How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (The Embraced #1)

Mother Ginessa paced across her office, then turned with a defiant look. “Nay. I will not have this. Ye will tell yer daughter—”

“She is my daughter,” he ground out. “That means the decision is mine.”

“Nay, the decision is hers!” Mother Ginessa pointed at Luciana. “This is not the mainland where the men order the women about. Yer daughter is well educated and perfectly capable of making a decision for herself.”

“I cannot ask her to do this for me!”

Mother Ginessa snorted. “Ye felt fine with it less than an hour ago.”

“I was wrong!” He grimaced, clenching his fists. “I thought I could do it, but I dare not. I’ve lost one daughter. I cannot risk losing the other.”

“Why would ye lose me?” Luciana asked, but he shook his head, refusing to answer.

Mother Ginessa scoffed. “Clearly ye don’t understand the way yer daughter has been raised. Here, in the Kingdom of Moon and Mist, a queen is our ruler. Women run the fish market while their husbands are away fishing. Women manage the shops while their men are away on their trading ships. Ye will tell yer daughter everything she needs to know, and then she will make the decision—”

“I will not endanger her,” he insisted.

“Then ye endanger yerself!” the nun yelled. “If ye go back without her, ye’ll be executed.”

Luciana gasped.

The duke gritted his teeth. “You overstep yourself, madam.”

Mother Ginessa merely shrugged. “My convent, my rules.”

“My daughter, my decision.”

“Nay.” Luciana lifted her chin. “Ye will tell me. I have the right to know.”

He sighed. “You’re so much like your sister.” His mouth lifted with a wry smile. “Every bit as stubborn.”

“Stubborn? Ha!” Tatiana turned her back.

Luciana sat on the footstool. “Tell me everything.”

With a groan, he settled back in the armchair. “All right, then. What do you know of Eberon?”

“Of the four mainland kingdoms, it is the closest to the islands,” Luciana began. “’Tis named after two major rivers—the Ebe River in the north and the Ron River to the south. The capital is Ebton, which lies on the Ebe—”

“Very good,” he interrupted. “And the history?”

“Seventy years ago, the nobles rose up in rebellion against a tyrant king. The leader was the Earl of Benwick. He became king and founded the royal House of Benwick.”

The duke nodded. “Then the king rewarded those who had helped him by giving them tracts of land. His greatest ally, Allesandro Vintello, became the Duke of Vindalyn. He received a large amount of land far to the south.”

“He was yer ancestor?” Luciana asked.

The duke smiled. “Yours, too. The land was considered too dry and too far away from the royal court in Ebton. Nobles usually prefer to be closer. But Allesandro was a wise man. He planted vineyards and olive trees. After years of hard work, Vindalyn became famous for its wine and olive oil. The castle of Vindemar on the Southern Sea is one of the strongest fortresses in the kingdom. Now Vindalyn is the richest and safest duchy in Eberon.”

Luciana glanced at her goblet. The wine they drank at the convent came from Vindalyn. All these years she’d been drinking it without knowing it came from her father’s land.

“Unfortunately,” the duke continued, “the House of Benwick has now become as corrupt as the tyrant they once usurped. What do you know of the current king?”

“King Frederic,” she replied. “He has ruled for almost thirty years. He has one son—his heir, Prince Tedric.”

“Exactly.” The duke gave her a wry look. “But no doubt your books have refrained from mentioning how cruel and ruthless Frederic is. He detests the nobles who own so much land and the allegiance of a great many vassals. So he has devised several methods for stealing the land back. One way is to deny a noble permission to marry. If there is no legitimate heir to inherit, the land reverts to the Crown.”

Luciana blinked. “Is that why ye didn’t marry again?”

The duke nodded. “He doesn’t want me to have a male heir. Frederic has craved my land for years.”

Luciana bit her lip. With Tatiana gone, she was next in line to inherit.

“Another way the king steals land is by ordering a nobleman to fulfill a task for him. If the nobleman fails, he is declared a traitor to the Crown, and he and his entire family are executed. With no heirs left alive, the land goes to the king.”

Luciana winced. The king was definitely a tyrant.

The duke leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “A month ago, the king decreed that Tatiana must marry his nephew, Lord Leofric of Benwick, the current Lord Protector of the Realm.”

“Ugh.” Tatiana shuddered. “The Beast of Benwick. It’s enough to make me grateful I died.”

“I was ordered to deliver her to court,” the duke said.

“Would ye not be excused if ye explain that yer daughter has died?” Luciana asked.

“There are no excuses for disobeying a royal command. Frederic is eager to label me a traitor and seize my land.” The duke sighed. “Then all my people would come under his power and be subjected to his harsh rule.”

And ye’ll be executed, Luciana thought. But the duke hadn’t mentioned that. He seemed more concerned about the welfare of the people who depended on him. And he’d planned to return home without letting her know about the danger he was in. He did love her. He loved her so much he was willing to face execution in order to keep her safe.

There, she thought as a pang reverberated in her chest. There was the kind of love she’d always craved in her heart. And there was the connection, the resemblance. She loved her sisters with the same kind of love he was showing for her.

Her heart swelled. This was the man she wanted as her father. And he needed her.

Tears filled her eyes. “That’s why ye need me self to go with you. So ye can deliver a daughter to the royal court as ye were ordered.”