Page 21 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

To my absolute horror, I burst into tears. Body-racking sobs tore out of me.

I was vaguely aware of Kieran as he swooped me up into his arms and placed me down carefully on the chaise lounge near the table of food before leaving quickly.

I didn’t blame him.What the hell was wrong with me?

Gradually, the sobbing abated. Unfortunately, hiccups were quick to step into their wake.

I mournfully looked at the food that had set me off. My appetite had fled, and all I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and hide under my covers for the rest of the day. I was working on convincing myself to get up and shove the food in my spelled cold box for keeping when the door to my room opened again.

I peeked over the back of the lounge to see Kieran storming back in with a somewhat panicked look on his face.

“What are you—” My words were cut off when he dumped an armful of sweets into my lap.

“That’s my entire stash,” he said as he knelt in front of me and started holding up various pieces. “A few different types of chocolate. This one is a caramel. These are different types of hard candies.”

I took the carefully wrapped candy out of his hand and unwrapped it before popping it into my mouth.

“Strawberry,” I whispered as the sweet flavor exploded across my tongue. Infusing fruit flavors into hard candies was a relatively new technique, so even though the ingredients required were more common than the ones for chocolate, few people knew how to do it. “This is easily one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.”

Kieran’s bright hazel eyes looked at me as his features softened. “I’m sorry about lunch. I didn’t mean to upset you. Whatever you want, I’ll get it for you. Justpleasedon’t cry, Sam.”

Carefully, I moved the ridiculous pile of candies from my lap to the table and patted the seat next to me. Kieran carefully joined me while keeping an eye on me like I would break down again at any moment.

“Lunch is perfect,” I told him earnestly. “It is absolutely perfect, and you are perfect.”

“Your reaction said otherwise,” he said wryly.

“My mind is kind of weird right now,” I admitted. “Carmilla advised me to take this week off and give myself time to adjust to everything that has happened. I brushed her off, thinking I could just dive back into my life here, but I think she was right, and I need to give myself some time to adjust to… everything.”

“It’s almost like your aunt knows what she’s talking about since she’s been alive for almost a century.” He gave me a pointed look.

“Shush, you.” I bumped my shoulder into his as a smile tugged at my lips. “I’m going to try to give myself a break this week and think carefully about what happened at House Laurent and what I want to do going forward.” I gave Kieran a rueful glance. “Chances are pretty good that I’ll be randomly bursting into tears all week. I totally get it if you want to avoid me.”

Kieran held my gaze for a moment before he shifted until he was sitting on the floor and leaning against the settee. “This isn’t my entire stash of candy. I lied before. I can break out more as needed.”

I laughed as I joined him on the floor and leaned my head on his shoulder. “I knew you were lying, you greedy asshole. Now, pass me a dark chocolate.”

Chapter Six

Samara

I twistedfrom side to side as I studied my reflection in the mirror.

Okay, maybe I was dressed alittleover the top, but after spending a week in comfy clothes and alternating between lounging in my suite or Carmilla’s study, I needed to get back to a normal schedule.

This morning when I walked into my closet, I bypassed my loungewear to where my favorite dresses waited for me.

Aside from keeping my suite clean, nobody had moved anything in the years I’d been gone. I didn’t know if that was because Carmilla expected me to visit more often, or if she somehow knew that I’d be back here someday.

I may or may not have cried when I saw my clothing hanging exactly where I had left them. My emotions had continued to be all over the place this week, which was why I’d mostly hidden away in my rooms. Kieran brought me lunch every day, along with a new assortment of candies. When I had random meltdowns, he didn’t say anything. He just held me through it and then continued on with the conversation like nothing happened.

I absolutely adored him for it.

My random crying bouts were mostly over now, which I was extremely happy about. I was far from being back to my normal self, but I felt ready to tackle my new life.

Absently, I swayed in front of the mirror, flashing bits of skin with each movement. This dress would have been absolutely scandalous in House Laurent, but here, no one would bat an eye at the amount of skin I had on display. It was the golden threads that wound through the fabric in an ornate design that would draw attention and would have made the dress more reasonable for a fancy dinner instead of a normal day.

But as I pulled the long pieces of fabric through my fingers and let them fall back down to my ankles, I knew I wouldn’t be changing into anything else.

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