Iris used to shine so brightly that every eye in the room was riveted.
A hand from behind her touched her shoulder, as if to urge her forward, and I opened my arms. I almost dropped said arms, however, when I realized that the hand on her shoulder belonged to the satyr Caleb. He was huge, with the imposing chest of a muscle-bound human, but he was all goat from the waist down. Well, except for the very human genitalia on proud display. Goat haunches made finding pants difficult, but I would never understand what was so wrong about a loincloth. Anyway, Caleb was impressive as either a man or a goat, not least because of his craggily handsome face topped by his huge ram’s horns. He was, however, also one of my former lover Ryu’s deputies and I couldn’t imagine what the satyr was doing here.
I looked around for Ryu as Iris came close, but he wasn’t lurking anywhere. Then I was hugging my friend, and nothing else mattered.
“Iris,” I mumbled, almost incoherent. Sobs were her only response.
Everyone backed away, clearly giving us space. Grizzie and Tracy seemed confused by what must have appeared to them to be Iris’s overly emotional response to my return from Belize. Little did they know that Iris and I had returned, together, from somewhere much further away: the hell that had been the Healer’s grasp.
“How are you doing?” I asked, eventually, when she’d cried herself out. I pulled the sleeve of my T-shirt down over my palm to wipe away her tears. She wasn’t wearing any make-up, making her look even younger and more vulnerable.
“Better,” she said, after sniffling for a bit. “It’s been hard. But I’m getting there.”
“You do look better,” I said, which was true.
“But I don’t look good,” she said, sadly. This was also true.
“It’s only been a month. Considering everything—”
“Yes,” she interrupted. “Considering everything.”
We stood silently together, but it wasn’t awkward. There simply weren’t words that were suitable, so we didn’t try to use any. Instead we hugged.
“Order up!” Sarah called, whisking past me with a plate full of burger, french fries, and fried cheese sticks. What can I say: My friends knew my vices.
For the first time since I’d clapped eyes on her this evening, Iris finally smiled at the look on my face.
“Some things never change,” she said, stroking an affectionate hand over my cheek. “Go eat, Jane.”
We walked over to the bar, where everyone was sitting and chatting. Sarah had set my food down at an empty chair between Anyan and another empty chair next to Amy, which Iris took. Nell talked quietly with Marcus, who was petting Trill as if she really were the dog she pretended to be. Meanwhile, Sarah kept one eye on the bar as she chatted with Amy, Tracy, and Grizzie. I started in on my food, Iris watching me chow down as Caleb and the barghest talked, but I felt a thrill in my belly that had nothing (or at least mostly nothing) to do with cheese sticks when Anyan put a proprietary hand on the small of my back while I ate.
Granted, he also tried to steal a fry, earning him the same sharp slap on the hand that Trill had received earlier.
“Bad puppy,” I scolded.
Just because I wish to ravage you, doesn’t mean you get to eat off my plate, I thought, staring down his shocked expression. Not unless you like me with ribs.
My libido whimpered at that thought. Maybe he does like ribs? it questioned, alarmed.
I looked between my half-eaten burger and the barghest.
Fuck that, I decided, picking up my burger and greedily dipping it in ketchup. But I did pass Anyan a fry, my expression conciliatory. Then I nearly jumped his bones when he raised the fry to my mouth, smiling sensuously at me as I ate it from his fingers.
Not a rib lover, my libido celebrated, noting how Anyan watched my lips with a hungry expression—his own pursed with wicked intentions. Then, using my lust as a distraction, he swiped a cheese stick, the big bastard.
As I finished eating, Caleb and Anyan resumed talking. They were discussing something that was happening around Rockabill, but I was too busy wondering why the hell the satyr was there to pay much attention. I was also too busy noticing how Iris kept one eye on Caleb, even as she told me about how far she’d come in the past weeks.