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

“We’ll have nowhere to go,” Giggler whined.

Luciana ran to her mother’s side. “Thank you.”

Ariana smiled. “Thank Christopher. He told me where you were. Jensen has the entire castle guard looking for you. I asked Tatiana to come up with a way to contact them.” She cast a disgusted look at the ghosts. “Meanwhile, I’ll take you away from the filth.”

“The priest said there was no way out.”

Ariana snorted. “He lived here only a few weeks. He may know about the main escape route, but I know a secret one. Your father showed it to me years ago.” She motioned to the torch on the back wall. “Take that with you.”

Luciana pulled the torch from the wall bracket. “I’m not sure I should leave. If anyone comes down here to rescue me, they could be killed in the trap that Father Rune set. I need to stay here to warn them.”

Ariana shook her head. “They’ve just begun to search the keep and towers along the outer wall. We can be out of here before they even start on the catacombs.” She pointed to a skull with a red X painted on its brow. “Underneath this skull is a lever. Pull it.”

Luciana did as she was told, and with a loud creak, a section of shelves swung back to reveal a narrow opening. She held the torch aloft and spotted a steep, stone staircase descending into a dark pit.

“Let’s go.” Ariana glanced back at the ghosts. “Do not follow us, or I’ll have the catacombs destroyed.”

Luciana took one last look at the trap on the other side of the iron gate and said a silent prayer that she was making the right decision.

Down into the darkness she went, planting her feet carefully on each damp stone step. She couldn’t afford to slip. How far she would fall she had no idea. But she couldn’t afford to go slowly, either.

She was in a race against her rescuers. If she didn’t reach them first, they could venture down into the catacombs and die.





Chapter Twenty-eight

After charging across the drawbridge, Leo reined in his horse and quickly dismounted. He removed his helmet as Nevis and Edmund ran toward him. “Have you found her?”

“Not yet.” Nevis glanced at the drawbridge. “Where are your personal guard? And the rest of your party?”

“A few miles behind me.” Leo pulled off his chain mail and handed it and his helmet to Edmund. “Did you send out some trackers in case she’s been taken away from the fortress?”

“Yes,” Nevis replied. “But it’s hard to detect anything when the army left behind so many tracks when they moved out this morning. And dammit, Leo, why didn’t you stick with your guards?”

“They’re too slow. And you’re too slow. Get everyone in the fortress involved in the search.”

Nevis huffed with annoyance. “Don’t you realize Father Rune may have taken her just to lure you out and make you easier to kill? And you played right into it!”

“I don’t give a shit!”

“Do I have to knock some sense into you?” Nevis yelled.

Leo dragged a gloved hand through his hair. He didn’t want to admit it but Nevis was right. He’d made himself vulnerable by riding ahead of his party. It wasn’t like him to behave this recklessly. Even in battle, he always remained in control. But the second he’d heard that Ana was missing, something crazed and desperate had seized hold of him.

Ana’s father was distraught, too, but he’d been unable to keep up with Leo. He’d charged ahead like a madman, pushing his horse to the limit. “Edmund, will you take care of Fearless?”

“Aye, my lord.” As Edmund took the reins, he gave Leo a hopeful look. “Maybe Father Rune doesn’t have her. Maybe she just went to a secret place to be alone for a while.”

“And not tell anyone?” Nevis grumbled. “Why would she do that?”

Leo didn’t dismiss the idea like Nevis, not when he knew Ana had secrets. Could she have gone to the sea to send another message by seals? “Did you check the beach?”

“No. Hey, where are you going?” Nevis shouted as Leo dashed back across the drawbridge. “Dammit, you’re not wearing your armor!”

Leo kept going. As long as he was running at lightning speed, an assassin would find it difficult to hit him with an arrow. He darted down the path to the beach.

The flat rock where the seals gathered was empty. He sprinted along the beach, calling her name. No reply. She wasn’t among the boulders.

Had she been caught by the undertow? Swept out to sea?

Panic ripped through him so hard, he fell to his knees. No! He couldn’t lose her. Not beautiful, brave, and clever Ana. She was the one who believed in him, the one who gave him hope that he could be a man and not a Beast.

He needed her. She was the strength of his body, the beat of his heart, and the yearning of his soul. The thought that she could be suffering or afraid paralyzed him with a fear he’d never felt before. And there on his knees, the truth struck him hard.

He loved her.

An eternity had happened in the seven days since he’d first met her. An eternity that had bonded her soul with his.

“Leo, what are you doing?” Nevis called as he descended the path to the beach.

He had to find her. Leo jumped to his feet and sprinted back to the path. “We need to enlarge the search. Have you gone into the wine cellars or catacombs?”

“Not yet. They’re—” Nevis lifted a hand to shield his eyes as he gazed out at the sea. “What is that?”

Leo spun toward the water. Please don’t be a body. “Where?”

“There.” Nevis pointed at something black moving through the waves. “Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s just a seal.”

A surge of hope replaced the panic that had sizzled through Leo. Could it be Brody? In dog form, he’d be able to track Ana’s scent. “What perfect timing!”

“Huh?”

Before Leo could explain, the seal shifted into a dog.

“What the hell?” Nevis stiffened, a stunned look on his face. “Is that … Brody?”