The next week was Christmas, but she had delayed her scheduled departure until the morning of Christmas Eve, wanting as much time with Trace as she could possibly manage before she left. Andre had been understanding—he had assured her one of Zakhar’s royal air force planes would be available to her whenever she was ready. She hadn’t asked Trace to reconsider his decision not to go with her to Zakhar. She’d thought about it after the last time at his cabin, but ever since the kidnapping attempt last week he’d been...unapproachable. Distant. And for much of the time he simply hadn’t been around to ask. He’d gone with her to the hospital after the attack, then had accompanied her home and watched over her in silence, pulling a chair up beside her bed and sitting in it until she fell asleep. He’d still been there when she’d awakened two hours later. He hadn’t argued with her when she’d insisted on going to school—it was the last day of classes before finals, she’d told him, and she couldn’t possibly be absent.
