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

“Then he took on your form?” Luciana asked.

Tedric nodded. “His kind is extremely rare among the Embraced. Most people don’t even believe they exist. I’ve read of only one other documented case. They are referred to as Chameleons.”

The door swung open and Leo strode inside, walking straight through his dead cousin. “There you are.” He pulled Luciana into his arms. “Why are you dressed?”

“Leo—”

He nuzzled her neck. “It’s been three days since we made—”

“Leo!” She pushed him back.

“All right. I’ll bathe first. Is the water still warm?” He pulled off his shirt.

“We’re not alone.”

He glanced around. “Your sister again?”

“Yes. And this time, she brought company.”

He winced. “Your mother?”

“No.” Luciana gave her giggling sister an annoyed look. Even the prince was smiling. “This is serious.”

Tedric instantly sobered. “Quite so. You must be certain that no one overhears the conversation you are about to have.”

“I understand.” Luciana ran to the door and peered out. No one in sight. Then she checked the privy and looked outside the window. The sun was nearing the horizon, and servants were lighting torches down below in the courtyard. No one was hovering close by to listen in.

“What’s going on?” Leo asked. “Who else is here?”

Luciana drew close and whispered, “There’s a problem with your cousin.”

Leo winced. “I know. He … he’s changed somehow.”

“He’s dead.”

“No, I just saw him—”

“His ghost is here.” Luciana gestured toward him. “The man downstairs is an imposter.”

Leo narrowed his eyes at what was an empty space for him. “I—no, how can that be?”

Tedric nodded. “I anticipated this reaction. Tell him, when we were young, he called me Drick and I called him Frick.”

Luciana repeated his words, and Leo’s eyes widened. When Tedric told her more, she said, “When he was seven, the king broke his arm, and you asked him if he wanted you to give the king a little shock, but he said no.”

“Not a mean bone in his body.” Leo glanced toward the empty space as a glint of pain shimmered in his eyes. “Tedric? By the Light, man. What happened?”

“The imposter killed him.” Luciana quickly explained all that Tedric had told her.

A knock on the door startled them.

“Leo?” Brody called, and Leo quickly let him in.

Brody was barefoot and dressed in some of Edmund’s spare clothes. “I smelled something off, so I shifted so I could tell you about it.”

“Shifted?” Tedric asked.

“He turns into a dog,” Tatiana explained.

Tedric glided over to study him. “Fascinating.”

Brody stepped closer and lowered his voice. “There’s another shifter here. I’m not sure who yet—”

“He’s the man who murdered my cousin,” Leo whispered. “Tedric’s ghost is here, and he told Ana everything. The murderer is masquerading as Tedric. Have you ever heard of a shifter who can take on any human form?”

Brody stiffened with a wary look.

“They’re called Chameleons,” Luciana added.

Brody winced. “We need to stop him. Obviously, this is part of his plan to take over the throne.”

“Quite so,” Tedric agreed. “And he’ll get away with it since he looks exactly like me. In my opinion, the only way to foil his plan is for you to uncover my dead body.”

“Where is your body?” Luciana asked. After he answered, she turned to her husband. “He and the dead guard are on the top floor of the old tower.”

Leo snorted. “No wonder the Chameleon is having the tower sealed up. Brody, find Edmund and Jensen. I’ll meet you there shortly.” He turned to Luciana. “I want my cousin to join us there. And I need you dressed and by my side. As dangerous as this imposter is, I dare not leave you alone.”

*

Leo tamped down on his power. The energy had been surging inside him, threatening to break loose, ever since he’d learned that his cousin had been murdered.

Now, as he strode across the courtyard with Luciana by his side, his mind waffled between shock and anger. Part of him wanted to reject the notion that his cousin could be dead. Not Tedric. He was a scholar who would never harm a soul. But at the same time, Leo knew it had to be true. The imposter had said things that his innocent cousin would never have said. That damned murderer.

Anger spiked so fiercely, Leo could barely control the power that begged for release. His skin crackled with energy and his hair stood on end. People in the courtyard scurried away from him with whispers of the Beast.

The stonemasons halted their work and watched with alarm as he neared them.

“Stand aside,” he growled.

“Y-your Grace.” Their leader bowed. “His Highness wanted this job finished by sundown.” He motioned toward the setting sun. “It’s almost—”

“Do you know who I am?” Leo removed his gloves and stuffed them beneath his belt. As he lifted his bare hands, sparks sizzled around his fingers.

The stonemasons dropped their tools and ran.

“You won’t make any friends that way,” Edmund muttered as he approached with Brody and Jensen.

“Wait,” Luciana whispered. “Your cousin says you shouldn’t blast through the stones. The tower is too fragile and might collapse. Then you would never find his body and be able to prove his murder.”

Leo groaned. Right now, he had a need to blast something to tiny bits.

“Tedric recommends you use the door on the wall walk,” Luciana continued. “It hasn’t been sealed with stone yet.”

“Very well,” Leo grumbled. He gave Brody, Jensen, and Edmund a stern look. “Guard my wife well.” He dashed toward the stone staircase that led up to the wall walk. Halfway up, he heard the imposter yelling at him.

“What are you doing?” The false Tedric glared at him from the entrance to the Great Hall.

Leo paused on the staircase. “As the Lord Protector, I have the right to inspect your defenses.”