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

Chapter Eleven

The next morning, Luciana woke before sunrise and quickly dressed in the simplest clothes she could find—a gray linen dress, black leather slippers, and a black leather cord tied around her waist.

When she opened the bedchamber door, her guard, Jensen, bowed. “My lady, did you have need of anything?”

“No, thank you.” She frowned at the dark circles under his eyes. “Jensen, did you not get any sleep at all?”

“I’m fine,” he assured her.

“I think you should go rest.” She started down the dimly lit hallway, but he followed her. “There’s no need for you to come. I’m only going to watch the sunrise.”

“I dare not leave you unaccompanied, my lady.”

She groaned inwardly. How could she find the message from Maeve when he was watching her every move? A soft woof drew her attention. “Pirate!”

The dog sat in front of her and lifted a paw.

She shook his paw. “Would you like to see the sunrise with me?” she asked, and he woofed in response.

“Good boy.” She rubbed him behind the ears.

She went down the stairs and out the door into the courtyard, followed by Jensen and Pirate. The sky overhead was still dark, but a few torches lent enough light for her to pass through the eastern gate. She hurried to the outer stone wall on the eastern edge of the promontory.

After climbing a narrow stone staircase, she arrived on the wall walk overlooking the coastline to the east. The two moons had moved west, the larger Luna reaching the horizon first and casting a silver glow over the sea.

Below her, she could barely make out the beach. Maeve had told her to watch the eastern beach at sunrise, so she could only trust that her youngest sister knew what she was doing.

Next to Luciana, Pirate was sitting and watching her curiously. Jensen glanced over the curtain wall and, after seeing no danger below, marched down the wall walk, surveying the keep and inner bailey.

She kept her back to him and focused on the eastern horizon. After a few minutes, a soft, golden glow inched into view. “May the Light shine upon us always,” she said loud enough for the guard to hear, then in her mind she sent a prayer to the goddesses to watch over her sisters.

“Amen,” she said softly, and since no one was watching except Pirate, she made the sign of the two moons.

The sun rose slowly, painting the sea and sky with colors of pink and gold. She held up a hand to shade her eyes and focused on the sea just below.

Now she could see the different colors of the sea: the darker blue of the deep and the bright turquoise close to the shore. The waves rolled in, crashing and foaming over large boulders that dotted the shallow turquoise water.

Softly, she sang the Song of Mourning as if the words could somehow bring her the message from her sisters. “My true love lies in the ocean blue. My true love sleeps in the sea. Whenever the moons shine over you, please remember me. Please remember me.”

Suddenly a seal leaped from the sea and landed on a large, flat boulder. The sea around the rock churned as more seals gathered around it. The first seal barked, and more seals skidded up onto the boulder. They waddled into a tight group, their wet skin glistening in the sun.

Next to Luciana, Pirate rose onto his hind legs to peer over the wall. When more seals barked, he barked in reply.

She laughed. “Are you trying to talk to them?”

All the seals slipped back into the water. And there alone on the boulder was a glass bottle, the kind the nuns used to hold their different colors of paint.

“That’s it,” she whispered. Maeve had done it! She’d used the seals to deliver a message.

With a small squeal of excitement, Luciana hugged the dog. “I’m so happy!”

Pirate gave her a confused look, but she just laughed and headed down the stairs. The dog and Jensen followed her as she ran past the keep and toward the main gate.

At the gatehouse, another guard tried to stop her. “My lady, it’s not safe for you to leave the fortress.”

“I’m only going to the beach.” She motioned to Jensen and Pirate. “I won’t be alone.” Before the gatekeeper could object, she dashed across the drawbridge, then headed for the path that led to the shore.

She hurried down the path as quickly as she dared, worried that at any moment a wave would crash over the boulder and wash away the bottle. Pirate ran ahead of her and scampered along the beach, sniffing here and there.

“Why are you doing this?” Jensen asked behind her.

“Why not?” She reached the sand and looked about. Far to the east, the waves had blasted a cave into the rocky cliff. “I think there’s someone there!” She pointed.

“I’ll investigate,” Jensen replied. “Stay here.”

“Of course.” The minute the guard took off running down the beach, she kicked off her shoes and walked into the water. She winced, surprised by how cold the water was.

Pirate splashed into the water to get in front of her, then attempted to herd her ashore.

“You’re not stopping me.” She gathered up her skirt around her knees and waded deeper, headed for the boulder. The waves receded, sucking her feet with them, and she skidded a bit before regaining her balance.

She hitched her skirt up higher as the water reached her thighs. Almost there. She winced as the cold water reached her private parts, then lunged forward to grab onto the boulder.

The bottle was a few inches out of reach. Pirate barked at her. He was up to his neck in water.

“Stay there!” she warned him. Letting go of her skirt, she felt around the rock till she found an indentation she could slip a foot into. She heaved herself up till she could grab the bottle.