Page 95 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

“We’ll let them canter for the next few miles and then pull back,” Vail said as he scanned the woods around us. “Make sure to keep them under control. We can’t afford for anyone’s mount to get spooked and take off from the group. I’ll lead. Nyx will take the rear.” His eyes fell on me then. “Stay between us, Samara.”

“Will do.” I looked over my shoulder. “Ready?”

Alaric adjusted his grip, and I winced as his fingers dug into my hips. “Yes.”

Vail’s dapple grey mare broke into a canter, and I loosened the reins enough for my gelding to follow after them. He tugged at the reins and tried to break out into a gallop, but I firmly held him back.

The echoes of Nyx’s horse came behind us, and my heart started to race as we continued our fast pace down the trail. The horses had been loud before, but now every time their hooves struck the ground, it sounded like thunder to my ears.

The miles flew by, and gradually my tension eased. It didn’t completely disappear—that wouldn’t happen until we weresafely behind some well-fortified walls—but my heart no longer beat like it was trying to break out of my chest.

Alaric maintained his death grip around me, though. Clearly, he wasn’t feeling any less stressed out.

Ahead of us, Vail pulled up his mount, and I halted mine next to him as I looked at what had caused him to stop. Several large trees had fallen across the road, their trunks far too wide for the horses to jump over. We’d have to go around.

Vail hopped off of his horse and handed his reins over to Nyx before going to investigate the trees. My eyes scoured the surrounding forest, and I could see more than a few creatures prowling around in the trees, but most of them were small and harmless. At least to us.

The trees here grew tall and thick, their gnarled roots running along the surface, making the ground uneven. Several large flowers bloomed from where they perched atop their thorn covered stems. A sweet, enticing nectar dripped from their wide, brightly colored petals. I watched as a small furry beast with thick hindquarters and long arms that ended in three curved talons leapt to a branch that stretched over a flower with bright orange petals. A black tongue unfurled from its mouth and swiped at the nectar.

A thick green vine with red-tipped barbs slid up behind the small creature. It sensed the danger at the last possible second and leapt away as the vine struck the branch where it had been sitting. An angry chitter erupted from the trees as it took off to find an easier meal.

Good luck, little fella. Everything in this forest wants to eat you. Including the pretty flowers.

I refocused on the blocked road that Vail was still studying. Something wasn’t right about this. The positioning of the trees seemed almost intentional. I forced myself to remain calm even as I wanted to spin my mount around and run in the opposite direction.

“These trees weren’t here when we passed this way a month ago,” Vail said from where he was crouching at the base of the trunk. “Something chewed through the base at just the right angle to ensure they fell onto the road.”

“Kùsu?” Nyx guessed. “We saw signs of them last time, and they’re clever fuckers.”

Vail grunted in agreement as he rose and walked back to us. He took the reins from Nyx and led his horse over to the side. “We’ll have to dismount to lead the horses around. The ground is too rough to ride them through it.”

“If this is a trap, shouldn’t we turn back?” I asked. “I want to get to Cali as soon as possible, but this seems risky.”

“They likely set traps like this throughout their territory,” Vail said. “The cut in the tree isn’t that fresh, at least a week old. Chances are pretty good that they moved on to a different part of the road to set another trap.”

I chewed my bottom lip as Nyx and Alaric dismounted, then slid out of the saddle myself. My thighs and butt ached from riding so hard for the last day. I’d probably be barely capable of walking by the time we finally made it to our destination if we kept up this pace.

The three of us followed after Vail and led our horses through the forest. Nyx took up their post behind us once more.

With our keen night vision, it wasn’t too difficult to pick out the best path. I understood why Vail had insisted we lead the horses through on foot. There were several spots that easily could have resulted in broken legs and would have been hard to see from the saddle. Even with our careful pace, the horses still stumbled a few times.

The trees and roots were the densest by the road, so we had to venture deep into the forest to work our way around. It would have been nerve-wracking during the day, but at night,with all of our senses and instincts keyed up… it was an odd mix of exhilarating and terrifying.

The faint heartbeats of dozens of small animals reached my ears, and I knew that if I looked, I would see all kinds of creatures in the night.

Our sense of smell wasn’t as good as the Velesians unless blood was spilt. We could sense blood from miles away at night. I felt the call of the night, just as all Moroi, Velesians, and Furies did. Our ancestors had remade themselves beneath the moonlit night sky, and that was where we truly belonged.

Unfortunately, while we were all monsters, we were far from the biggest and baddest, and those apex predators claimed the night as well.

Everyone in our party froze when a loud pop sounded from beneath Vail’s horse, causing it to shy to the side a few steps before he got it under control.

“What was that?” I asked, keeping my voice as low as possible.

Vail maneuvered around his horse and picked up its right hoof. I squinted, trying to make out what he pulled off of it.

All I could gather was that whatever it had been was a mossy-green color with bright orange speckles. When he started scanning the forest floor close to where his horse had walked, I handed the reins to Alaric and wordlessly moved a little closer to look as well.

“There,” I whispered and pointed towards a large, bulbous mushroom that had the same green and orange pattern from whatever Vail had pulled off of his horse’s hoof.

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