Page 101 of A House of Fangs & Deceit

He shook his head quickly. “I’d rather you drive.”

“Funny.” She shot him a teasing smile. “Kieran says the same thing.”

“I somehow doubt that,” Alaric retorted dryly, the corners of his lips twitching as if he was fighting off a smile.

My mouth twisted in distaste. “Enough messing around,” I said sharply. “Let’s go.”

Alaric awkwardly shifted back so that Samara could mount. As soon as she was in the saddle, I nudged the horse forward, and she broke out into a steady canter. Cali was slightly ahead of us so that we could easily keep her in sight as we made our way across the badlands. After a couple of miles, she veered off the road, and we had to slow our horses as we traversed the deeper sand.

I wiped the sweat from my brow with a grimace. If I never had to come back to the badlands again, it would be too soon. Between the oppressive heat and being out in the open, I hated everything about it. Luckily, we rarely had to come out this way because most of the badlands were in Furie territory, and there was little out here.

It was probably why the wraiths were able to settle in at the temple for so long without being noticed. We were lucky Cali had spotted them.

I’d have to speak with her or one of the Furie elders later about setting up some type of regular scouting party here. I didn’t like the idea of wraiths being able to operate underneath our noses like this.

Cali led us a few more miles in, and I had to squint against the sun reflecting off the white sand. It wasn’t long before I spotted the enormous mesa rising out of the ground. I’d never been to this one before, but there were dozens of mesas like this throughout the badlands. They also felt strange to me, like they weren’t entirely natural.

“Think that’s it?” Nyx asked. They’d draped their extra long-sleeve shirt over the back of their head to keep the sun off their neck and shoulders.

“Must be,” I remarked. “The mesas are always spread out, so there won’t be another one for at least twenty miles.”

“Stay away from that prickly-looking tree up ahead,” Samara warned.

“Why?” Nyx asked as they guided their lanky chestnut mare a safe distance away from said tree.

I did the same as I eyed it. It was small, only around six feet, but instead of bark, it was covered in short spines that curved downwards. Three short, stocky branches protruded near the top of the trunk, each ending in a bright red, bulbous flower. More thorns surrounded the base of the flower, but these had vivid orange tips.

“Most of the thorns are just to keep animals from climbing up it,” Samara explained, “but the ones near the flower with the orange tips? Those ones can shoot out when it feels threatened.”

Nyx gave the tree a wary look and then nodded at Samara. “Thanks for the tip.”

I wondered if she would have said anything had Nyx not been riding next to me. Probably not.

“How much time have you spent out here?” Alaric looked at Samara curiously. “As far as I know, even the rangers avoid this place.”

“We do,” I agreed. “There are enough threats in the forests in Moroi and Velesian territory to keep us busy.”

Samara casually shrugged a shoulder. “Rynn, Cali, and I have actually spent a lot of time not too far from this exact spot, just a little further north. It wasn’t far from Drudonia, and it gave us a place to be away from prying eyes… and high expectations while we studied there.”

I remained facing forward even as my eyes slid to the side to glance at Samara. She was riding tall in the saddle, her shoulders relaxed and a serene expression on her face.

It was a lie.

Samara told everyone that she’d agreed to the marriage with House Laurent, and she’d worn that same expression whenever her aunt or best friends had asked about it. Her response had always been the same: “I am happy to support House Harker in any way that I can.”

As she got older and more confident, she would crack jokes about how attractive Demetri was and that it wasn’t actually a hardship at all. But I remembered coming across a young girl, crying over the graves of her parents and whispering words she’d never utter to a living soul.

“I don’t want to marry him. I want to be more.”

She hadn’t seen me that day, and I’d never once mentioned that I knew her secret.

Not that it mattered anymore. She’d probably sabotaged her marriage in such a way that she knew her aunt would side with her. Samara was nothing if not a long-term strategist.

My lips curled and I slid my eyes back to the temple, which was drawing closer.

She’s such a pretty little liar.

“So do you know about the trees from experience?” Nyx asked.

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