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Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART I
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. PART II
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. PART III
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. INTERLUDE
  35. PART IV
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. INTERLUDE
  45. PART V
  46. THIRTY-FIVE
  47. THIRTY-SIX
  48. THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. THIRTY-EIGHT
  50. PART VI
  51. THIRTY-NINE
  52. FORTY
  53. FORTY-ONE
  54. FORTY-TWO
  55. FORTY-THREE
  56. FORTY-FOUR
  57. FORTY-FIVE
  58. INTERLUDE
  59. PART VII
  60. FORTY-SIX
  61. FORTY-SEVEN
  62. FORTY-EIGHT
  63. FORTY-NINE
  64. FIFTY
  65. FIFTY-ONE
  66. FIFTY-TWO
  67. PART VIII
  68. FIFTY-THREE
  69. FIFTY-FOUR
  70. FIFTY-FIVE
  71. FIFTY-SIX
  72. EPILOGUE
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  75. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  76. Newsletter Sign-up

“You were all there,” Locksley’s words were deliberate, “and nobody helped him until it was too late?” Silence. “He was fighting, and running, an old man, your lord, and you watched it happen.”

“That’s right, Locksley,” Elena snapped, furious at the accusation. “We were there. At the very least, we were there. I know my regrets, but I know that I tried like hell to stop what happened here.” She and Will had left their hiding place as soon as the black smoke erupted. They’d gathered well water. She’d worked side by side with the gords. She was there, for every devastating beat of it. “And where the hell were you?”

“That’s fine, Lena,” John quieted her.

“Like hell it is. What are your regrets, Robin? What did you do to try and stop this? Your first reaction is to accuse your father’s most loyal friends of neglecting him? Where’s your remorse for abandoning him?”

“I said that’s fine,” John repeated sternly, pawing her away toward the ruined staircase.

Locksley’s face betrayed no emotion, no humanity. He was interested in doling blame, nothing more. He had expressed no interest in the quality of his father’s life. Or where they buried his body. Nor what had happened to their own families in the aftermath. It wasn’t just Walter’s stable that burned, it was a home for a hundred, maybe twice that. It was livelihoods and survival and safety and family. Robin of Locksley was away plundering riches from foreign lands while they went hungry.

She could have left. Will would have gone in a heartbeat. They could have moved on to the next town, wandered on, pinched their way into something new. Instead they stayed, true to their group, part of it now. This arrogant ass was Lord Walter’s blood, he’d done literally nothing, and he wanted to know why they didn’t do more.

“Lord Walter hated the king, you know,” Elena spat.

John snapped at her. “That’s it, you’re done!”

She looked Robin in the eye. “You deserted your father to protect a man he hated.” If there was any part of Robin of Locksley that had a soul, Elena was glad to have a role in crushing it.

He just stared, with those dull beady eyes, full of hate. It’s easy for a man to hate. It’s the easiest thing in the world. Why wouldn’t Walter’s laziest son be an expert at it?

SEVENTEEN

MARION FITZWALTER

LOCKSLEY CASTLE