CHAPTER 58

Behind her, she heard the click of a door. When she turned around, she saw Beth coming out of her room. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was unkempt. She was wearing a long t-shirt and nothing else, and she smelled delicious—an odor reminiscent of butter cookies and roses, with just a hint of spice beneath.

"Oh, thought I heard someone." She yawned, then looked at the rats. "How is everybody today?"

The rats gave a series of chirps and squeaks in response, then went back to their game. Beth walked over and stood next to Dana, then looked at the door. "Heard you had a bad experience with this thing."

"Yeah." The experience itself hadn't been bad; it was the aftermath that had triggered some issues. Still, she saw no need to correct her. "It's password protected. You're sleeping in pretty late. It's almost one in the afternoon."

"I feel like shit." She yawned again. "I was up late going over faerie etiquette, and when I fell asleep, I had a bunch of nightmares. I think having that piece of demon removed from my soul was kind of like a spiritual teeth cleaning, and I'm still sore or something."

"Oh? What does that feel like?"

"I'm a fucking grouch. Don't feel up to going tonight, but that's not up to me."

"Why not ask Mike to wait? If you aren't feeling good, I'm sure he would understand."

"Actually, he did offer to wait. Time flows differently in the faerie realm, and I don't want Cecilia to wait another five years or something because I'm dealing with a demonic hangover." She rubbed her eyes and yawned again. "Anyway, I'm going to get some coffee. You want some?"

"I do."

"Great, let me change first." Beth went back in her room.

Dana waited in the hall for a few minutes, and when Beth emerged, she wore a pair of jeans and a button up shirt. Her hair was piled high with a clip, and they walked down the stairs together, then skirted the conversation in the dining hall. Once in the kitchen, Beth saw that there was coffee in the pot and poured a pair of glasses for both of them. She opened the door of the fridge and grabbed the creamer and then a shot glass of spunk for Dana.

"I'll try not to mix them up." She winked, then put some cream in her coffee. "So can you really not drink anything without adding this stuff to it?"

"I tried it once." Dana picked up her cup, not sure how to tell Beth that she wasn't interested in the coffee, but her company. "It doesn't taste like anything, really."

"So is it just numb in your mouth? Like, completely flavorless?"

"Essentially. Imagine if someone poured a glass of water in a recent coffee cup and then tasted it." She took a sip to demonstrate, but her mouth was suddenly flooded with the bitter taste of dark roast, causing her to spit it out immediately.

"Hey, you don't have to prove—"

"No, that's not it." Dana took another sip of coffee, then looked at Beth in awe. "I can taste it!"

"Wait, really?" Beth frowned at her own cup. "Is it... because..."

"No, I know what that tastes like, and this isn't it." She took another sip. "It tastes terrible, like it's burnt, but it's actually coffee." It was like some of her taste buds had randomly activated and were taking their best guess at what the dark fluid should taste like without properly consulting each other.

"Well, cheers then." Beth held up her glass. "To the mysteries of the Radley house."

"Indeed. I think I'll pass on the cream this morning. Don't know when I'll need it." She didn't feel like spending the afternoon feeling horny, not after last night anyway, and she wanted to have a clear head this afternoon.

Dana took the shot glass and put it back in the fridge, noticing that a couple extra glasses had been placed there already. It seemed like Mike had prepared for a semi-long departure, just in case.

That was who Mike Radley was. In all the time she had lived in the house, she was still looking at him as the man she had to deal with, forced to consume his juices to stay alive. But he was also the man who went out of his way to help her be comfortable, who always gave the others choices, and rubbed out some extra man juice for her knowing that he would be away soon. He was constantly thinking of others and trying to make them all happy.

"Hey, you good?" Beth put a hand on Dana's wrist. "You zoned out there."

"Yeah, just thinking." It wasn't just Mike that she thought about. Had she ever had a conversation with Beth before? They had lived together for awhile now, and Beth was the only other human woman that lived there. They had both been pulled into this crazy-ass world against their will, so they probably had more in common than she realized.

"About?"

"Just stuff and things." She had properly moved in after her trek across the States, and was in a holding pattern until Ratu told her what to do next. But even though she had become a part of the household, she hadn't spent much time with the others outside of what was necessary. If she truly admitted it, she had been treating the home as a rest stop.

But to where?

"Well, I guess I'll leave you to it." Beth smiled and headed for the door. "Duty calls."

"Later." Dana took another sip of her coffee, then dumped it out. The excitement of being able to taste it didn't dampen the fact that it tasted nasty. She rinsed out the cup, then put it back where it belonged.

A quick trip into the dining room revealed that everybody but Beth had scattered. She was sitting over some old books and scribbling notes to herself, so Dana left her alone and kept going. Moving from room to room, she couldn't help but notice just how much life and movement there was. Everybody seemed to have a job, and pursued it with gusto.