“What Will and Elena did was dangerous.” Robin paced around the fire. “Not just for themselves, but for everyone here. The problem with being invisible is that we’ll all be held accountable for each other’s actions. Every one of us could be hanged for the death of the Sheriff, no matter how uninvolved we were. But don’t forget, that door swings both ways. Every act of kindness, every victory, is distributed to all of us as well. So. We need a plan.”

“A plan?” Tuck’s voice was incredulous, and mirrored Marion’s own silent reaction. “The plan is we hide, and hope for the best.”

“With all respect, Friar, that’s simply not an option now.”

“It’s the only option,” Arthur protested. “There’s barely any of us left.”

Robin flashed a whimsical smile. “You haven’t left the camp for days then, I’m guessing?” All around, he was greeted with blank stares. “You couldn’t be more wrong, Arthur. There’s more of you than ever now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Word traveled fast about the Sheriff. He wasn’t exactly a popular man. Every village I’ve been to, there’s a crowd ready to rise up. Ready to join. What Will and Elena did was rash … but it tipped the scales. The people of Nottingham are ready to fight.”

While a rush of excitement breathed into the crowd, Marion cursed herself. This encouraging news was most welcome, but it was the sort of information she should have already known. Once again, the time she spent in the Oak Camp had cost her. She should have known about this swelling of support in the villages, but she’d spent all her time licking her wounds. She vowed not to be blindsided again.

“How do you think Robin found me?” Alan was saying, with a rare glow of confidence. “I was some sort of hero out there, everyone I met wanted to know more!”

“We’ve got the momentum, and we have to seize it,” Robin said. “Now more than ever. There’s a new sheriff, William de Wendenal, and he’s coming for us.”

Arthur snorted. “That’s nothing new.”

“You may remember him. He’s a friend of mine. Or was, that is.” He looked to the side, rolled his tongue in his lower lip. Marion knew the tic, he was pushing his emotions down. “I know him, I know how he thinks. De Lacy was nothing compared to what Wendenal could become. He’s sharp, he’s ambitious. He’s damned good, is what he is, good at everything. Better than you all, better than me, too. Our only advantage is that he’s new to the seat, he won’t know how things work. It will take him some time to get on his feet, but if we let him … then that’s it.” Robin seemed short with his words. “So we have to strike quickly.”