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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

Every color burned brighter than it had ever been. The boy was there again, the girl, too, and Roger told his arms to stop them, but they just hung at his sides as the knives bit into his chest again, once, twice, three times each, and the wall behind him disappeared.

He had so much to do, he would be late to talk to Lord Oughtibridge. For some reason he remembered Arable telling him he was a good man, and her poor face. Someone had hurt her and he’d never asked more, he had neglected to take care of her. Something slipped out of him, and then he drifted into dark.

THIRTY-EIGHT

WILLIAM DE WENDENAL

LOCKSLEY CASTLE

WILLIAM HAD ONLY BEEN here once, and briefly at that. Though the sun was yet to set, the full moon hovered over Locksley Castle, waiting. “Peace or no peace,” William had told Robin as they parted, “by then we’ll have done what we can.” Simple words then, that carried so much weight now.

Locksley Castle looked beaten. If stones could look soft, this castle was a wet rag flung against a craggy hill. A month ago he had only seen it after darkfall, but this time there was light enough for him to take it in. This barren stone corpse. It must have been a terrible homecoming, and his heart hurt for Robin. As much as his old friend claimed to have left his father behind, William could tell there was a softer truth there, one too tender to probe.

William clicked his tongue and pulled the horses back, sliding from the saddle to the road. He memorized a clump of trees and the crook of the path, leading the horses into the thick to the west. He’d brought one for Robin, too. William rewarded each horse with one of the apples Arable had packed.

“Peace or no peace.” It almost made him laugh, that they had thought peace was an option. We wanted to send a peace offer, and they sent assassins. He’d been as blind as Roger to believe that, given the option, all people wanted peace. That was a dream that had died with de Lacy.

IT COULDN’T HAVE BEEN more than ten minutes after he and Arable left the baron in his office when Nottingham Castle tore itself apart. Shouts are different than screams, and these were screams that ripped through its halls. They had just broken into Gisbourne’s private quarters, desperately searching for a letter that wasn’t there, and they thought they had been caught. In the helpless depth of one minute, they made promises to each other, wistful wishes in what they feared were their final moments together.