Page 6 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

I strode over to the desk with my chin held high and placed my proposal on it.

Hestia and Gaelin, who were the closest to my age and also originally from other Houses, nodded to me in greeting, but the others dismissed me. They took their cues from Marvina, and until she took me seriously, they didn’t consider me worth their time.

Rather than take a seat and wait in awkward silence aseveryone tried to pretend I didn’t exist, I did the same thing I always did—toyed with them.

I aimlessly walked around the room, studying the various paintings on the wall as if I hadn’t already looked at them a hundred times. Although, I did pause with genuine interest when I reached the large map that took up almost a quarter of the wall space. It was beautifully painted, displaying not only Moroi territory but also that of the Velesian’s and Furies’ as well. Every city and stronghold was carefully placed on the map, along with all existing trade routes.

As I studied the map, I felt several of the male advisors’ eyes on me as they hungrily took in my flesh, and my lips curled in satisfaction.

House Laurent was different from the House I’d been born into. House Harker was well-respected both because of our age and because my aunt was close friends with the ruling Moroi queen and her consort, known collectively as the Sovereigns. But my birth House still retained a bit of our wild side, and I’d grown up amongst Moroi who dressed with most of their flesh on display.

We thought bodies were things to be worshipped and celebrated. It’d been quite a shock when I’d visited House Laurent for the first time, shortly before I’d married Demetri, and seen everyone wearing conservative clothing that played down their curves rather than enhanced them.

Marvina had arranged for an entirely new wardrobe to be made for me, and it had awaited me in my suite when I’d visited for a second time. The message of how I was expected to dress while in the walls of her House was quite clear. I’d added different pieces to my wardrobe over the years that were slightly more risqué than what most wore here, but nothing too daring.

I hated my new wardrobe, but I tried to be respectful of House Laurent’s customs… most of the time.

Everyone in this House pretended to be so uptight, but it wasn’t like they didn’t have dirty thoughts spiraling around in their minds like the rest of us heathens.

We were Moroi for fuck’s sake. We craved sex almost as much as we craved blood.

Absently, I trailed my fingers down my soft belly and then rested my hands on my hips. One corner of my mouth tugged up in a smirk as Gaelin caught the movement and gawked openly before Cazimir cleared his throat and Gaelin quickly looked away.

Cali always teased me that I had a body for sin, and it was a waste for me not to use it to my advantage. I always rolled my eyes when she said it, but I had to admit that it was fun to mess with Marvina’s advisors and see how close I could get them to outright drool over me.

It was petty, sure, but things around here could be dreadfully boring, and I had to take my fun where I could get it.

Before I could think of more ways to torture some of the advisors, Marvina swept into the room and took a seat in her chair. With its wide back made of rich dark wood and grooves inlaid with obsidian and silver, I always thought it was more throne than chair.

I calmly took a seat in the remaining empty chair and folded my hands across my lap, then swept my gaze over her while the rest of the council settled further into their seats.

Demetri had taken after her, sharing the same dark auburn hair and beautiful light brown eyes. I didn’t know what his father looked like, as he died over a decade ago, and his portrait was oddly absent from all the walls. When I’d asked Demetri about it, he’d just shrugged and said he had no idea. Marvina’s skin was a few shades lighter than Demetri’s lightly tanned hue, and the sharp features that were charming on my husband always gave off a haughtier expression on Marvina.

I gave her a polite smile when her piercing eyes fell on mebefore she flicked her fingers towards my proposal. Then she plucked the pages up and skimmed through them, her face unreadable. I forced myself to remain calm and fixed my features into a neutral expression.

My proposal was sound and made both financial and political sense. Rynn was technically supposed to join the Alpha Pack, who belonged to the Order of Avala, but she’d been born into the Order of Narchis, which meant she had experience with both Orders.

Like me, she had been training her entire life to serve in an elevated position, and she’d been an excellent resource to help smooth things out from the Velesian standpoint.

I was confident in my proposal and hopefully, Marvina would finally see me as the asset I was.

“Well, Samara, I have to say that it’s fascinating to me that in the three years you’ve been residing in my House, you never once displayed such an interesting sense of humor,” she said in a light, airy voice.

My breath caught in my throat as several of the advisors snickered in their seats. “I’m sorry,” I said tightly with a false smile. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“You want us”—she placed a hand ordained with rings of gold and glittering jewels on her chest—“to trade with the mongrels? What could they possibly want with gold and silver? They spend half their lives in fur.”

Anger flashed through me then, vibrant and hot. For a second, I felt my bloodlust rise.

I should have known that Marvina belonged to the group of Moroi who thought they were better than the Velesians. She’d never been so obvious about it in the past, but she’d made little comments here and there. It was one of the reasons why I’d never invited Rynn here, despite her hinting that she would like to come and see me.

We were all Moon Blessed. Our human ancestors hadperformed a ritual to make themselves better able to survive in a world full of monsters. The Moroi, Velesians, and Furies had just as much in common as we had our differences, but some refused to see it that way.

“While they have no need of gaudy jewelry,”—my eyes flicked to the rings on her finger—“gold and silver are used to lay enchantments on weapons so that they can fight against the wraiths. We need malachite. Everyone wins in this trade.” I said straight in my chair, refusing to give up under the weight of her glower.

The advisors who had been snickering at my expense earlier were now completely silent as their eyes darted back and forth between me and Marvina. Tension filled the room as everyone waited to see how Marvina would respond to my refusal to back down.

“House Laurent is one of the oldest Houses in existence,” she said coldly. “I agreed to the marriage between you and Demetri because it was in the best interest of our House at the time. I have made sure you remained in these walls because I refuse to allow you to represent us to the other Houses. Not with the way you are and the way you dress. You should have been grateful that I’ve allowed you to sit in on these meetings but instead, you bring me this ridiculous trade proposal.”

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