enchanted village on the other side. However, those who enter are never seen again including Gretel Carol's own father and brother.
As Gretel enters the competition she is tested to see if she has what it takes to win. When she meets a mysterious man within the woods, she assumes that he is part of a test, given by the forest in order to prove her worth. But after the mysterious man keeps showing up and she begins to become accustomed to his odd behavior, she wonders if he is really who he claims to be: the Guardian of the Forest. Or if he's not at all what he seems, like so many other things inside the woods.
Cole has haunted the forest at the edge of Haleston for as long as he can remember. When he begins to haunt and tease a small, feisty woman, competing in this season's competition, he doesn't want her to win. Cole wants to keep her in the forest, so that he can be with her forever. She is the only person who has ever made him feel warm and alive. When Gretel starts to make him question his existence, the Haunted Forest, and the value of the competition, he asks questions he has never asked before; Who is he? How did he become the Guardian of the Forest? And why, just like the competitors, can't he leave?
This is a Hansel and Gretel retelling, filled with eerie, snowy, winter woods; forgotten identities; spelled peppermint hot cocoa, winter kisses, Christmassy villages, persuading challenges; and a teasing, mysterious man who will stop at nothing to keep Gretel with him.
