Page 88 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

“That sounds nice,” she said, flashing me a relieved smile.

I fought to keep from showing what that smile did to me as I nodded curtly. “I’ll have some food brought up as well.”

“Thank you, Alaric,” Samara said before shooting an amused glance at Roth, who was still doing their weird communion with the ritual stone. “Make sure to set up the food away from the books, lest our dear Roth get upset over their books being in danger.”

“If you keep up that sass,” Roth replied casually, “I’ll show you just what my blood ribbons can do.”

“Promises, promises,” Samara sang as she exited the library.

My lips quirked up into a smile that froze in place when I caught Vail’s glare. I didn’t see Vail all that often since he was gone for months at a time, but we’d always had a good working relationship. Though, I suspected that might change with Samara being back and my working closely with her.

I added it to the list of reasons why Samara was a complication in my life and why things had been far simpler at House Harker before her return.

Chapter Twenty-One

Samara

I stretchedmy arms up and arched my back as I tried to loosen my body after hours of sitting in the hard wooden chair. The nice cushy lounger by the window was calling to me, but after staying up until almost sunrise pouring over books after getting home yesterday, I suspected I would fall asleep for a late afternoon nap if I settled in that chair.

Just because Moroi could operate on very little sleep didn’t mean I enjoyed only getting a few hours of it.

Alaric was attending to some House Harker business today. We’d discussed it this morning over tea, and we’d both agreed that since he had more knowledge and experience with the current day-to-day workings of the House, it made sense for him to handle it and me to continue helping Roth.

It bothered me a little, though. I wanted to be able to help run the House in every aspect, and I felt like I was failing by not being able to do everything.

I knew it was foolish of me to think like that, but I couldn’t help it. After failing so spectacularly at House Laurent, I wanted to prove to Carmilla that I was worthy of being her Heir and remaining at House Harker.

I sighed, desperately craving more tea and a cushier seat, but all the books had been laid out on the table and Roth kept snatching them randomly while mumbling to themself. When I’d attempted to take one book that they hadn’t looked at once all morning, I’d received a look that froze me in place and made me immediately drop back down in my seat.

Just as I was about to take a break and go chug an entire pot of tea in the kitchen, away from Roth’s judging eyes, the blue gem on my ring glowed.

Rynn. Relief flowed out of me, and the tension I’d been carrying since she’d announced her insane plan finally eased. I held my finger over the glyph on the ring and spun to face the center of the room. A second later, her shadowy form appeared.

“Rynn!” I bolted upright, startling Roth, who hadn’t even noticed Rynn appear. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said in a clipped tone. “I told you I would be fine. The trip was a bust. I didn’t find anything.”

I eyed her carefully. It was hard to tell, given that she was nothing more than a shadow, but her shoulders seemed hunched inward. I glanced down at her hands and saw that her fingers were constantly curling in and out, like they did when she was fighting off a shift.

Something had happened, and she was lying to me about it. First Cali, now Rynn. My temper flared.

“Rynn—” I started, but she cut me off with a wave of her hand.

“I can’t talk right now. I just wanted to let you know that I was okay and that I hadn’t found anything. We’ll catch up soon, I promise.”

With that, she vanished from sight, and anger and concern warred within me.

This behavior was something that I’d expect from Cali, butnot from Rynn. What the hell had happened to rattle her so much? And why was she hiding it from me?

I sucked in a breath, ignoring the stab of pain in my chest.

“Are you going to detonate again?” Roth asked in a bored tone. “Because I could do without the screaming you did last time.”

“No.” I forced myself to exhale before calmly returning to my chair. “I’m still pissed off, but at least I know she’s safe. Last time, I flipped out because I was both pissed off and scared out of my mind that my friend was going to land herself in serious trouble.”

Roth nodded. “Understandable. Still, I appreciate you not losing your shit in my library this time.”

“Yourlibrary?” I smirked at them.

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