Page 15 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

After a moment, I sucked in a rattling breath and pulled myself together. My cheeks were likely stained red with mortification. I was goddamn twenty-four years old. Way too old to be sobbing on Carmilla’s shoulder.

Sensing the shift in my mood, Carmilla tutted. “You’ll always be my niece, and you need never hide anything from me. Outside of these doors, present a brave, unbreakable front, but not in here.” She settled down on one end of the settee and looked pointedly at the other end.

I immediately sat down, wiping the last of my tears from my face with a sniff.

“If you need another shoulder to cry on, you can always use mine.” The grin Kieran gave me was truly wicked, but I saw the concern in his eyes. Apparently, he still felt the need to cover up any true emotions with his ridiculous flirty behavior.

“I will smother you in your sleep.” I narrowed my eyes at him, but Kieran merely cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

“So, you still want to climb into my bed then?”

“Children,” Carmilla smoothly cut in, “you can continue whatever this conversation is later. For now, I’d like to hear what has brought you home, Samara.”

I stared at my folded hands, suddenly feeling small.

Had I made a foolish decision to return here? Maybe I should have stayed and tried to figure things out with Demetri.

My returning home didn’t just impact me; it would put everyone in House Harker in an uncomfortable position. I had signed a contract with House Laurent, and I was now in violation of that. My knuckles turned white as I squeezed my fingers tighter together.

“Hey.” Carmilla’s soft tone broke through my panic, and she leaned forward to wrap her hands around mine. “While you have quite the temper, you’re never one to act without reason. I love you, and I will support you in anything.”

Releasing the breath I’d been holding, I loosened the death grip I had on my fingers as Carmilla reclined back in her seat. “I think me marrying into House Laurent was a mistake.” I proceeded to recount the past three years to her, trying my best to keep things succinct, focusing on my efforts to prove my worth to Marvina and earn a spot on her council, and trying to be a good wife for Demetri.

Kieran offered colorful commentary throughout my story, mostly at the expense of Demetri, and I was thankful for the distraction, otherwise I probably would have gotten super pissed-off again.

I left out the part about walking in on Demetri cheating on me. Carmilla would need to know that, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it in front of Kieran. To admit that I hadn’t been enough for Demetri. Rationally, I knew it was foolish of me to think of it that way, but I didn’t always think logically when it came to Kieran.

Carmilla maintained a neutral expression through it all, which set my nerves on end, even though I knew this was how she typically reacted in these situations. My aunt was always calm and levelheaded, and it was something I hoped to claim as well someday. My damn temper still got the best of me sometimes.

Silence fell over us once I finished catching them up on the events of this morning and basically the last three years of my life.

Carmilla knew some of it because she and I corresponded regularly, but I hadn’t told her everything like I had now, and Kieran hadn’t known any of it. We hadn’t spoken much since I’d left. I didn’t know his reasons, but mine were because it hurttoo much. I hadn’t fully realized just how deep my feelings were for him until I’d left House Harker.

There hadn’t been anything I could do about it, and he hadn’t reached out, so I assumed he wasn’t as affected by my leaving as I was.

So, I’d just packed up that painful realization and tucked it away. Right next to all the other painful memories.

But as I looked at Kieran’s tight expression, I realized maybe there were other reasons he hadn’t contacted me. He looked pissed enough to grab a horse and ride all the way to House Laurent just to beat the shit out of Demetri.

It helped settle me a little to know that he was still in my corner, even after all these years apart.

Carmilla finally rose and stepped around her desk, grabbed three crystal glasses and a bottle of dark amber liquor, and then returned to where we were sitting. She poured the brandy generously into each of the glasses before nudging them in our directions.

I plucked mine up and inhaled the earthy aroma. I might be biased, but I maintained that House Harker made the best moon brandy.

My aunt raised her glass in the air, with Kieran and I doing the same before we each slammed back the shot.

Heat burned down my throat and filled my center. I’d missed that feeling. The wine at House Laurent was nice, but sometimes you just needed a goddamn shot of liquor.

“Fuck Demetri,” Carmilla said loudly with a determined nod.

My hand flew to my mouth as I choked, and Kieran’s mouth dropped open as he stared at my aunt. I could count the number of times I’d heard her swear on one hand, and apparently, Kieran felt the same.

“Fuck that bitch, Marvina,” she continued. “And fuck House Laurent. They don’t deserve you.”

I gawked at her, my mouth gaping in what was probably a very unattractive manner as she poured us each more liquor. This one I sipped as I came to terms with my aunt’s proclamation.

“We can work with Alaric to draft the marriage dissolution. It was clearly stated in the contract that you would be offered an advisory position once you had proven yourself capable. I have no doubt that you have done so, and we can provide more than enough evidence of this. If Marvina wants a fight, she’ll fucking get one.”

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