Page 27 of Carnal: The Beast Who Loved Me

“Yeah,” she said. “You just go around being you.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Dandy just shook her head and turned her back to him.

“Well,” he said, as he cleaned the claws he’d extended on his right hand. Rosie watched with fascination, thinking the abnormality was oddly sexy. “Just thought it would be good to get to know the person who’s sleeping in my bed.” His chin remained dipped while his eyes found hers.

Rosie just blinked, not sure how to respond to that, and not wanting to become a corn shuck, metaphorically or any other way. But even with her limited experience, she could see that Dandelion was right. Rosie was unable to tear her gaze away, thinking that Carnal’s seductive looks and ways were trouble with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “D” and that stands for drool.

With effort she turned away and began stacking glasses for easy access to accommodate the lunch crowd. She didn’t turn around again, but after a few minutes heard Carnal say.

“Okay. Gotta go. Later, Dandy. Later, Rosie.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Rosie saw Dandy toss off an annoyed and dismissive wave. Rosie said, “Bye,“ but didn’t turn around.

Both of them felt the temperature drop when the door opened.

“You know,” said Rosie, “you need a vestibule.”

“A what?”

“Um, it’s like an entry inside a building, a space between an inner and outer door. In a climate like this one, it can act as a buffer against weather.”

Dandy stopped what she was doing and cocked her head to the side. Rosie was getting used to the fact that Exiled did that when they were confused, curious, or interested in something.

“Not sure I understand.”

“Okay. You need to build, er, have built, an enclosed porch on the other side of that door.” She pointed at the door. “When someone comes in, they open the outer door and close it before they open the door that leads into the Commons. It won’t keepallthe cold out, but it would make a big difference.”

Dandy considered that for a couple of seconds. “We need to tell Scar. He could get that done.”

Rosie nodded, just as the first of the lunch diners began to file in, bringing the cloudy day chill with them. Dandy looked over and smiled like they shared a secret and nodded in return.

Rosie didn’t see Carnal again for two days. She supposed he was living in the house, occupying a bedroom on the same floor, but she never saw him coming or going. She also didn’t see him at the Commons or hunkered around any of the fires that burned around the settlement at night. She supposed that if he’d really been interested in her, she was worth more of a pursuit than a single short, casual flirt.

As Dandy’s confidence in Rosie’s ability to handle the bar alone had grown, she’d begun to duck out to the weaving barn after lunch. On one such day, one of the kids Rosie recognized as being a friend of Charming’s came rushing in looking wild-eyed.

“Give me a bottle of the whiskey. Charm’s hurt.”

Rosie stood on tiptoes and reached high for a full bottle. “Charming’s hurt?”

“Yeah. Broke his leg. We think.”

She handed over the bottle and rounded the bar, jogging toward the door. She pulled it open and ran smack into a wall of flesh named Carnal.

He grinned. “Hold on, human. What’s the hurry?”

“Charm’s been hurt,” the kid said on his way past without stopping.

Carnal jerked his gaze back to Rosie as his brows came down. His look was so fierce and scary, she could imagine that Carnal’s enemies would turn and run if they looked into the face of his anger.

“Hurt?” He didn’t wait for confirmation, but turned and ran after Charming’s friend with a speed that was dizzying.

By the time Rosie reached the training field, Carnal was kneeling on the ground next to Charming. Serene had also made it there ahead of her. Rosie felt eyes on her as she made her way to where Charming lay on the ground trying not to show the pain he was in.

She hesitated, remembering the promise she’d made Kellareal about not using her abilities, remembering how her father felt about clean lines between right and wrong, promises being on the side of right, breaking them being on the side of wrong. She weighed that against her feelings about the kindness and acceptance Charming had shown her, a stranger wearing the appearance of Exiled’s creators and oppressors.

Serene’s friend, the midwife, had cut Charming’s pant leg away. When she touched it, to examine the break, Charming jerked, his face in such agony, Rosie couldn’t stand it. Telling herself that no one, including Kellareal, would ever know, she closed her eyes and saw the leg mended, stronger than before. For good measure she held an image of a big smile on Charming’s face for an extra second.

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