How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (The Embraced #1)

“Aye,” Nevis replied. “In the last two weeks, three new guardsmen were hired. I think they’re the assassins.”


Brody shook his head. “I think one of them is a priest. A few days ago, two new priests arrived.”

“Two priests?” Leo asked.

“Aye,” Brody replied. “There’s an elderly priest here who wanted to retire, so he requested a replacement, and the king sent two. An older man and a younger one, who looks too athletic to be a priest, if you ask me.”

Leo nodded. “The five newcomers are our best suspects. But we need to watch everyone. The king could have planted someone here long ago or recently bribed someone to switch loyalties. Nevis, I want you and your father to work with the guardsmen. While you’re training them, watch them like a hawk. Use as many of our soldiers as you need and rotate them, so the guards don’t realize they’re being watched. We want the assassins to make their move, so we can catch them.”

“Aye, sir,” Nevis replied with a quick nod.

“Brody will continue to watch over the Lady of Vindalyn.” Leo glanced up at the empty space where she had been standing. “Keep her safe.”

“Aye, my lord.” Brody inclined his head. “What about the priests?”

“I’ll go to the chapel soon to check on them.” Leo flexed his gloved hands. He agreed with Brody that the young priest seemed suspicious. The king already used his priests as spies. Why not use them as assassins, too?





Chapter Seven

Luciana rushed back to her bedchamber. It had been a shock to see the handsome, redheaded man on the black horse, especially when he seemed to match her prediction so well. But the Telling Stones were only a game. The gorgeous man could never change the truth.

She had to marry the Beast.

Images of her betrothed swirled in her mind. Bald head. Gray beard. Jagged red scar. A touch that would kill her?

Panic seized her, squeezing the air out of her lungs. Luna and Lessa, help me! She slammed her bedchamber door shut. Would anyone hear her if she screamed?

But all she could manage was a strangled whimper. She struggled to breathe as the room started to spin around her. How could she marry that old man? She fell to her knees, her mind flooded with more images of the Beast.

“Are you all right?” Tatiana eyed her curiously.

“Cannot … breathe.”

Tatiana knelt beside her. “I have to admit the Beast was a bit horrid looking. And older than I expected. But look at it this way. He could be great in bed! You know experience counts for something. And you could always keep the bedchamber dark so you don’t have to look—”

“Not helping,” Luciana gasped.

“Oh. Well, maybe you won’t have to bed him. Since his touch kills people, he might decide to leave you alone.”

Luciana moaned. Her survival was dependent on the mercy of a Beast?

“You had better pull yourself together,” Tatiana warned her. “If you fail at this, you’ll die, and Papa will die with you.”

Luciana was so surprised, she stopped gulping air. “Now ye want me to succeed?”

“I want Papa to live.” With a shrug, Tatiana rose to her feet. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to help you.”

Luciana took a slow, deep breath. Her sister was right about one thing. She had to be strong. There was no point in lamenting over her fate. She would have to marry the Beast. And the gorgeous man with the red hair and black horse would be relegated to her dreams.

Her life wouldn’t be that bad, she assured herself. She would keep herself and her father alive. She and her sisters had devised a way to correspond with each other, so she would have their letters to look forward to. And she had a beautiful man to dream about. If she kept him secretly in her heart, no one could take him away from her. As her dream man, he could be perfect. He would think she was beautiful and strong. He would believe in her.

Feeling much better, she stood and looked around the large room. Tatiana was hovering by the bedside table, attempting to touch a stack of notes. She hissed each time her hand passed through them.

“What are those?” Luciana approached her.

With a frown, Tatiana crossed her arms. “Why should I tell you? What could you possibly know about true love?”

“You have a secret admirer?”

Tatiana scoffed. “My life is far more dramatic than that. If you must know, I’ve been having a glorious love affair. With Alberto, the captain of the guard.”

Luciana tried not to let any shock register on her face. After all, she was already harboring a secret dream man in her heart, so she was in no position to judge. Her father had included the captain of the guard’s name on his long list, so she attempted to recall it. “Captain Booger?”

“It’s Bougaire!” Tatiana stomped a foot silently. “No one ever says his name correctly. My poor Alberto. It’s tragic enough that I can never touch him again. Now I can’t even hold his letters.”

“I could read them to you,” Luciana offered.

“No! They’re mine.”

Luciana gathered them up and headed toward the hearth.

“Wait!” Tatiana followed her. “What are you doing?”

“I have to marry a Beast whose touch could kill me. It is far too dangerous for me to keep love letters from another man.”

“We—we could hide them,” Tatiana suggested.

“It’s safer to be rid of them.” Luciana dumped the notes in front of the fireplace.

“You can’t burn them!”

As Luciana picked up a lit candlestick from the nearby table, a terrible thought occurred to her. “Did you write letters to Captain Booger?”

“It’s Bougaire!” Tatiana huffed. “And yes, of course I did. I love him.”

Luciana’s heart sank. “You’re going to get me killed.”

“No!” Tatiana looked aghast. “Alberto would never use them against me. He loves me!”

With a sigh, Luciana sat in front of the empty hearth, then set the candlestick on the floor beside her.

“No,” Tatiana wailed.