After grabbing the card machine, I hurried back over. “So are you staying around here while you’re in the city?”

“No, just meeting an old friend who lives in this area for a drink.” She held her phone to the machine until it beeped. “Well,” she added conspiratorially, leaning forward as her yellow eyes gleamed. “An old flame, actually.”

“Really?” I breathed. God, her real life was like a soap opera. “Are you… rekindling your romance?”

Leaning back, she let out a delicate laugh and took a sip of wine. “Not as such. But the sparks of passion never fully left us, even when we went in different directions in life.” Her eyes softened, growing a little sad. “She and I were always meant to be, but not at the same time. Too many obstacles in our way.”

God, she even spoke all fancy and refined and poetic. And what she’d said was so sad. “How come?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Parin looked down at her glass. “I made decisions when we were younger that I… I don’t let myself regret them, because they led me to where I am now. But I picked my career over her.” Exhaling, she straightened her shoulders and shot me a tiny smile. “Anyway, enough of that. Thank you for the wine, dear.”

“Of course.” I nibbled on my lower lip. “I’m sorry about… for your relationship not working out.”

“Oh, don’t be.” She waved a dismissive hand. “We still snatch our moments when we can. Anyway.” She set down her glass and leaned her elbows on the bar, an intrigued glint in her eyes. “How about you? Any old flames knocking around here?”

I flushed, picking up a cloth to wipe down the bar even though it was spotless. “Oh, not—um, no old ones. But… a new one.”

Her expression perked up. “Oh yes?”

“Yeah.” I chuckled nervously. “The, um, the guy I mentioned earlier…”

“Oh, so not just a friend, eh?” She shot me a sly smile and had another sip of wine. “Did you bond over your shared love of low-budget sitcoms?”

I burst out laughing. “He introduced me to them, actually. He’s…” Trying not to let my expression grow too dreamy, I said, “He’s really fun. And so sweet.”

“Look at you.” Parin grinned at me, revealing gleaming white sharp teeth. “Flushed with young love.”

I chuckled, belly clenching at the word love. “I’m not all that young. I’m thirty-five.”

Parin rolled her eyes. “Darling, that’s young. Life doesn’t truly get good until you’re in your thirties and you stop giving a shit what people think of you. You’ve got the best years of your life ahead of you.”

My mouth curved into a tiny smile. “Thanks.”

Her words made some restless part of me—the part that was always there, worrying about how much I might’ve missed out on and panicking that I’d never be able to catch up—quieten down and settle. She was right. I had plenty of time to experience everything I wanted to. Not that I was overly keen to go wild and experience everything. It wasn’t like I wanted to go bungee jumping or climb Mount Everest or anything.

I just wanted to carve out a life for myself that made me truly happy. And even though it hadn’t been all that long since I left the cult, it felt like I was already doing it.

And Greid was a huge part of it.

“God, I wish Greid was here so he could meet you,” I told Parin. “Although he’s kind of… He’s a little shy.”

“Greid’s your beau?” Her brows raised. “That sounds like a demiurgus name.”

“It is. He is.”

Her brows inched even higher. “Well I never.”

My cheeks burned yet again, and I had no idea what to say. Before I could think of any kind of half-normal response, Parin added, “Well, I’ll be here tomorrow evening around the same time to meet my old friend after my interview. I’d be happy to meet him if he wants.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll let him know.” Shifting nervously, I blurted, “Could I maybe get your autograph to surprise him tonight, though? Sorry for asking.”

She chuckled, reaching over to grab a napkin from the stack. “Of course. Find me a pen?”

There were always a couple tucked by the register, so I grabbed one and handed it over, bouncing excitedly on my toes at the thought of surprising Greid with this.

“What’s your name, dear?” Parin asked, the pen poised over the napkin.

“Oh. Beryl.” I spelled it out for her, as well as Greid, and couldn’t stop grinning as I watched her write a short message and sign her name with a flourish.

She folded the napkin in half and slid it across the bar with a wink. “Read it together.”

“Okay.” I carefully tucked it into my apron pocket. “Thank you so much. He’s going to love it.”

“My pleasure.” She grinned, sharp teeth gleaming in the bar’s low ambient lighting. “How about a photo as well? What do you kids call it, a selfie?”

I grinned back, excitement making my stomach jump. I was a voracious consumer of celebrity gossip, but I’d never realised how giddy I’d be actually meeting a celebrity. It was like she hadn’t been real, and now here she was, right in front of me. “Is that okay? Do you mind?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I minded.” Parin gestured at me. “Got your phone?”

I fumbled to pull it out of my apron pocket and hurriedly swiped to the front-facing camera.

Parin held out her hand for it. “I’ve got longer arms.”

Laughing, I passed the phone over and leaned across the bar as far as I could, going right up on my tiptoes to get closer to her. She leaned in until her hair almost brushed mine—she even smelled all fancy and expensive—and snapped a few shots of us smiling at the camera. Parin was all cool elegance, her lips tilted into a practised smile, whereas I was beaming like a loon, my cheeks mottled pink and stray curls sticking up wildly from my long day at work.

“Thank you so much,” I gushed again as she passed my phone back to me. “This is amazing. Greid will love it.”

She waved a hand and picked her wine glass back up. “Like I said, if he wants to meet me, I’ll be back here tomorrow evening.”

“Okay.” I glanced back to make sure no one was looking, then sneakily topped her glass up with a splash more wine. “I’ll leave you to your evening now. It was so nice meeting you.”

“And you, darling.” Parin suddenly seemed distracted, and I realised why when I followed her gaze over to the door and saw a tall, older demiurgus stepping into the bar. She had short hair with a few grey streaks in it, a nose ring and a leather jacket covered in patches.

When she saw Parin, her angular face softened into a wry smile, but her yellow eyes held a hint of sadness. Parin stood abruptly from her seat, her calm, refined air vanishing as she swallowed.

I backed away quickly to give them their privacy, turning and almost bumping straight into Gavin. “Oops, sorry.”

“No worries.”

He followed me as I made my way down the bar, heading for a waiting customer before I realised Ron was already serving them.

“Who’s that?” Gavin whispered. “Is she famous?”

“Yeah, I recognise her too,” Mani piped up, having appeared from the back office. She glanced over from the register, peering above mine and Gavin’s heads—which wasn’t hard for any demiurgus—to look at Parin.

“She’s in the show Our Neighbours the Humans,” I told them both. “You know, about the demiurgus family who moves in next door to some humans.”

“Oh shit, that’s right.” Mani chuckled. “My mom watches that. You’re a fan?”

“Yeah, I love it,” I said enthusiastically.

Gavin laughed, giving me a friendly nudge on the shoulder. “You’re funny, Beryl. You use a demiurgus phone and watch demiurgus shows. You’re not a deepchaser, are you?” he asked teasingly.

My smile grew a little strained. “What’s that?”

“Come on, surely you’ve heard that term before. Humans who are weirdly obsessed with demiurgus—Deep Earthers. They’re called deepchasers.” He shot me a wry grin, seemingly unaware of how tense I’d grown. “Humans who chase after demiurgus like groupies. You know, like those freaks who live at the top of that hill just outside the city.”