Page 57 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

I glared at her, the muscle beneath my right eye twitching because her reasoning was perfectly logical, which only served to piss me off more. “Fine, but I’ll ride with someone else.”

There was no way I was riding pressed up against her all day. Not happening.

She shook her head. “The rangers shouldn’t be hindered by a second rider. If we run into trouble, we need them to protect us.”

Vail’s expression remained blank, but the other rangers nodded in agreement.

I wondered if Vail thought he would be struck dead if he agreed with Samara on anything. There was something between them; everyone knew that he hated her.

Since I grew up at House Harker, I’d known both of them my entire life. I still remembered the night that the news came in, that their caravan had been attacked and both of their parents had perished. Vail and Samara had been with them, both children at the time.

A search party was sent out to locate them when their bodies weren’t recovered with the rest. Three days after the attack, they were both found in a nearby cave. Badly injured, but alive.

They were the only survivors.

Most people assumed that was why he hated her, but I thought there was a little more to it than that.

Vail was asshole, no doubt. But he wouldn’t hate Samara the way he did simply because she had survived. She must have done something to earn the kind of hatred that burned in Vail’s eyes every time he looked at her. Though, the only one who could answer that question was them.

Samara lined up four teacups on the worn wooden counter before pulling down two more, and then I watched as she poured everyone tea. She added some honey to hers and then more to another cup, which she nudged in my direction before setting the honey jar down next to the others.

I stared at the steam rising off the tea, carrying with it a tangy sweet scent. Rationally, I knew Samara was smart and observant. Her ability to read others and identify any personality traits or quirks that could be of benefit in a negotiation was unmatched. I also knew that she viewed me as an adversary, so it made sense she would study me in this way. And yet Istill felt a pleasant warm tingle in my chest as I took in the tea before me.

No. I scolded myself. This is exactly what she wanted and I wouldn’t fall prey to her the way Kieran had. Sooner or later, his feelings towards Samara would blow up in his face and I needed to be at my best to pick up the pieces.

All the rangers except Vail took their drinks and thanked Samara. Nyx snatched the remaining tea and thrust it at Vail, not flinching as some of the hot liquid sloshed out over their fingers. He glared at the cup, but Nyx just kept holding it out to him until he begrudgingly took it.

I caved and snatched the teacup that had been nudged towards me and took a sip.Delicious. Argh.

I felt Samara’s smug gaze on me, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “What?”

“I’m waiting for my thanks.” She arched one perfectly sculpted dark eyebrow, and the muscle beneath my eye twitched again.

“You’ll keep waiting.” I set the cup down with a disinterested expression even as I wanted nothing more than to wrap my fingers around the warm ceramic and savor the perfection of it for the next few minutes.

Samara sniffed and sipped her tea but otherwise kept quiet. Nyx smiled into their drink, and I wanted to smack it out of their hands. They noticed too much, and I didn’t like it.

“We’ll ready the horses,” Adrienne said as she tugged Nyx towards the door.

“Thank you for the tea, Samara!” Nyx shouted, holding their tea up in the air in salute. Vail’s annoyed expression was twin to my own.

We finished our drinks in silence before heading outside. I was beyond ready to get the hell out of here and return to the safety of my study at House Harker.

I would declare that a Samara-free zone from now on.Maybe I could make a blood ward specific to keeping her out? Pure genius.

The rangers secured the unmoving body over the back of the horse I’d originally rode on and guided it through the front gates. I followed as everyone else led their horses out, tension ratcheting up with each step.

“I really think I should ride with one of the other rangers,” I said. “They have more experience, so they won’t be thrown off by a second rider.”

Samara snorted. “I’m just as good as them.” She easily mounted her mare and flashed me a smug look. “Kieran used to ride with me all the time when we were younger.”

Yeah, because he’s been in love with you forever and seized any opportunity to get close to you, I thought.

Kieran would say he was in lust, but I knew it was more than that. It was one of the many reasons I could not dare to get on that horse. Samara was annoying, and I wanted nothing to do with her.

And my best friend was in love with her.

I desperately looked towards Nyx for help, but they just gave me that damn lazy grin of theirs. No help there.

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