I was right on the edge of asking what the hell he was even doing here when a voice cut in. Soft. Polished. Sweet.
“Oh my god, John! Are you okay?”
A blur of pale blue slipped between us before I could say another word.
The willowy fairy woman’s heels clicked as she stepped closer to John, her hands already reaching for him. One hovered near his shoulder, the other brushing down his arm as she leaned in, her voice soft as she asked what happened.
“John, what’s wrong? What happened to you?”
She tilted her head, trying to catch his eyes, her brows pulling together as she searched his face. A strand of blonde hair slipped forward, and she tucked it behind her ear without thinking, her wings giving a small, restless flutter behind her.
Under her attention, John straightened as best he could, one hand still braced against the bar while the other waved her off.
“It’s nothing,” he said, his tone smoothing out as he looked down at her. “Just—calm down. I’m fine.”
The shift was instant.
The tension in his shoulders eased, his voice becoming softer, almost reassuring. The kind he used to use with me.
Something twisted low in my stomach, and I felt every drop of alcohol sloshing around in my stomach. I gritted my teeth to keep myself from letting it come out.
She leaned closer, her body angling toward him without hesitation, her attention completely locked on him. The space between them closed easily, naturally, like it had never been there.
My eyes traveled over her body. I couldn’t help it.
Tall. Effortless. That light blue dress hugging her frame just right. Hair catching the light every time she moved. Wings shifting behind her, delicate and alive in a way I’d never be.
Everything about her fit. Everything about herbelonged.
I pressed my lips together.
It would’ve been easier to hate her, to blame her for my woes, but she wasn’t the one who made me promises. Wasn’t the one who lied.
She didn’t disappear behind my back after racking up debt in my name, leaving me to deal with the fallout. She wasn't the one who made me swallow my pride and ask Alto to help me with the mess he’d left behind.
That was all him.
“He’s fine, Lala.” Her name left my mouth before I could stop it.
She looked up immediately.
Those bright, swirling cosmic blue eyes landed on me, confusion appearing on her face as her gaze moved from John to me and back again. Her fingers stilled where they rested against him before she pulled her hand back, tucking another strand of hair behind her reddened ear.
“Olivia… hey,” she said, her voice softening as recognition settled in. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Her wings gave another small flutter and she took a small step towards me and gave me a genuine smile.
“How are you?” Of course she’d ask that. Lala was… Lala.
Too kind for her own good. The kind of person who made it hard to hate her even when you wanted to. She was actually the next supe I’d met, after Alto and Tera, that convinced me that not all supes were bad.
“I’m good,” I said, nodding toward the bar. “Just out with Lark.”
Lark turned in her seat at the mention of her name, lifting her glass in greeting. Lala immediately smiled and waved back,bright and easy, like there wasn’t any history standing between us.
“And you?” I added.
Her face lit up at the question, her posture straightening as she opened her mouth to answer, but John’s arm slid around her waist. His hand settled there firmly, pulling her just a fraction closer to his side.
