“What?” Nevis smirked. “Did she rub your belly?”
Leo gritted his teeth.
“I’m not the only one she’s been kind to,” Brody explained. “She’s kind to all the servants.”
“She’s all the servants talk about,” Nevis said.
“Why?” Leo growled, his jaw still clenched.
Brody heaved a sigh. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but there’s a rumor that she has changed a bit.”
“More than a bit.” Nevis glanced at the woman on the wall. “She wasn’t always kind. They say she was vain and rude before she and her father left for court. But during their travels, she came close to dying.”
Leo nodded. “She was nearly poisoned to death.”
“Aye,” Nevis agreed. “Although her father believed it was a plague until I told him otherwise. Anyway, her brush with death made a huge impact on her, and she decided to change her ways.”
“For the better,” Brody added. “Her inner beauty now matches her outer beauty.”
Leo eyed the dog shifter. He seemed more than a bit smitten with her. Somehow the woman had managed to earn his loyalty in only one day. Maybe she had rubbed his belly.
“And there’s more—” Nevis began.
“I don’t think it’s true,” Brody interrupted him.
“He still needs to hear it.” Nevis gave Leo a sympathetic look. “It’s rumored that she has a lover.”
Leo jolted back in his saddle. No. He ran a gloved hand over his hair, accidentally knocking off his hood. No. She was his betrothed.
He looked at her, and for some reason, she appeared equally stunned. She stared at him, her eyes wide, her face pale. Would she do that if she loved someone else?
“I heard she’s having an affair with one of the guards,” Nevis said.
“I don’t believe it,” Brody insisted. “I haven’t seen her meet anyone or make any attempts to arrange a meeting. Look at her. My lord, she has eyes only for you.”
True, Leo thought, as he watched her. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. She will be mine.
Suddenly she turned and walked away.
He winced. She wasn’t his yet.
Caw, caw. The seagulls mocked him. “Any leads on who the assassins could be?”
“Aye,” Nevis replied. “In the last two weeks, three new guardsmen were hired. I think they’re the assassins.”
Brody shook his head. “I think one of them is a priest. A few days ago, two new priests arrived.”
“Two priests?” Leo asked.
“Aye,” Brody replied. “There’s an elderly priest here who wanted to retire, so he requested a replacement, and the king sent two. An older man and a younger one, who looks too athletic to be a priest, if you ask me.”
Leo nodded. “The five newcomers are our best suspects. But we need to watch everyone. The king could have planted someone here long ago or recently bribed someone to switch loyalties. Nevis, I want you and your father to work with the guardsmen. While you’re training them, watch them like a hawk. Use as many of our soldiers as you need and rotate them, so the guards don’t realize they’re being watched. We want the assassins to make their move, so we can catch them.”
“Aye, sir,” Nevis replied with a quick nod.
“Brody will continue to watch over the Lady of Vindalyn.” Leo glanced up at the empty space where she had been standing. “Keep her safe.”
“Aye, my lord.” Brody inclined his head. “What about the priests?”
“I’ll go to the chapel soon to check on them.” Leo flexed his gloved hands. He agreed with Brody that the young priest seemed suspicious. The king already used his priests as spies. Why not use them as assassins, too?
Chapter Seven
Luciana rushed back to her bedchamber. It had been a shock to see the handsome, redheaded man on the black horse, especially when he seemed to match her prediction so well. But the Telling Stones were only a game. The gorgeous man could never change the truth.
She had to marry the Beast.
Images of her betrothed swirled in her mind. Bald head. Gray beard. Jagged red scar. A touch that would kill her?
Panic seized her, squeezing the air out of her lungs. Luna and Lessa, help me! She slammed her bedchamber door shut. Would anyone hear her if she screamed?
But all she could manage was a strangled whimper. She struggled to breathe as the room started to spin around her. How could she marry that old man? She fell to her knees, her mind flooded with more images of the Beast.
“Are you all right?” Tatiana eyed her curiously.
“Cannot … breathe.”
Tatiana knelt beside her. “I have to admit the Beast was a bit horrid looking. And older than I expected. But look at it this way. He could be great in bed! You know experience counts for something. And you could always keep the bedchamber dark so you don’t have to look—”
“Not helping,” Luciana gasped.
“Oh. Well, maybe you won’t have to bed him. Since his touch kills people, he might decide to leave you alone.”
Luciana moaned. Her survival was dependent on the mercy of a Beast?
“You had better pull yourself together,” Tatiana warned her. “If you fail at this, you’ll die, and Papa will die with you.”
Luciana was so surprised, she stopped gulping air. “Now ye want me to succeed?”
“I want Papa to live.” With a shrug, Tatiana rose to her feet. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to help you.”