Page 38 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

“There’s no pattern in the attacks,” Alaric said. “Trust me, I’ve stared at that map for hours, trying to see some type of reasoning behind why those particular outposts were attacked.”

Vail nodded solemnly. “Agreed. Me and my best scouts have studied the attack locations as well. The assaults appear to be random. The most recent three have all happened in the center of Lunaria. Prior to this, there were two in the far west region of Velesian territory and before that, in the south of our realm. They jump around too much to indicate any sort of pattern.”

“It does seem unlikely that there is a pattern.” I pursed my lips. “Vail, do you know if Rynn Valatieri has been consulted? She’s a Velesian.”

“I know who she is,” he said, surprising me.

Rynn had been assigned to the Alpha Pack, but she hadn’t officially joined them yet. She was still active in Velesian politics, but Rynn preferred to work behind the scenes as much as possible.

He continued, “I don’t know if anyone has asked her.”

“With your permission,”—I looked at Carmilla—“I would like to bring Rynn into this. She’ll be joining the Alpha Pack later this year and will probably be told of all ofit then anyway. There’s no one better than Rynn at seeing patterns.”

“The Velesian pack leaders have studied the attacks. Do you really think some young, unproven Velesian could see something they haven’t?” Vail asked as he leaned forward slightly. There was nothing hostile in his tone. If anything, it beheld faint curiosity.

“There’s no one better than Rynn at seeing patterns,” I emphasized again. “There’s a reason she was tapped for the Alpha Pack.”

Vail stared at me for another moment before dipping his head in a small nod. Then his attention returned to Carmilla. “I brought a small group with me. We’ll leave after this meeting.”

“I’d like to join you,” Alaric said.

Vail’s gaze slid to Alaric, and his mouth tightened, but he didn’t argue.

“I’d also like to come,” I said firmly.

“No,” Vail said instantly, causing me to stiffen at the outright rejection. “I’ll already have to babysit him. I can’t spare anyone else to watch you too.”

I allowed myself a few seconds to appreciate the outrage on Alaric’s face.

“I’m not asking you to take me with you all over Lunaria. I’m telling you to take me to the outpost that was attacked less than a three-day ride from here. I haven’t seen any of the outposts that were attacked, and neither has Alaric. We need more information if we are to help in solving this problem.” I didn’t bother holding back my grin. “Besides, Alaric goes for a run every morning. He can just run away if we encounter any danger.”

I would cherish the infuriated look Alaric gave me until the day I died. The satisfaction it provided was palpable.

“And you?” Vail gave me a flat look. “What will you do if we are attacked?”

“I’m good with knives,” I said coolly.

It wasn’t a lie. After my parents had died, I’d had a lot of anger, grief, and frustration to work out. One day I’d been stomping through the training courtyard and had picked up a throwing dagger before hurling it at a target. I hadn’t hit the bullseye, but I’d been close and spent the rest of the day practicing.

It wasn’t long before I moved on to different types of bows. Something about the blend of concentration that it took for range weapons provided peace for my wounded soul.

“Good with knives?” Vail shook his head with a scoff. “You’ll be a hindrance. There is no reason for you to come.”

I flushed at the reprimand, but before I could argue, Carmilla cut in.

“I agree with Samara and Alaric.” She gave Vail a stern narrowing of her eyes. “There have been eight attacks thus far, and we’re no closer to understanding the intentions behind them. There is an outpost between here and the one that was attacked. It’s slightly out of the way, but it will give you a secure place to stay on the way there, which will limit your time in the wilds.”

“It will slow us down,” Vail argued.

It didn’t escape my attention that the venom in his tone whenever he spoke to me was absent when speaking with my aunt.

I didn’t think it was simply because she was the Head of the House; I believed that he genuinely respected her. My mouth flattened into a hard line. Unfortunately, none of that respect transferred to me.

“Speed doesn’t matter as much as information,” Carmilla countered.

“Fine,” Vail said in a tone that made it very clear he wasstill against this idea. “But she is to come to training this afternoon so we can determine just how much of a liability she will be.”

I bristled at being referred to as a “liability,” but Carmilla agreed on my behalf.

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