Leo narrowed his eyes. Her left hand was lifting her skirt a few inches, but her right hand was hovering over a pocket as if she was protecting something inside. Was it the bottle? Was she sending a message today instead of receiving one?
Leo glanced toward the sea. The mist was heavy farther out, making it harder to see, but still, there was no boat in sight. Was Brody keeping his distance so Tatiana wouldn’t suspect? By the time she and her guards reached the beach, the sky in the east was brightening with muted shades of gold and pink. Soon the sun would peek over the horizon.
The second and third guards sprinted along the beach, checking behind rocks to make sure no one was hiding nearby. From Leo’s position above them, he couldn’t see anyone else. To the right, close to Vindemar, there was a jumble of massive boulders, shrouded in mist. Somewhere, hidden in those rocks, was the secret tunnel that led to the catacombs. The duke had told him it was an emergency escape route in case the fortress ever fell.
While the guards looked around, Tatiana removed her shoes and began wading into the dark water. When Jensen followed her, she shooed him off.
He returned to dry sand and stood there, one hand on the hilt of his sword, the other gripping his spear, as he surveyed the length of the beach. When his gaze lifted to scan the bluff, Leo kept perfectly still behind the bushes.
The sun continued to rise, and Tatiana strode deeper into the water. Leo winced, imagining how cold it must be. A wave swept out and nearly took her with it. She skidded a few feet but kept her balance.
He tensed. Dammit. He should go down there now and stop this nonsense before she was carried out to sea.
She headed toward a large, flat rock, wading deeper until the sea was higher than her waist. The next time the sea retreated, she let it pull her straight to the rock. Leo grimaced, afraid she’d smash into it. She caught herself, then gripped the rock with her left hand.
As the sun continued to rise, he saw a flash of light reflect off the glass bottle in her right hand. She hefted herself up, then planted the bottle near the center of the rock.
So she was sending a message this time. Leo quickly scanned the foggy horizon, but no sign of a boat. Where the hell was Brody?
When the waves roared toward the shore, Tatiana released her grip on the rock and let them carry her toward the beach. Thankfully, she managed to have her feet firmly planted before the sea pulled back out. She slipped a bit, but kept her balance. Soon she was splashing into shallow water that only reached halfway to her knees.
Leo exhaled in relief. She was safe for now.
Jensen joined her, saying something to her that Leo couldn’t hear, but he assumed Jensen was making sure she was all right. She was being clever, Leo noted. She was positioned so that Jensen’s back would be to the rock when he talked to her. That way, he wouldn’t notice the bottle. The other guards were scanning the bluff.
Suddenly the water around the rock became frothy and agitated. A seal leaped onto the rock, followed by another and another till a dozen seals flopped around, barking, their sleek bodies glistening in the sunlight.
Leo shook his head. Unbelievable. Whoever had arranged this had to possess the ability to communicate with animals, or at least seals.
Jensen’s exclamation was loud enough for Leo to hear. All three guards were now watching the seals. Luciana waved and called out a greeting. There was no reason for her to worry about the guards seeing her bottle, for it was completely hidden in the midst of the sea creatures.
While Tatiana and her guards remained focused on the seals, Leo spotted a movement on the beach, far to the left. Something moving from behind a rock, partially hidden by the mist. He reached for his bow and arrow, then stopped when he realized it was Brody.
What the hell? How could he track the seals as a dog? Brody slipped into the water, unnoticed by Tatiana and her guards, who were watching the seals dive back into the water.
Soon the rock was bare, the bottle gone. One of the seals had it for sure. The surface of the sea frothed as the dozen seals started their journey.
Leo glanced back at Brody. He dove underwater, and a few seconds later Leo spotted the sun glistening off a slick black body as it broke the surface and made another dip underwater.
What the hell? Leo stood up and frantically scanned the surface of the sea. Where the hell was Brody? Was he in trouble, or had he actually transformed into a different creature?
When Tatiana and her guards started back toward the fortress, Leo hunched down behind the bushes. Holy shit. He could have sworn Brody had become a seal. Did that mean he could shift into any creature he wanted to?
Leo ran a gloved hand through his hair. Tatiana wasn’t the only one keeping secrets from him.
* * *
Leo remained distracted for the rest of the morning. He made a quick trip to the dungeon to check on the prisoner, but Willem still refused to talk. Leo assured him Nevis would return soon, but also reminded him that as soon as the gallows were built, Willem was scheduled to hang.
In the courtyard, Leo inspected the scaffold that had been erected near the south gate. It was nearly complete.
His gaze wandered toward the western wing of the keep. No doubt, Tatiana was in her dressing room, changing into dry clothes. Perhaps having one of her long baths. He smiled to himself. He was beginning to like hot baths, too.
On the ground floor, below the library, there was a communal bath, one for men, another for women, with large pools of heated water. After spending most of his life on the road with the army, Leo was enjoying his daily bath and a real bed to sleep in. But this sort of lifestyle wasn’t something he could grow attached to. As soon as the assassins were discovered and dealt with, he would have to escort Tatiana and her father to the court in Ebton. After the wedding, he would return them to Vindalyn and resume his duties as Lord Protector. He would rarely even see his new wife.
When he entered the southern tower, two of his personal guard were on duty. They jumped up to salute. Edmund handed him a letter from the duke.
“Thanks.” Leo’s stomach rumbled as he headed for the stairs. He’d been in such a hurry to spy on Tatiana this morning that he’d neglected to eat breakfast.
Edmund chuckled. “Food again?”
Leo smiled. “If you don’t mind.”
While Edmund dashed to the kitchens, Leo went up the stairs to his room to read the letter. The duke had ordered a celebration for that night in the Great Hall. Dining, music, and dancing. Both Leo and Lady Tatiana were requested to attend.
He smiled to himself. Ana couldn’t avoid him now.
After a few minutes, Edmund knocked on his door, then entered with a tray of food.
“Thanks.” Leo dropped his bow and quiver onto the bed while Edmund set the tray on the table. There were two plates, one heaped with bacon, sausages, and eggs, and the other filled with bread, butter, and jam. Leo’s mouth watered as he took a seat. “This looks excellent.”
Edmund grinned. “My lady fixed these for you.”
“My—you mean, Lady Tatiana?”
“Yes, my lord. She’s helping out in the kitchens. They’re very busy getting ready for the celebration tonight.”
“Ah.” So she wasn’t lying about in a bathtub. She was working.
“She should be safe,” Edmund continued. “Jensen and two guards are outside the kitchen door. Usually Brody is with her, too, but I haven’t seen him today.”
Leo nodded. “I asked him to take care of a matter for me. He’ll be gone for a few days.”
Edmund bowed and left, closing the door behind him. Leo removed his gloves, and while he ate his mind kept replaying the vision of a sleek black body diving into the water. Brody had become a seal? Why had Brody never mentioned that he could shift into different animals?
It had been five years ago when Brody had wandered into camp as a dog, looking exhausted and hungry. After Nevis had given him a bone to chew on, the dog had followed Nevis into his tent, and there he had shifted into hum
an form, scaring the crap out of Nevis. But once he convinced Nevis he had news from the royal court, Nevis had thrown him some clothes and taken him to meet Leo.
Leo had hired him, and over the years Leo had started to rely on Brody’s reports and good advice. Brody was the only other person he knew who was Embraced, so they had that in common. But Brody was gone most of the time, gathering information, and even when he was around, he could only be human for a limited time, and that time was normally used for business. Leo had to admit now that he actually knew very little about Brody.
A knock sounded on his door and Edmund peeked inside. “My lord, I thought you might want to know…”
Leo rose to his feet. “What?”
“I saw it from the entrance to the tower. Lady Tatiana has moved to the kitchen garden to work.”
Was Jensen crazy? She shouldn’t be out in the open like that. Leo stuffed his gloves under his belt, then grabbed his bow, quiver, and a long coil of rope. “Tell Jensen she needs to be inside. Take my guards with you.”
While Edmund ran downstairs, Leo dashed up the stairs to the top of the turret. The sun was halfway to its midday point, so it had to be midmorning. All the mist had burned away, and the sea was a brilliant blue. From this position, Leo could see most of the keep and inner bailey. He spotted Tatiana in the garden on her knees, digging up vegetables. Jensen and two guards were a short distance away, their backs to her as they surveyed the surrounding area. Edmund and two of Leo’s guards ran toward them.
Quickly, Leo scanned the curtain wall. The guards were looking outward, none of them focused on Tatiana. He shifted his gaze to the battlements on top of the keep.
There. A Vindalyn soldier was watching Tatiana. He reached back for an arrow from his quiver.
Dammit. “Jensen! Edmund! The keep!”
The guards looked up. Unfortunately, the soldier heard Leo’s shouts, too, and he ducked behind the battlements just as Leo shot an arrow at him.
With lightning speed, Leo tied one end of his rope around a block of crenellation and the other end to a metal arrow. Meanwhile, all the guards ran toward Tatiana.
The soldier jumped up and took aim. His arrow released, zipping through the air straight for Tatiana.
Chapter Nineteen
Luciana slammed onto her back hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs. The fact that Jensen had suddenly tossed her aside and pounced on her was shocking enough, but she barely noticed his body covering hers. It was the arrow that had struck the ground a few feet away that held her attention.
That arrow had been meant for her.
It quivered from the force of impact. Enough force to have pierced her through.
“My lady!” Jensen lifted his weight off her. “Are you all right?”
She shifted her gaze to the brilliant, blue sky overhead, and with a gasp she resumed breathing. But too quickly. The clouds swirled, and for a moment she had trouble focusing. “I—I…”
Above her, something shot across the sky. Another arrow? She blinked. Now there was a rope going from the keep to the turret on the southern tower. The rope shook as it was pulled taut.
“What—” As the initial shock faded away, she found her senses suddenly sharpening to a keen edge as if an inner, instinctual need for survival had seized hold of her. In a few seconds, the time it took her to sit up, she understood everything that was happening.
The second assassin had shot an arrow at her from the battlements atop the keep. Jensen had saved her, and two of Leo’s personal guard and his squire, Edmund, had joined her other guards. She now had a total of six men circled about her to protect her. Three wore the blue and white colors of Vindalyn, while the other three wore the red and black of the royal army.
As she scrambled to her feet, she spotted movement on the top of the southern tower. Her heart lurched. By the goddesses, had Leo lost his mind? He had looped a belt over the rope and was swooping down it, his feet dangling in the air. He zoomed past them, then swung his body over the crenellated battlements to land on top of the keep.
Is he trying to kill himself? Luciana thought. “How does he do that?”
Edmund chuckled. “That’s normal for the Lord—”
“My lady,” Jensen interrupted. “We should take you to the tower immediately.”
“I’ll be safe as long as I’m with you.” Luciana dashed toward the south gate to the keep. “It’s more important that we help Leo catch the assassin.”
“But, my lady—” Jensen jogged to keep up with her.
“Where do you think the assassin will go?” Luciana asked as the six men entered the courtyard and surrounded her.
“He’ll head down the stairs to the courtyard,” Jensen replied.
“Then we should close the gates!” Luciana motioned for the men to go. “Hurry!”
Four of her companions sprinted toward the gates, yelling at the soldiers posted there to bolt them shut. Jensen and Edmund remained at her side, their swords drawn.
Luciana looked around. The newly built scaffold was next to her, the hangman’s noose dangling from the top beam. Workers in the courtyard stopped what they were doing when they noticed swords being drawn and gates being shut. A few ran inside the keep, no doubt intending to spread the news that something was about to happen.
With a gasp, Luciana spotted Leo on the western side of the keep. He was sliding down the steep slate roof, his bare hands shooting sparks as they controlled his descent. His feet went off the edge. She cried out, afraid he’d plummet to the stone courtyard three floors below. His body kept skidding off the roof till he caught himself with his hands. His boots found a foothold on the upper frame of a window below him.
Luciana watched, stunned and breathless, as he fell downward and stopped, his hands catching on a stone windowsill. He dropped again, this time his hands grabbing onto a stone arch above the gallery. His boots landed on the stone balustrade. He ducked his head and jumped onto the black-and-white-tiled floor of the gallery. He was now one floor up. And safe.
Luciana pressed a hand to her racing heart and resumed breathing. She didn’t know whether to be amazed by him or angry that he couldn’t take the stairs like a normal, sane person.
He shouted at something across the courtyard. Luciana turned sharply and spotted the assassin entering the gallery on the eastern side of the keep. He’d taken the stairs, so he was a few seconds behind Leo. He stiffened at the sight of Leo and ran back to the stairwell. One flight of stairs and he would reach the courtyard.
Leo dashed along the gallery, his speed so fast, his form became a blur. He reached the southern side of the gallery, just above the newly constructed gallows, then jumped onto the stone balustrade.
Luciana gasped. He leaped off the balustrade, caught the top beam of the gallows, then swung forward to land on the wooden platform. As soon as his feet hit, he ran forward then jumped off the edge. After a somersault in the air, he landed in the courtyard and kept running.
He was halfway to the door on the eastern side of the keep when the assassin emerged. With a stunned look on his face, the assassin dashed toward the north gate, no doubt hoping to get through it to the gatehouse.
The assassin skidded to a stop when he noticed the northern gate was bolted shut. Two Vindalyn guards and one of Leo’s personal guard fanned out, blocking the assassin. He whirled about and froze at the sight of Leo only a few yards away.
A tense silence fell over the courtyard. Workers had lined the perimeter of the courtyard to watch. Servants were standing along the gallery. Everyone waited to see what would happen next.
“Surrender,” Leo said quietly, though his voice carried over the hushed courtyard.
The assassin looked frantically about, his face growing ashen, his hands trembling.
“Surrender,” Leo repeated louder as he tugged on a pair of gloves.
The assassin shook his head, then fiddled with a ring on his hand. When he lifted it to his mouth, Leo shouted and lunged toward him.
“No!” Leo wrenched the man’s hand away from his mouth.
Too late. Luciana grimaced as the man’s body shook with convulsions. He collapsed onto the pavement stones, writhing and frothing at the mouth till he finally grew still.
Leo stood nearby, his fists clenched. He didn’t need to say a word, for Luciana could feel the waves of frustration coming off him.
Then the whispers began. Like dead leaves scurrying with a wind, the words drifted down the gallery and across the courtyard.
“The Beast killed him.”
“If the Beast touches you, you die.”
“No,” Luciana whispered. They couldn’t blame this on Leo.
“Take the body to the dungeon,” Leo ordered the soldiers.
As the soldiers picked up the dead assassin, the whispers grew louder. Fingers pointed at Leo. And he stood there alone, his gloved hands balled into fists, while the people called him a Beast.
“Stop it!” Luciana cried, but only a few nearby heard her.
She scrambled up the stairs to stand on the gallows. “The Lord Protector saved my life!”
A few more heard her and stopped whispering.
She pointed at the dead man being carried away. “That man tried to kill me. He took poison to avoid being captured. You saw it! The poison was in his ring! The Lord Protector tried to stop him!”
More voices hushed. She waved her arms, attempting to draw everyone’s attention, and raised her voice as loud as she could. “He’s not a Beast!”
Silence fell once again, and Luciana panted to catch her breath. Then she saw him. Saw the astonished look on his face.
And her heart wrenched. “He’s not a Beast,” she whispered. And in that moment, while he watched her in amazement, all her doubts withered away and she knew with a certainty what she should have known for days.
She loved him.
Somehow, he seemed to sense the realization that had come to her, for his gaze grew more intense and heated. His expression turned from wonder to smoldering hunger as he strode toward her.
How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days Page 19