That’s what it all came down to for men such as this. Recognition. Wendenals and Locksleys hated the world because it wasn’t theirs. Guy shook his head. It was time to lead from a place of unity, not vanity. “I don’t need your respect,” he sighed. “Everyone else will stand for the man who stopped Robin Hood.”

In retrospect, he should have heard her approach.

He should have noticed the gasps on his men’s faces the moment before she struck.

Guy felt mail break in his lower back, barely punctured; a single shard of metal link stabbed the flesh in his already bruised ribs. The pain was no worse than the rest of his body, but it jolted Guy forward. Robin rose and plucked the longsword from his hands in that one moment of disadvantage. No amount of skill or valor or decency mattered in the instant of her craven attack from behind.

Arable was just fucking lucky.

“That’s a coward that does that,” he breathed.

Their positions had quickly reversed. Guy now kneeled before Robin, who clutched Guy’s sword in both hands, one on each knee as he buckled over to catch his breath. Arable held her stolen sword out in front of her, her heavy cloak whipping behind her, as though she were the greatest hero that ever walked the earth.

His men scattered. Some ran into the woods. Others were quickly surrounded and disarmed. “Fine then, don’t hurt them. You won. But damn you for it. Damn you for how you did it. You lied, you cheated.” Guy’s thoughts fluttered to the White Hand, stabbing Guardsmen in the back. Possibly he’d been the one to rally the villagers from Bernesdale. “You snuck one of your own amongst us. But you could only do that because we’re better than you. Because we trust one another. And we saw how your kind treat each other tonight, with suspicion. Poison. Murder. Remember what your friend said, the one you poisoned. I’d rather die with my people than live with yours.”

Robin didn’t answer him.

“We didn’t come out here to do violence upon your people, Robin, and you know it. We came peacefully, you answered with arrows.” Guy felt blood trickle to his lips. “We could have killed Will Scarlet and Elena Gamwell, could have taken our revenge for the men they murdered, but we didn’t. Not because we didn’t want to, but because it wouldn’t have been right. If you were ever once a man of conscience, I wonder what you’d say to that.”

“You think it was right to send Elena to poison me?” Robin said at last. “You think your hands are clean, you bastard?”

If it had gone well, it would have been a mercy. Robin couldn’t understand that.