Page 23 of I Dated a Holiday Hero
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She looked up whenshe was told there were visitors. She got up and brushed her winter gown down, moving down the steps slowly and feeling something important near the door.
Krix and a strange alpha with blood-red hair and black clothing were standing there. Krix had a box under one arm and a pack full of files under his other arm.
She looked at the box and then at Krix’s face. She smiled. “Hello, Krix. I didn’t think to see you for a while.”
“You are looking well.”
“Yeah. Turns out I also had complications from sabotage. I am doing better now. What have you been up to?”
Krix swallowed. “I remembered about your wings, and I asked Worro to find them. He did, and we have them here.”
Hever inhaled and said, “In that case?”
“Yes, we had to keep them inside because they were flapping a lot.”
She chuckled. “That’s how I lost them to begin with. They were annoyed by the flapping. May I have them?”
Krix blinked. “Oh. Of course.” He awkwardly turned the case toward her.
There they were. Her wings. She stroked the glass, and they flapped rapidly. Her hand turned glossy black, and she cut through the glass with her claws.
The glass shattered, and the wings sprang loose, flapping over to her back. She laughed. “So impatient.” She reached back and clawed her dress and the skin beneath it open. The wings attached, and she felt them burrowing back into place. When they started to draw to grow, she staggered, and Krix and his companion reached to support her. The wings firmed up and became part of her again, and then they started growing.
Hever heard the moment her mother saw her. “Hever!”
Hever laughed. “They found them for me. My wings are back.”
Her mother approached and caught her. She was sobbing. “My wings are back.”
“They are beautiful, baby, but I think we need to call your cousin Khytten. They are bleeding more than they should.”
Hever grinned. “I can fix that.” She let go of her mother and ran to the courtyard, launching skyward. Her wings pulled her up, and she lit her body with dark energy. Silver, purple, and black crackled around her, and she grinned. “Woohoo!”
Her wings firmed up, and the crackling of dead nanites ceased. She laughed and began flying figure eights around, letting the dark energy dissipate. She landed in front of her mother and smiled. Resuming her pale appearance, folding her wings, and locking them tight around her neck, like a cloak. It was a hug, and she could wear it.
Her mother beamed. “You are beautiful, Hever.”
“Thanks, Mom. I feel... whole.” She laughed.
“The wings aren’t wiggling.”
“They are where they need to be. They don’t have to fight anymore. We are one.”
“We?”
“Uh, they weren’t part of me originally. They were an addition in the dish. Uradda backpedalled hard after they made me.”
Krix held up the pouch. “We have the files.”
Hever smiled. “Bring them to the prefect. I can come with you, if you like.”
He smiled. “I would like that.”
Veradil said, “I will call ahead. You are flying in?”
“Oh, yes.”
