Page 24 of I Dated a Retired Hero

Nelith got a ping from Khytten, and a reaper walked out of the shadows, handed her a stack of vials, and then Denier winked and returned to the shadows.

Dmitri paused. “Did he have an Anubis head?”

“Yes, he did.”

“You know him.”

“Yes, I do.” She smiled. “You will, too. He’s uncle to the grandchildren.”

“Oh. Wow. Fair enough. Should we have invited them to the wedding?”

“No, the triplets are too small.”

“Right.” He hugged her as they watched Sergei getting a physical.

He had been scanned, and it was determined he had lost a hundred twenty pounds of muscle over his incarceration.

Nelith looked at him. “I am surprised he isn’t squirrelly by now. That is a long time to be alone.”

“He stares into the void of space when he is using his activation. I believe that he slept for much of it.”

“He is your friend?”

“Friend and uncle.”

“Father’s or mother’s side?”

“Mother’s.”

“That explains why he is so pretty.”

Dmitri wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Don’t mention that. It is exceptionally annoying.”

“To him?”

“To me.”

She laughed softly, and Sergei smiled. He had more scans to get through, and then, they would give him Khytten’s vials.

* * * *

The trucks rolled themoment the government extracted the canister, and the village was excited that the plowing would soon begin the process of mixing the mediums into a proto soil.

Six hours after she had left the lab, the party was underway.

The amount of dumplings offered to her was astonishing. She added sour cream, jam, and sautéed onions as well as pickled shredded cabbage.

She smiled as the locals explained the details of the area and what a hardship it had been with the dead zone so close. She ate and nodded, and Petrov translated the older language from the elders. It was a little harder to understand as several folks were teeth-optional.

Veru sat next to Litha and asked, “Having fun?”

“This is lovely. Thank you.”

“Did you really find Midnight in the canister?”

“Yes.”

Veru looked around. “How badly was he decomposed?”

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