Page 89 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

“Any library I’m in is my library.”

“Of course it is.” I rolled my eyes. “Do you want tea or anything? I’m going to take a break and head to the kitchen.”

They waved me off, and I headed downstairs.

After drinking what was probably an unhealthy amount of tea and devouring at least half a dozen honey rolls, I headed back up to the library with a much clearer head.

I’d figure out sometime in the next month to get my two besties here in person. They’d find it a lot more challenging to lie to my face, and if they tried it, I’d just tackle them to the ground and beat it out of them.

Well, I’d do that to Rynn. Cali could kick my ass, so I’d have to figure out a different approach.

Roth was leaning over the table when I walked in, a fierce scowl in place and a few stray hairs broken away from where the rest had been swept back, falling around their face. The deep red was such a striking contrast to Roth’s pale skin. They really were striking, even when they did have such a murderous look on their face.

I barely managed to hold in my laugh because I did not want that look redirected at me.

Instead of taking a seat, I stepped around the table to peer over their shoulder.“Bâm m b?âchà qe qâ dam,”I read the phrase out loud. “The flowers remind us of home.”

Roth went rigid before slowly twisting around and gazing up at me. “What did you just say?”

I looked at them in confusion. “I was just reading the phrase you were pointing at?” I had no idea why I phrased it like a question, but I didn’t understand why Roth was looking at me the way they were. Like I was interesting. Roth never looked at anything or anyone like that. Well, other than books.

They narrowed their eyes. “You said the Unseelie part, and then you said the translation. Did you already know it?”

“No?” I said slowly, still so confused.

“Then how did you know what it meant?” they pushed, leaning further into my space. I swallowed as the green in their hazel eyes started to spread.

“Because I can read and speak Unseelie?” Why the hell was I saying everything like it was a question?

“Since when?” they asked with something in their tone I couldn’t quite figure out.

“Since I was a kid.” I moved to stand next to Roth, leaning back against the table. “My mom used to always read me bedtime stories in Unseelie. Whenever we were alone, we’d usually speak in Unseelie, too. She thought it was a fun game. I can read and speak both of them, although I’m a little better with Seelie.” I frowned at Roth. “I don’t understand why you’re so surprised by this. We’ve been reading through all these books for days, so you had to know what I was doing. And you haven’t had any problem reading the Unseelie texts.”

They shook their head. “I’m not fluent. I’d been stuck on that damn phrase you just read for over an hour. I’ve had to use translators for the past few days, which is why it’s takingforever. You always spent so much time on one book, I thought you were just slow at translating.”

My cheeks flamed red. “I would get distracted sometimes and read the books cover to cover. It’s not my fault!” I said quickly, flinging my hands up in defense. “You dropped a bunch of Unseelie books that I’d never read before in front of me. I tried to just scan them, looking to see if they had any relevant information, but sometimes they’d be really interesting, and I’d get drawn in!”

“I can’t believe you never told me you could read or speak Unseelie!” they yelled back.

“I used to read Unseelie poetry next to you in the library at Drudonia! I’d even say the poems out loud sometimes as I read along! How could you never notice?”

“Well, I never paid you any attention back then because I thought you were just a pretty face! I didn’t know you actually had a brain!”

“Rude.” I crossed my arms and glared at them before repeating Roth’s words in my head. My expression softened before I asked tentatively, “You think I have a pretty face?”

Roth looked at me like I was an idiot.

“I’m not blind, Samara.” They tilted their head to the side, causing the light to glint off the dangly earring they always wore. “Can you still recite the poetry from memory?”

“Yes.” I gave Roth a curious look as they rose from their chair and moved to stand in front of me, their thighs brushing against mine. “I picked up some new ones this week,” I offered.

“Tell me.”

“Kov bâm reb qâ qa.”The words rolled off my tongue and Roth’s hazel eyes darkened, making the dark umber-orange fractures of their eyes stand out like fire in the night.

“Say it again,” they breathed out.

“Kov bâm reb qâ qa,”I repeated, not taking my eyes off Roth as heat spread through me.

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