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

Leo was so stunned, he released the bastard for a few seconds. The man gasped for air, then Leo tightened his grip again. “You lie.”


Bougaire shook his head, his face turning red. “I knew … when I kissed her … not Tatiana.”

Leo let go and sat back on his knees. “I have no reason to believe you.”

Bougaire breathed heavily. “I know. I didn’t want to believe it, either.” He motioned toward her. “That … that woman looks just like Tatiana. But she didn’t kiss—”

“She no longer wants you. That’s why she resisted.”

“She didn’t taste the—” Bougaire hesitated when Leo drew back a fist. “She doesn’t act the same. And something about her speech seemed different.”

Leo lowered his fist. Dammit. He’d noticed her speech, too. He shook his head. “There are reasons for her different behavior. And she looks like Tatiana because she is her. Everyone, including her father, acknowledges her as Tatiana.”

The captain sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on. I just want to know what happened to my Tatiana.”

“She’s exactly the same, except she no longer wants you.” Leo rose to his feet and sheathed his sword. “You will leave by noon and never speak of her again.”

While Bougaire slowly stood, Leo called a few of his soldiers over. “Watch Bougaire and make sure he leaves.” His men saluted and followed Bougaire toward the western gate and the barracks that lay outside the keep.

Leo’s gaze drifted up to the gallery. The general and duke were applauding and beaming proudly at him. His heart softened. He’d been fortunate to grow up with General Hard-Ass on his side. Now another good fortune had befallen him. His future father-in-law seemed wise, powerful, and supportive. And the best fortune of all—his betrothed was the brave, beautiful, and clever Tatiana.

His eyes met hers. With a shy smile, she lifted a hand in greeting.

He raised his hand, then placed it over his heart, a sign that he was pledged to her, and with blushing cheeks she ducked her head. By the Light, he would swear she was unaccustomed to receiving attention from men. Somehow, she seemed completely innocent.

Dammit. Did she have an affair with Captain Bastard or not? Was she really Tatiana or not? It was quite possible that the captain had lied to him out of spite, but unfortunately the bastard had planted the seeds of doubt in Leo’s mind, and now he was finding them hard to ignore.

How could this woman be an imposter? She’d asked him to call her Ana. Why? Was she really Tatiana, but she simply wanted a different name to signify a new start with a new man? Or was she an imposter who felt uncomfortable whenever he called her Tatiana?

Unease tickled the back of Leo’s neck as more thoughts flitted through his mind. There had been a time when her speech had sounded like an islander. And then there was the odd message delivered to her by seals. Before the duel, she’d been talking to her father, but she’d kept looking to her right as if there’d been someone else taking part in the conversation. Who? The spirit of a dead person?

Leo shook himself mentally. Even if there was some strange shit going on, that didn’t mean she was an imposter. The weird stuff was easily explained if she was Embraced. Everyone, including her father, accepted her as the Lady of Vindalyn. That meant she was still his betrothed. She was also the woman he wanted, the woman he had sworn to protect.

He narrowed his eyes, watching her. The next time they met, she needed to answer his questions. He had to know the truth, the whole truth, if he was going to protect her.

*

“Has he said anything?” Leo asked as he entered the dungeon.

“Yes.” Nevis stood in front of the prison cell, glaring through the iron bars at their prisoner. “His name is Willem. He works in the stable. And guess what—he claims to be innocent.”

“I am!” Willem cried from the back of the cell. His wrists were shackled to chains screwed into the stone wall. “I was just minding my own business when a rabid dog jumped on me!”

Brody scoffed. He was now in human form and casually dressed in baggy breeches and shirt, his feet still bare. He was sitting on the corner of the jailer’s desk, eating from a tray of food. “He’s the one,” he mumbled with his mouth full. “Definitely.”

“Who the hell are you?” Willem demanded. “I’ve never seen you before in my life. How would you know anything?”

Brody ignored him and kept eating.

Leo motioned to the empty chair at the desk. “Where’s the jailer?”

“We sent him to get more food and wine,” Nevis replied, then scowled at the prisoner. “Not for you, though. If you want to eat, you’ll have to talk.”

“I am talking!” Willem insisted. “I’m innocent.”

Leo strode up to the iron bars. “We believe you are guilty. The punishment is death.”

Willem gasped. “But I didn’t kill anybody! The Lady of Vindalyn isn’t dead. I just saw her at the duel.”

Leo glanced at Nevis. “Did you tell him the identity of the intended victim?”

Nevis shook his head. “No. Funny how he knows—”

“What?” Willem’s eyes widened with panic. “No! Everyone was saying she’d been murdered. That’s how I knew. Besides, she’s not dead. She wasn’t even in bed when I—” He gulped. “I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent!”

“You just confessed,” Leo growled. “I’ll have some gallows erected in the courtyard. It should take a day or two to complete. When it’s done, you will hang.”

“No!” Willem lunged forward, but the chains halted him with a jerk. “You can’t kill me for stabbing a few pillows!”

“It must be annoying, having to die for something you failed at.” Leo leaned forward, holding on to the bars. “But there is a way you could come out of this alive.”

“What? I’ll do anything!” Willem wailed.

“Tell me who the other two assassins are,” Leo said.