“Yes. Two of the priests enjoy comfort. Expensive wine, fine furnishings, silk underclothes.” Leo spotted the three priests, who were approaching the duke and Tatiana.
“Those are probably the two older ones,” Nevis said. “They look like they’ve been eating well for years.”
“The third room was like a prison cell—narrow cot, rough blanket, no pillow.” Leo narrowed his eyes on the young priest, who resembled a black crow with his dark hair and long beak-like nose. “Under the cot, there was a whip with seven leather cords knotted with barbs. Stained with blood.”
“Damn.” Nevis grimaced. “He whips people?”
“That was my first thought. Then I discovered some of his undershirts had bloodstains on the back.” Leo scowled at the young priest, who was smirking at Tatiana. “He’s doing it to himself.”
“Sick bastard.”
“The shirts were too narrow for the older priests. I think—” Something about Tatiana’s face made Leo pause. She was disturbed by something the young priest had said.
“You think the younger one, Father Rune, is an assassin,” Nevis finished for him.
“Aye, and fanatical enough to believe he’s following the will of the Light.” Leo watched Tatiana and her father ascend the steps to the dais. General Harden joined them.
“The dinner’s starting.” Nevis headed for the stairs. “Maybe we can sit in a back corner without being seen.”
Leo didn’t move as he observed Brody trot over to the dais and scramble up to be next to Tatiana. She leaned over, cupping his face in her hands, and dammit to hell, his big snout was about two inches away from her breasts!
“Shit,” Leo muttered. He could practically see Brody drooling from here.
“Come on.” Nevis motioned impatiently. “I’m hungry.”
“I need to remain hidden.”
“Fine. I’ll bring two plates up here.”
“No. I have a mission for you.”
“What?” With an annoyed huff, Nevis approached the balcony railing. “Why don’t we eat first?” He leaned over the railing to look at the food. “Damn, it looks good.”
Leo eased back into the shadows. “Are you trying to announce our presence?”
“No one sees us,” Nevis insisted as he looked over the room. “Well, maybe a few have noticed me, but so what? I’m just one more of your officers here tonight in uniform. They’ll think I’m working on security detail. If I brought food up here, no one would think twice about it.”
With a groan, Leo dragged a hand through his hair, accidentally knocking his hood off. “We have more important matters to attend to. Right now, the castle guards are either here or on duty. That means the barracks will be empty. You should take this opportunity to search their rooms for hidden weapons or correspondence.”
“But what about—”
“The duke and his daughter will be safe for now. The general and some of my best officers are here, so we can leave. While you’re checking the barracks, I’ll examine Lady Tatiana’s room to see how secure it is. Come to my tent in two hours to report. And bring Brody with you.”
“But the banquet—”
“We can eat at the camp.” Leo gave him a wry look. “You don’t appear to be starving.”
Nevis thumped his stomach. “This is muscle!”
Leo snorted. “Go.” As his friend grumbled and tromped down the stairs, Leo glanced toward the dais once more.
Damn. His heart lurched. Tatiana had spotted him. Quickly, he scanned the room. Everyone else was focused on their food. But Tatiana was clearly watching him, her hand frozen with a spoon lifted halfway to her mouth.
He inclined his head.
Her eyes widened, and a pea tumbled from the spoon and landed in the tight valley between her breasts. With a gasp, she dropped the spoon and lifted a napkin to cover herself. She glanced at him again, her face blushing.
Yes. He had an effect on her. Just as she had an effect on him. He slowly smiled.
She glanced furtively around the room, but everyone was too busy eating and conversing with one another to notice her dilemma. Slowly, she eased a hand beneath the napkin to retrieve the pea. Then, her cheeks still flushed a rosy pink, she slipped the pea into her mouth.
Holy shit, he’d never seen anything so damned arousing. His groin swelled. She lowered her napkin to her lap, once again revealing the upper curves of her lovely breasts. Dammit, he was growing hard, and as far as he could tell, she didn’t have a clue what she was doing to him.
She would be the death of him. With a wince, he realized the opposite was far more likely. Dammit. He pulled up his hood and headed down the stairs.
Chapter Ten
Luciana hardly tasted any of her food, for her mind was racing with one alarming thought after another.
First, an imposter had listened to her confession.
Second, she was supposed to receive a message from her sisters at dawn tomorrow. It was going to be difficult with her guard following her every move, but she was determined to go through with it. Nothing would keep her from communicating with her sisters!
Third, her mother was somewhere in the castle. Luciana desperately wanted to meet her, but how could she manage to talk to her mother without her guard overhearing her? She certainly couldn’t risk anyone finding out that she possessed a supernatural power that only one of the Embraced could have. And tomorrow afternoon, she would acquire an additional guard from the Lord Protector’s army. She didn’t know why, but she assumed her betrothed was afraid she’d attempt an escape.