Chapter 6
“You knew?” Ian turned to Erich.
His younger brother, standing taller by half a hand, was grinning down at him.
“You have been working with Robin for nearly half a season, and you did not tell anyone?” Ian felt an unusual burst of anger inside him—at what, he was not sure.
Perhaps it was the shame of being left in the dark; perhaps it was the constant worry for the safety of his family members.
Watching Aden turn into a beast, almost losing Erich, and now riding out to save Meena were all taking a toll on him.
And here Erich was, gallivanting around with highly sensitive information and collaborating with a powerful organization that operated outside of the law.
When he got back to the castle, Ian planned to have a long talk with Onric so they could give their youngest brother a serious talking-to.
Onric, of course, would be properly enraged at Erich’s heedlessness. Unless . . .
“Erich?” Ian asked slowly. “Did you tell Onric about Robin?” Ian knew that the very woman he was talking about still stood right next to him, but he could not worry about her reaction at the moment.
Eric shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t recall,” he said, but his eyes darted away from Ian’s face as he said it.
Ian felt another surge of anger, this one undoubtedly directed at Erich. Clearly, his brother had already told Onric about Robin. “And Aden. Does Aden know?”
“He was gone then,” Erich replied, looking back at Ian. So that answer was true, but it was also evasive.
“Right, but did you tell him after he returned?” Ian said.
“That was so long ago!” Erich’s voice was forcibly cheerful, but Ian could feel the strain behind it. “Do you expect me to remember every conversation I’ve ever had?” Erich was getting frustrated by this interrogation, but Ian was not done yet.
“Please tell me our sweet, innocent sister has not been informed that her childhood hero is now a common thief.” Ian let his voice rise in anger if not in pitch.
“Thank you,” Robin interjected. “That common thief is standing right here.”
Ian waved a hand at her. This was between him and Erich, and he would apologize later.
He could not fathom that his brothers had known about and worked with Robin without telling him.
Surely they had not drug Meena into their deception.
“Meena would never survive that kind of betrayal,” he said, though his words were likely more about himself than his sister and he knew it.
“Our sweet, innocent sister who married a Majis and helped destroy two centuries’ worth of stored magic? That sister?” Erich said. “Is it her betrayal we are speaking of, or yours?”
Ian felt the urge to swing his fist against his brother’s face.
“No,” Erich continued, his voice dropping to a quieter pitch. “I did not tell her.”
“You didn’t?” Ian’s chest expanded in relief at this one small victory.
“No, I didn’t need to.” Erich grinned. “It was Robin who helped Sol escape Istroya, so I’m assuming Sol told her.”
Ian turned away from his brother.
Robin stood beside him, a smirk on her face, as she shamelessly listened to their conversation.
Ian glowered at her.
“What?” she said. “You were speaking of me. I had every right to listen.”
Ian also turned away from her. He wanted to be alone, but the small clearing under the oak tree had slowly been filling with people. The other Iseldan guard had made it back safely and was sitting beside Kiral.
The sight of Kiral’s bandaged arm brought Ian back to the present moment. His anger at Erich—and Onric, and Aden, and all of them—would have to wait. But as the anger dissipated, a confusing sadness rose to take its place.
Ian turned back to Erich. “Why?” he asked.
“Because you said,” Erich replied, “‘Never speak that name in my presence again.’”
Ian’s anger came back, strong and surprisingly explosive. “That was ten years ago!” he hissed. “I was barely sixteen.”
Erich shrugged. “But you never took it back. So we decided . . . Well, we never officially decided on it, but we all just thought it would be better not to tell you. Because . . .” Erich gestured at Ian, then turned to Robin. “Your name is the only thing that has ever made him angry.”
Ian brought a single hand up to his forehead. “Don’t tell her that.” Even if his brother’s words were true, he did not want Robin to know how badly he had missed her.
She had left him.
She had walked—well, ridden—away from him. He had written her, letter after letter. But she had never responded. So yes, when he was sixteen, the sound of her name had made him angry. But he had buried those feelings long ago, along with the name that he had not spoken aloud since. Until tonight.
“Why were you traveling south today?” Robin asked. She had dropped the jesting tone, and she sounded focused and serious. When Ian lowered his hand to look at her, the smirk was gone.
“We need to get to Meena,” Ian explained. “She sent a messenger that she and Sol will land on tonight’s tide . . .”
Robin nodded, and Ian realized that Sol had probably sent word to her as well.
“Of course you already know that,” Ian continued. “Did you know that they have been found out by Gareth? She requested an unmarked retinue to escort her back to the castle under cover of darkness tonight.”
Robin’s eyebrows furrowed. “Her ship is arriving sometime tonight, but she is not on it. I have already arranged for some of my men to have her disembark early, and they are taking her to a safe port further down the gulf. Meena would have known this as it was all coordinated with Sol before they left. How did this message reach you?”
Ian crossed his arms, concern knotting in his belly. “By a messenger from the port city this morning. I . . . did not recognize him.”
“And this messenger specifically requested that you travel unmarked?” Robin asked.
Ian nodded.
Robin’s eyes narrowed into a tight squint. “We overheard information that an unmarked noble from Chendas would be riding south tonight on this very road.”
Ian considered her words. “So this entire attack was orchestrated by Gareth,” Ian said. “Clever. But who was his target? You or I?”
“Who is to say?” Robin replied. “Possibly both.”
“Then where is Meena?” Ian asked, alarm growing in his chest. If Gareth knew all of this, then he had likely captured the princess already.
“She should be safe,” Robin said. “My men should have met with her ship yesterday, and Gareth should not have known that.” Robin looked up at him then, concern in her eyes. “But there is only one way to find out.”
Ian noticed that three of Robin’s bandits stood behind her, listening in on their conversation now that it seemed to pertain to all of them.
They needed to get to the port, or wherever it was on the southern coast that Robin had planned to bring Meena and Sol.
“We no longer have horses, and the port is still a two-hour ride away,” Ian responded.
He turned to Erich as another thought crossed his mind.
“We need to send someone back to inform Father.”
“The horses cannot have gone far,” Erich replied. “If we can get back to the road, we will probably find them.”
“Unless Gareth’s men took them,” Ian said.
“We routed them good,” the oldest of Robin’s bandits cut in. “I would not worry about encountering them anytime soon.”
“As we pushed them down the road, Rigelt kept casting pockets of darkness,” a young woman explained to Robin. “They were confused, separated, and turning tail when we left them.”
“Good work,” Robin said, a smile returning to her face.
She nodded at a red-haired man standing a few paces away.
“Some of us will have to travel north to get back to Lockwood,” she continued, stepping back to include everyone in the discussion.
“Let us all go in that direction and search for a few horses. If we find one, I will ride on to the port, and the rest of you can head to Lockwood and get a few mounts.”
The only horses Ian had seen were the ones his party had ridden. He noticed that Robin had not asked permission to take one of them.
“I can run ahead and send horses out to meet you,” Nele offered. “It would save us some time.”
“You have the energy for that?” Robin asked.
“The night is young,” Nele replied.
“Thank you,” Robin said. The words were hardly out of her mouth before the younger woman dashed into the darkness.
Ian watched the exchange with admiration. This mismatched crew responded to Robin’s leadership with ease and loyalty.
“As much as I want to see Meena,” Erich said, drawing Ian’s attention, “I should be the one to return home and alert Father. If Gareth is ready to attack us at this large of a scale, even if it is covertly, he needs to know immediately.”
Ian nodded. “I will see that Meena is safe. Take Kiral with you.”
“And Lane,” Robin said, looking at the youngest man in her bandit crew.
The man in question nodded. Ian had the vague memory that this Lane looked familiar, but he did not have time to entertain the thought. “I will guide them back to Iseldis,” Lane said, “using the less-traveled roads to avoid any further patrols by Gareth’s soldiers.”
“Ian and Ulli,” Robin said. “With me. We will search for the horses while the rest of you head toward Lockwood.”
With the plan set, the bandit group quickly dispersed. The older woman, who had been at the tree first, picked up her satchel of medical supplies and put out the single lantern that was lighting the area.
Ian blinked in the darkness, falling into line behind Robin as she led them through the trees and back to the main road.
While he was not sure they would find the other horses, Ian had no doubt that they would find Rowena near the site of the attack.
If he had to guess, she would have continued to run south until she could no longer hear the sounds of the battle.
Then, she would have stopped near something large and stable enough to make her feel safe while she stayed quiet in the darkness.
Erich’s mount was trained to do the same, but based on their positioning when the soldiers attacked, Ian guessed that Erich’s mount had ended up further north on the road.
By the time they reached the road, Ian’s eyes had adjusted to the night as much as they were able. The road appeared empty and quiet. “How far are we from the place of the attack?” Ian asked.
“It was just around that bend,” Robin replied, pointing north.
“Rowena would have gone further south,” Ian said, leading the way. He wanted to whistle out to his horse, but that felt risky when they did not know if any of Gareth’s soldiers had returned.
They walked silently down the dirt road, hugging the side of it so they could easily slip into the trees should they need to.
After a few minutes, Ian thought he could see a large white shape up ahead. Risking it, he let out a low whistle.
A nervous whinny replied, and the shape trotted toward him.
“Good girl,” Ian said, dropping his voice to a lower register. He slid his hands up the side of Rowena’s face, scratching the hard bone between her eyes.
She leaned into him, nudging him happily.
“There is no sign of the other horses,” Robin said, stepping forward to place a hand on Rowena’s shoulder.
“They are probably further north,” Ian replied.
“I am anxious to get to Meena,” Robin said. “Can she take us both?”
“With ease,” Ian replied. “She will not be able to travel as quickly, but I cannot find Meena without you.”
“Nor would you let me go on without you,” Robin said. Ian could hear the smile in her voice.
She was right, of course, but he did not feel the need to say so.
“I’ll go north for the other horses,” Ulli said. “Then, follow on foot as fast as I can if need be.”
As Ulli disappeared in the darkness, Ian stepped around Rowena and offered his clasped hands to help Robin mount the tall horse.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Robin put her foot into his hands and effortlessly swung up over the large animal, her trousers offering her ease of movement.
Keeping his hand under Rowena’s chin, Ian led her down the road for several steps until he found a fallen tree to use as a mounting block.
Swinging up behind Robin felt awkward. It had been years since he’d ridden two to a mount.
Wrapping his arms around Robin, he reached down to take the reins from her hands. “She knows my lead,” he said.
Robin wordlessly surrendered the reins to him, and he quietly urged his horse down the road.
While Ian was used to Rowena’s large gait, he was not used to having another weighted body affected by that gait. Ian’s feet were in the stirrups, but Robin was relying on his back and the grip of her knees to remain mounted.
She swayed effortlessly with the horse, keeping her balance in the safe circle of his arms.
She always had been an excellent rider.
“How is Humphrey?” Ian asked, able to keep his voice low since his mouth was so close to her ear.
She leaned her head to the side, tilting her face back up toward him. “Living the delight of his old age in the fields behind Lockwood Manor.”
“I am glad to hear it,” Ian said, a smile on his lips. He truly meant it. The old donkey had been Robin’s treasured companion when she had lived at the castle all those years ago.
In the silence that followed, Ian found the smile fading from his face as long-buried memories surfaced.
Robin was the first—and only—woman he had ever kissed. They had both been young then, inseparable companions after she’d lost her parents and come to live at the castle as the ward of his father.
She had been his equal in every way, able to best him in fencing and challenge his thinking, and always ready to lead him on a fun adventure away from his responsibilities.
That was, until his father had decided that she should return to her home of Lockwood. And suddenly, she had been gone.
Ian had written to her, sending her letters almost daily throughout that goldenreign. She had never responded.
He shifted his weight behind her, confused at the enticing warmth her current presence provided but not wanting to be close to her as the pain of her absence came back to him.