How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days

by Kerrelyn Sparks

  Luciana motioned to her right. “She’s—”

  “Did you write the letter?” Tatiana interrupted. “Did you beg the Beast to spare my darling?”

  “I asked him in person,” Luciana whispered. “He said he wouldn’t kill Alberto.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Tatiana’s eyes filled with tears. “But how can we trust the word of a Beast?”

  “Tatiana,” Father whispered. “My dear, please know how much I miss you and that I love you with all my heart.”

  When Tatiana sniffled, Luciana said, “She feels the same way.”

  “Are you two getting along now?” he whispered.

  Luciana patted his arm. “We’re becoming good friends.”

  “Ha!” Tatiana scoffed. She looked at the courtyard and shuddered, her image wavering. “I can’t bear to watch.”

  Luciana glanced down at the courtyard. Leo was watching her, his head tilted with an inquisitive look. She bit her lip. Had he noticed her talking to an empty space?

  “Good morning,” General Harden said in his booming voice as he approached them on the balcony.

  “Thank you for joining us,” the duke said.

  Luciana curtsied. “Excuse me, General, but is it possible to cancel the duel? I don’t want any harm to come to my betrothed.”

  “Or my Alberto!” Tatiana wailed.

  The general smiled. “It’s sweet of you to worry about Leo, but the duel needs to happen. It’s part of his plan.”

  “What plan is that?” the duke asked.

  “Oh, look.” The general moved close to the railing. “They’re about to begin.”

  Luciana’s heart stilled. Leo and the captain were facing each other in the circle about ten yards apart, their swords pointed at each other. A soldier holding a red banner stood at the circle’s edge.

  Tatiana sighed. “Doesn’t Alberto look magnificent?”

  Luciana didn’t answer. She thought he looked rather silly wearing a helmet with foot-long plumes.

  The soldier with the red banner whipped it down to the ground, then quickly moved back as the two opponents began to circle each other. The crowd cheered, and Luciana tensed. She’d never witnessed a swordfight before, but this didn’t seem right. Why did the captain have chain mail and a helmet, when Leo didn’t?

  “Why isn’t Leo wearing any armor?” she asked.

  “He normally would in a real battle,” the general told her. “But his power is so high right now, if he wore any metal it would become infused with his power. If Bougaire struck his armor with a sword, the power would travel up the captain’s sword and most likely kill him.”

  Luciana winced. So Leo had to put himself at more risk in order to keep Captain Bougaire safe?

  The captain made the first move, bellowing out a war cry as he charged toward Leo. Luciana held her breath as the captain’s sword sliced down. A clashing sound echoed through the courtyard as Leo blocked the blow and forced Alberto back.

  The captain attacked again. And again. He pranced about, displaying his skills, his sword flashing in the sun. He leaped. Spun about. Sliced high at Leo’s head, cut low at his knees. No matter what he did, Leo remained calm, smoothly fending off one attack after another.

  Luciana frowned. Did Leo not know any of the fancy moves that the captain was showing off? He didn’t seem to be trying very hard, for he was repelling each attack with a minimum of movement. She couldn’t decide if he was lazy or incredibly skilled. “Excuse me, General. Is this a … normal swordfight?”

  The general and her father chuckled.

  “Leo looks a bit bored,” the duke said with a wry smile.

  The general nodded. “He’s biding his time.”

  Tatiana snorted. “He’s no match for my Alberto.”

  Luciana sighed. At this rate, the fight would last until the sun went down or Alberto finally gave out from exhaustion. Even the crowd was starting to grow bored and restless. Some of them pulled bread and cheese from their knapsacks to snack on.

  The two swords of the duelists clashed together, and with a screech, they scraped against each other till the two men were only inches apart. With a push, Leo shoved the captain back, then sliced the air above Alberto’s helmet, neatly cutting the three plumes in half. As the feathers fluttered to the ground, the crowd roared, once again excited about the match.

  With an angry shout, Alberto ripped his helmet off and tossed it aside. “I’ll kill you for that!”

  Leo merely sauntered to another spot and readied himself for the next attack. In his new position, Luciana could see his face. He did, indeed, seem bored.

  “What is this plan you mentioned before?” her father asked.

  The general rubbed his beard. “If you will recall the night the assassin stabbed your daughter’s bed, his scent was picked up by Brody.”

  “Brody?” the duke asked. “Who is that?”

  “He’s over there with my son, Nevis.” General Harden pointed to the right side of the courtyard.

  Luciana surveyed the crowd till she spotted Captain Harden. “Oh, he has Pirate with him.” She’d been wondering where the dog had disappeared to.

  “Pirate?” the general asked.

  “My pet dog,” Luciana explained. “I call him Pirate because of the black patch over one of his eyes.”

  General Harden snorted. “His name is Brody, and he came here with my son before the army arrived. Leo knew you were in danger, so he sent Brody to guard you.”

  Luciana’s mouth dropped open. “Then Pirate, I mean Brody, is Leo’s pet?”

  The general chuckled.

  Luciana didn’t know how the general could find anything amusing at a time like this. She glanced at Leo to make sure he was all right. The captain was spinning about and performing a series of leaps while the crowd applauded. Leo was watching with a wry look on his face.

  The general cleared his throat. “As you know, we suspected the assassin was one of the guards. So yesterday morning, before Leo met Your Grace, he and Nevis took Brody through the barracks, so Brody could sniff out the assassin.”

  “Did the dog find him?” the duke asked.

  “No.” General Harden shook his head. “Then they took Brody to sniff around the chapel in case the assassin was one of the new priests. No luck there, either.”

  “So the first assassin is neither a guard nor a priest,” her father concluded.

  “That’s right,” the general agreed. “And that’s one of the reasons Leo challenged Captain Bougaire to a duel. He knew it would draw everyone here.”

  “And then Brody could detect the assassin.” The duke smiled. “Brilliant.”

  Luciana glanced over at Captain Harden and Brody. They were carefully weaving through the crowd.

  “And that’s why Leo is biding his time,” the general continued. “He can’t let the duel end until Brody has uncovered the assassin.”

  So this was the plan Leo had mentioned last night, Luciana thought. She glanced at him. You’re clever. I like that. “You said this plan was one of the reasons Leo had for the duel. What are the other reasons?”

  General Harden grinned. “Isn’t it obvious? He wants to be rid of the bastard.”

  Tatiana gasped. “I knew it! He wants to kill my Alberto.”

  Down in the courtyard, Brody barked and leaped on a man. As the man tried to scramble away, Captain Harden jumped on him and pinned him down.

  “We got him!” General Harden announced.

  The duke leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. “I think he’s from the stables.”

  Luciana’s heart raced. One of the assassins had been found! She glanced over at Leo to see if he’d noticed.

  He had. He leaped into action, charging toward Alberto, and within seconds the captain’s sword was flying across the courtyard. It landed with a clatter as Leo knocked Alberto onto his back and pinned him down with a booted foot on his chest. Leo grasped his sword’s hilt with both hands and lifted the sword in the air with the point aimed at Alberto’s neck.<
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  Luciana gasped, her hand pressed to her heart. Leo was magnificent, even without his powers.

  “Surrender or die!” Leo shouted.

  Tatiana screeched.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I surrender,” the captain mumbled.

  Leo leaned over, putting more weight on his booted foot that ground into Bougaire’s ribs. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you over all the cheering for your defeat.”

  “I surrender!”

  “Good choice.” Leo lowered his sword so the tip rested on the pavement stones of the courtyard. “Now here’s the deal. You pack your shit up, leave by noon, and keep going till you cross the Duchy of Vindalyn’s border. You’re banished for life. Got it?”

  “Damn you!”

  Leo scraped his sword along the stones till the edge was a mere inch from the captain’s face. “Are you in a position to make me angry?”

  Bougaire grimaced. “Do whatever the hell you want. My life is over as it is. I’ve lost my Tatiana.”

  “I’m glad you realize that.”

  The captain snorted. “Not the way you think. She’s truly gone. I don’t know what they did to her.”

  Leo straightened. “What are you saying?”

  Bougaire’s eyes gleamed with malice. “I’m saying you’ll never have my Tatiana.”

  “Bastard.” Leo knelt beside the man and gripped his throat with a gloved hand. There was a risk of shocking him, but at this point, Leo didn’t give a damn. The asshole had been defeated, but was still trying to jab at him. “She will be mine.”

  The captain gritted his teeth. “That woman will be yours.” He motioned toward the gallery where the duke and his daughter were standing. “But she is not Tatiana.”

  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.

  Willem’s eyes darted about, then he licked his lips. “Th-there are two more? I-I don’t remember—”

  “Not a problem. I know exactly how to jolt your memory.” Leo slowly removed a glove. “Perhaps you have heard about me?”

  Willem’s eyes bulged. “You’re the B-b-b-”

  “Damn.” N
evis affected a shudder. “I’d better leave before the lightning bolts start.”

  “Hmm.” Brody swallowed his food. “So scary.”

  “Please!” Willem dropped to his knees. “Don’t hurt me! I think one of them is a soldier. That’s all I know. Please, my wife and children will be murdered if the duke and his daughter don’t die. Please help me!”

  Leo exchanged a glance with his friends as he tugged his glove back on. “Are you saying your family is being held hostage to force your cooperation?”

  “Yes! I’ve never killed before. I’m a poor farmer.”

  Leo sighed. He wouldn’t be surprised if Uncle Fred had actually done something this despicable. “Where is your family being held?”

  “Our farm. It’s about a two-hour ride north from here. Can you help me?”

  “I can’t make any promises until I check out your story,” Leo told him. “Nevis, take a troop of men to his farm. If his family is being held hostage, rescue them and bring them back here.”

  “Oh, thank you, my lord!” Willem cried.

  Leo gave him a stern look. “This doesn’t mean you are forgiven. You attempted murder, and you will pay for that. The duke is your lord and master. You should have informed him immediately what was happening.”

  Willem hung his head. “Yes, my lord.”

  “And if this is a trap my men are riding into, you will suffer for that, too,” Leo warned him.

  While Nevis asked the man for directions to his farm, Leo wandered over to the desk where Brody was sitting.

  “Have you learned anything new?” Leo helped himself to a piece of cheese off the tray of food. “Any clues who the other two assassins could be?”

  “I’m betting on a soldier and the young priest, but we have no way of confirming that until they do something.” Brody gave him a wry look. “How did the duel go? I assume you won.”

  “Aye. The captain has been banished.” Unfortunately, Leo couldn’t banish the seeds of doubt that Bougaire had planted.

  “I was surprised yesterday when you made your presence known. I thought the plan was for you to pretend to be delayed so the assassins would make their move.”

  Leo sighed. “That was the plan, but after the attempt on Tatiana’s life, I couldn’t bear to sit back and do nothing. She’s my betrothed, my responsibility.”