Page 5 of I Dated a Holiday Hero
“Nope. Nullifiers.”
“It smells really nice.”
“Good to know. Sorry to have rousted everyone for this. Was it Mom or Zera?”
“Zera called your mom.”
“Oh, geez. I am never going to hear the end of this. She’s gonna make me move home.”
“Why?”
“Mom only agreed to let me leave my round-the-clock monitors and guards if I said I would be on alert and keep out of trouble. Oh, I hope the presents are okay.”
“Your friend headed to your home to check on things and get the door repaired.”
“Gotta love efficient women.”
“So, what is Krix doing here?”
“Um, he was my patron. Zera asked him to come.” She blinked to clear the blurry tears.
“A patron? Seriously? How old are you?”
“Um, twenty-eight.”
Torenne smiled. “Well, that is a bit of a shock. I think of you as eight years old, learning to speak Aksallan.”
“I know. That is obvious. Okay, I am good to travel.”
Krix stepped forward. “I will fly you home.”
“Um, I am not really dressed for it. I am sorry, but thermal shock isn’t my idea of fun.”
He chuckled, touched a chair, and held a thick cloak out to her. “Would this help?”
Torenne looked at him. “Are you able to keep up with fliers?”
“I am.”
“Good. We are heading to the ambassador’s home.”
Krix blinked. “Ambassador?”
Hever got to her feet, and Krix wrapped her in the cloak, easing the hood over her bloody hair. “My mother. I grew up at different embassies around the world.”
He nodded. “That would explain the ease with which you speak Sethir.”
“It would explain it.”
He bent and picked her up, holding her carefully.
Torenne led the way through the rescuers, and she nodded to her cousins, Ekron and Salat and Khytten.
Other cousins came forward with smiles as they looked between Krix and her. She was too tired to explain the situation.
The blood that covered her face and hands was enough to keep them from openly mocking her.
Krix walked outside, where bodies littered the ground. “Your family does not pull punches.”
