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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

“I’m going to fix this.” He stooped his head and leaned into her, an easy answer that she did not want to grant him. “Besides, it’s only a guess. It’s been two weeks and nothing has happened. De Lacy could be sheriff for years still. But either way, I will fix something for you.”

“How?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out. But you don’t have to live in fear, never, not again.”

A moment ago he was complaining how ineffectual he was, and now he thought he could solve her entire life with a wave of his hand. The disappointment was a familiar feeling. She had learned how to live on her own, and she didn’t need him to protect her. She would find a way to fix her own problems, as she always had. He would be gone in another two weeks, and there was nothing he could do to keep his promises from a thousand miles away.

But while he was still here, all she wanted was for him to pretend she was as important to him as he was to her.

“Promise me you won’t keep these things from me,” she said, tugging at his sleeves. “No secrets, not between us.”

“I promise.” His voice was resolute. “And I’m sorry.”

“Alright,” she said, though it wasn’t. She moved away from the edge, having lost her interest in watching the city. But she let him walk with her. Their time together was already so short, there was no point in holding a grudge against him.

And she suddenly had far more pressing matters to concern herself with.

TWENTY-EIGHT

ELENA GAMWELL

THE GREAT OAK

“GOOD, ELENA.”

No, it wasn’t. She glared at Locksley. She had missed the mark by an arm, and it was barely twenty feet away. Locksley’s archery lessons were amateur, giving even terrible bowmen like Alan the false impression they had a knack for it. Elena had missed because she shifted all her weight onto a single foot, hovering the other just above the ground. Not because it was good form. To train herself to shoot under the worst circumstances. If she ever needed to shoot an enemy less than twenty feet away, she wouldn’t have the luxury to square her feet and steady her shot.

But Locksley complimented her. “Good, Elena.”

No, she wasn’t.

Locksley’s view of their world was limited to flippant encounters with nobles traveling the Sherwood Road. Yes, they had made easy coin with little trouble, and yes, they built a helpful reputation amongst the villages. But they had traded their freedom for dependency. Dependent on the right marks coming within their grasp. Dependent on Marion selling their loot to her anonymous friends. Stealing from the rich and selling to the rich was just another kind of slavery.