Page 31 of I Dated a Holiday Hero
“Yeah, it’s a nickname.”
“How old are you?” Hever’s mother looked at the woman.
“How old do I look?”
“You look nineteen.”
“I am nearly thirty. Yes, my parents know I was older than declared. They didn’t care.”
“You were attacked a few years ago.”
Kiki paused. “Yes, but recent discoveries have allowed me to heal and stop using a projection field. I have a normal face again.”
Hever frowned. “What?”
“Oh, I was attacked by the same guy who got Hera, but I didn’t have the ability to burn them out myself. When they managed to kill him, Kritz made a treatment, and he helped me heal my features again.”
Wellin took her hand. “You were still pretty but unhappy.”
“That is true.”
Hever blinked. “I never knew.”
“I was the user of one of Kritz’s concealment fields, in combination with a compression suit that you developed.”
Veradil said, “Should you be discussing this out in the open?”
Kiki smiled. “Probably not.”
“Did you lose anybody?”
Kiki shrugged. “The first guy I ever loved. This was before the BDC was in Aksalla. The authorities made me disappear, and he didn’t look for me.”
“Maybe it was too much for him?”
“Maybe. Anyway, five years is a long time. We are going to hunt down those marshmallows, and I will see you at work on Monday.”
They hugged, and Hever watched them go. “You know, I never asked about her past.”
Veradil shrugged. “That is unlike you. Maybe they put a sliding block on her? They do that with witnesses. If someone thinks about them specifically, their thoughts slide away.”
“I don’t know much about minder stuff.”
“I know. No one does. Torenne’s father is notorious for sussing things out with a light handshake.”
Hever paused. “Oh, no.”
“Your crush? Probably well known to him.”
“Damn.”
“He hasn’t mentioned it so far. You are safe.”
“I already told Torenne.”
Veradil laughed. “What did she say?”
“Not much. She just stared and swallowed. I know I haven’t come up on her BDC roster, so I guess we just aren’t a match.”
