So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)

But Brody wasn’t the only versatile shifter on Aerthlan. Eight months ago, he and Leo had come across the Chameleon, who had murdered and impersonated both the crown prince and the king of Eberon. The Chameleon had come close to stealing the throne before his escape as an eagle.

Brody didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but he felt personally responsible for the Chameleon’s escape. If only he had known how to shift into a bird, he could have followed the bastard.

But Brody was accustomed to staying in canine form most of the time. People didn’t realize that just because he could assume the shape of an animal, it didn’t mean he automatically knew how to move, behave, or make sounds like that animal. Since there had always been a few dogs in the household where he’d grown up, he could do a convincing job of behaving like one. And being a dog seemed best suited for his job as a spy.

He could also do a fair imitation of a seal or dolphin. As a child, he’d learned how to swim in the ocean, so he’d spent some time studying sea creatures.

But birds? It was something he’d never attempted before. After the Chameleon’s escape, Brody had spent two weeks studying all sorts of birds so he could mimic their shape and build. The difficult part had been getting the wings just right.

Even when he’d finally mastered the correct form, it didn’t mean he’d acquired an instinctual knowledge for flight. And of course, there were no books detailing how to fly. It had taken him another two weeks, a painful two weeks with more crashes than he cared to remember. But eventually, he’d learned how to use the wings and judge the air currents just right.

He’d been so exhausted from his training that he’d slept right through Leo’s and his wife’s coronation. But now, if the Chameleon ever showed up again and tried to escape by turning into an eagle, Brody would be right behind him. Try getting away from me now, you bastard.

Unfortunately, his search for the Chameleon seemed nearly impossible. He knew the Chameleon’s scent, but had no idea what the bastard’s true form looked like.

This latest assignment had seemed easy in comparison. A pleasant cruise to the Isle of Moon and back to make sure Queen Luciana’s four adopted sisters arrived safely in Ebton.

But nothing had gone as planned.

Brody had spent years gathering useful information, but even he had been surprised by the news that Brigitta was actually the princess of Tourin. Everyone had long believed the princess to be dead. When the pirates had taken her, Brody had seen a chance to kill two birds with one stone. By following the pirates, he could make sure Brigitta and Sister Fallyn were safe. And for Leo, he could gather information about the most infamous pirate who sailed the seas—the Wind Sorcerer, Rupert.

Tourinian pirates had been plaguing the Eberoni coastline for over a hundred years, and Leo wanted rid of them. While General Harden and the main army were patrolling the northern and eastern borders with Norveshka and Woodwyn, his son, Nevis, had several troops guarding the western coastline, hoping to capture and destroy pirates. Most of the Eberoni naval ships were also hunting for them.

Brody examined the pirate flagship as he swam beside it. There was no way he could gather information or check on the ladies unless he managed to get on board. But he couldn’t do it as a human. The other men aboard would wonder why there was suddenly a stranger in their midst. Especially one who had no clothes.

Besides, thanks to a witch’s curse, Brody wasn’t able to stay human for long. The damned witch had screwed up his shifting ability, forcing him to become human each day before midnight, but never allowing him to remain that way for more than two hours at a time.

In other words, he could never lead a normal life. He was a human who couldn’t be human. Doomed to spend most of his life observing and listening. An imperfect existence. But a perfect spy.

He couldn’t do much spying here in the ocean, though, so he dove down till the pressure built against his ears, then shot toward the surface as fast as he could. The second he broke through and became airborne, he shifted into a pelican.

Up, up he flew till he was far above the flagship. There he rested, stretching his wings to glide on the steady wind that was filling the ship’s sails and pushing it south. He veered to the right so he could glance back. The entire fleet was moving south in a V formation like a flock of geese.

Tipping back to the left, he flew directly over the flagship and scanned the deck below. Brigitta and the nun were nowhere to be seen. They must have been sent below. The captain and helmsman were standing by the wheel on the quarterdeck, although Brody assumed the ship needed little steering as long as Rupert was in control.

Brody had heard the captain introduce himself with the name Landers. So where was the infamous Rupert? The masked man in the crow’s nest was the only pirate on board attempting to conceal his identity. He was facing the bow of the ship with his arms stretched out, his palms turned up to the sky. Slowly, he lifted his arms, as if he was gathering the air around him, then rotated his palms and pressed them forward. South, the same direction as the wind.

He had to be Rupert.

Brody dipped down closer. The pirate appeared tall, and his black hair was long and braided. It was hard to tell any more than that because of the hat and mask he was wearing. Why was he taking Brigitta south? If he was intending to ransom her, he should have headed north toward Tourin.

A young boy scampered up onto the quarterdeck to speak to the captain. Brody spiraled downward to make a landing on a nearby railing.

“I have a box with needles and thread somewhere in my cabin,” Captain Landers was saying. “I’ll go look for it and take it to the ladies.”

The boy gasped. “Oh, no, Captain! I’ll take it! Y-you’re busy right now.”

“Not that busy. Besides, I should make sure our guests are comfortable.” The captain headed for the stairs.

“Wait!” The boy jumped in front of him, his arms stretched out. “You shouldn’t disturb them. Th-they’re asleep!”

“How did they ask for needle and thread in their sleep?”

The boy winced. “Just tell me where the stuff is, and I’ll take it to them. You should stay here.”

Landers leaned over, lowering his voice. “Jeffrey, you don’t tell a captain what to do. Move aside.”

“But if you go, the nun will gullet you!”

“What?” The captain straightened with a jerk.

“She said if any man came into the cabin, she would gullet him. With the butter knife.”

The nearby helmsman chuckled. “She sounds a bit feisty for a nun.”

Captain Landers shot him an annoyed look. “It’s not amusing that the women don’t feel safe.”

With a shrug, Jeffrey stuffed his hands into his pockets. “The nun said they were going to be ravished.”

“What?” The captain spun back to the boy.

Jeffrey’s eyes widened. “What does it mean?”

Landers gritted his teeth. “Never mind about that for now.”

The boy’s shoulders slumped as he muttered, “That’s what they told me, too.”

Meanwhile, the helmsman lost his struggle not to laugh and a snort escaped.