Chapter 357

XENOIS "I'm whatever I need to be in any given situation," she countered. "Right now I'm a gravely injured woman who needs painkillers and possibly ice cream. Can someone arrange that?" "I'll get the painkillers," Lynn said, already moving. "But I'm vetoing ice cream until we're sure your stomach can handle it." "Boring," my mother complained. "You're all boring. No sense of adventure." She was insulting people and making demands. Which meant she was going to be fine. I felt something in my chest unclench, tension I hadn't realized I was holding finally releasing. "Mom," I said, moving closer. "You scared us. When you collapsed, when you were coughing up blood—" "I know," she interrupted, her voice gentler now. "I scared myself too. That explosion technique was probably not our wisest choice. But it worked, so I'm calling it a tactical success despite the medical complications." "You're impossible," I said. "I prefer 'determined,'" she corrected. "Impossible is so negative." Ollie was