From that moment on, I’d spent my life preparing for my marriage and joining House Laurent. I retained my title as Heir to House Harker, but it was more of a courtesy title until another was chosen. I was supposed to eventually rule House Laurent alongside Demetri. Maybe one of our children would have taken the title of House Harker Heir someday.
But after the events of today, I no longer believed my future was with House Laurent. Even if things could be repaired between me and Demetri, it was clear that Marvina had no intentions of allowing me into a more authoritative role, and apparently, Demetri was more interested in finding new women to sink his cock into than learning how to rule a House.
With my background and education, surely I could be of more use to House Harker than playing a minor, powerless role in House Laurent.
I wasn’t entirely sure what the current state of my birth House was. While I’d grown up there, I’d moved to Drudonia when I was sixteen to further my education. Scholars from all three types of Moon Blessed lived in the enormous fortress, and almost every piece of knowledge that we had of our history could be found in the libraries of Drudonia. I’d loved it there. Having so much knowledge at my fingertips had been a dream.
Even before I’d left, I’d spent most of my time studying in preparation for going there.
While my aunt and I regularly traded correspondence, that wasn’t the same thing as being immersed in the day-to-day dealings of the House.
I knew that my childhood friend, Kieran, and my childhood archnemesis, Alaric, were still there, and to my disappointment, Vail not only remained at House Harker, but hewas now the Marshal, which put him in charge of all the rangers. He was definitely going to be a problem.
Alaric, Vail, and I had grown up together, while Kieran didn’t move to House Harker until later.
Alaric and I had always been at odds. His parents had served as advisors to Carmilla and had personally trained their son to replace them one day. He thought I was bold and reckless, whereas I thought he was arrogant and boring. But we were both brilliant and ambitious. Our rivalry had been instantaneous.
The history between Vail and I was completely different. He’d also grown up at House Harker but was three years older than Alaric and me.
His parents had been the previous Marshals, and they trained their son to be the same. As different as the three of us were, the one thing we all had in common was that our destiny was not our own. We each had responsibilities set in motion by our parents, or in my case my aunt, that we couldn’t sway from.
There was a time that Vail and I had been friends, but that all changed the night our parents died.
Now Vail hated me with every fiber of his being because he held me responsible for their deaths. Despite the fact that my parents had died alongside them, and my actions had saved his ungrateful life. It was possible that hatred had dulled over the years, but I doubted it.
As a ranger, Vail spent most of his time out in the wilds hunting down monsters that were causing problems along supply lines or specifically attacking some of our outposts. With any luck, I wouldn’t have to see him anytime soon. I was looking forward to seeing Kieran again, although we hadn’t spoken much since I’d been gone. I even missed Alaric and the nearly constant annoyed expression he wore in my presence.
An hour into me plotting out my theoretical future, I heard hoofbeats beating into the ground back on the main road.
I instantly pulled on the reins, and Zosa obediently stopped. She stayed still as a statue as I held my breath. My heart was beating so loud that I had the irrational fear that they would somehow hear it. The sound of a dozen horses running down the road came toward us and then gradually faded as they raced away.
I waited a few minutes before urging Zosa onward. At some point, the search party would be doubling back, so I’d have to listen out for their approach.
They no doubt knew I was heading back to House Harker; there was nowhere else for me to go, and I’d told Demetri I was going home. But I was pretty confident that the rangers wouldn’t ride all the way to House Harker because then they’d have to not only explain that I’d left House Laurent, but also why.
Rangers were excellent at fighting monsters and surviving in the wilds when no one else could. But they did not handle delicate political situations. That was something Demetri or Marvina would try to explain while they attempted to convince me of all the reasons I should come back.
Like hell that would happen.
Currently, I couldn’t think of any reason why I’d ever want to go back to that House, but maybe after my temper cooled, I’d change my mind. Or at least think of a solution benefiting both Houses.
Zosa and I continued unhindered on our journey throughout the afternoon, and whenever I heard hoofbeats coming from ahead of me, I halted Zosa where we were still tucked away in the woods away from the main road. I could just barely make out the dark green cloaks bearing the symbol of House Laurent that the riders wore.
Once I could no longer hear them, I maneuvered Zosa back onto the main road so that we could travel faster.
Just as the sun dipped dangerously low on the horizon, I glimpsed three silver-capped towers rising towards the sky in the distance.
The tension I’d been carrying since leaving House Laurent eased, and a long sigh slipped from my lips.
I was home.
Chapter Four
Samara
As I approachedthe portcullis that was almost identical to the one I had passed through this morning, two guards immediately raised it. Zosa pranced as she walked underneath, apparently feeling the need to show off and make sure everyone appreciated just how beautiful she was.
“Welcome home, Samara.” The older of the two guards gave me a warm smile as she took Zosa’s reins and stroked the mare’s neck.
