Page 60 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

There were bound to be some visiting nobles at the House sometime soon. I preferred to have flings with people who would be leaving at short notice, as I had no desire for a relationship and all the hassle that came with it.

We rode for hours without stopping, my thighs burning, and I knew that every part of my body would be aching tonight, but there would be no breaks today. I sighed with relief when we finally passed a sign displaying the distance to the Faybell outpost. At our current pace, we’d be there in less than an hour. Maybe I’d make use of the hot springs tonight.

Not with Samara, of course. Just on my own. She and Kieran would just have to enjoy each other’s bodies somewhere else because I wanted absolutely nothing to do with their ill-fated relationship.

I was still trying to convince myself of that thirty minutes later when the attack happened. It was so fast that I didn’t even process what was going on until my body jerked back as Zosa leapt into a full-fledged gallop.

“Hold on!” Samara screamed. Only her reaching back and gripping the front of my tunic kept me from falling off.

I locked my hands around her waist once more and held on for dear life. Zosa’s hooves pounded into the dirt, her long strides keeping pace with the rangers in front of us. I looked over my shoulder and saw Nyx and Vail right on our heels, and behind them… Fear clamped me when I spotted howlers tearing down the trail after us.

Excited yips filled the air as they kept pace with us. Their long legs were made for running. They weren’t faster than thehorses, but they were just fast enough that we were barely increasing the distance between us and them.

Samara shifted the reins to one hand before unsnapping the crossbow from the saddle and carefully loaded a bolt into it. She kept it pointed down as she urged Zosa faster.

The road curved, and I saw the outpost in the distance nestled between the trees. An alarm blared as they caught sight of us.

We just had to make it to the outpost. We were so damn close.

A sleek, furry shape launched itself from the forest edge directly at Emil before I could scream a warning. Not that it would do any good. Everything was happening too fast.

Samara snapped up the crossbow and fired. The bolt pierced the beast’s eye, and it jerked its head to the side before falling in a broken heap to the ground, scarcely avoiding a collision with Emil’s horse.

Samara loaded another bolt, barely breaking a sweat.

I’d thought her throw the other day at Vail had been pure luck. Apparently not. Maybe I’d be more careful about pissing her off in the future.

The alarm in the outpost continued to wail as the guards raised the gate. We continued onward, not slowing down until we were within the safety of the outpost’s stone walls. Then Samara steered Zosa in a wide arc to slow her as the portcullis slammed down behind us.

But not without trouble snaking its way through the gate.

Two howlers had made it inside, but the rest snarled and howled from beyond the walls, a cacophony of darkness within the forest. The rangers within the outpost were quick to dispatch the two interlopers who had made it inside and after a few arrow shots, the howlers outside melted back into the trees.

Our rides were breathing hard and dripping in sweat, and I couldn’t help but feel for the beasts.

I slid off Zosa, my lip curling as sweaty horsehair clung to my skin and clothes. My knees threatened to buckle beneath me, but I forced myself to stand straight, refusing to lean against the sweaty mare for support.

Samara leapt off Zosa as if she hadn’t been riding all day and nimbly landed on her feet, crossbow still in hand. I held back an eyeroll. Show-off.

The blaring alarms were finally silenced, and after a minute, the windows and doors from the buildings within the outpost started to carefully open as Moroi peered around, ensuring the danger was actually gone before they came out to greet our entourage.

Emil dismounted and walked over to the bodies of the two beasts that had made it inside before being slain. He raised his eyes, which were full of sincerity, and looked at Samara. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “That was one hell of a shot.”

“Don’t mention it.” Samara shrugged and handed him the crossbow.

Then Kieran came running and pulled me and Samara into a hug. “You two just had to make a dramatic entrance, didn’t you?”

“Yep,” Samara retorted, her words slightly muffled because she was pressed into his shoulder. “Didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“We thought about riding in here all calm-like,” I said, “but then we thought, why do that when we could be chased by monsters instead?”

Kieran pulled back slightly so he could peer at me. “Did you just make a joke?”

I scowled and shoved him off me. “I’m going to clean up and get some food.”

“The hot springs are real nice,” Kieran said slyly, tucking Samara into his side. “The three of us could check them out later.”

It was Samara’s turn to shove Kieran then. He laughed as she shook her head at him and stalked off, leading Zosa away. Vail and the other rangers followed her with the exception of Emil, who was still next to the bodies of the howlers and toeing one of them with his foot.

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