Chapter 15
Marcus’s lips tightened in irritation.“It could have been anyone. Robbers, perchance?”
“Robbers wouldn’t dress as Templar knights to attack us,” Sage responded.
“And that’s another thing,” Marcus protested, disliking her reasoning. “If Guillume was going to try to kill me, why would he have his men dress as Templar knights? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Sage nodded. “Unless he didn’t want to be connected to the attempt. He would have his enemies to blame for his cousin’s death.”
It was sound reasoning. Lord, he hated her analytical mind sometimes. “He is my cousin,” Marcus insisted, angered at the idea. “We are family.”
Sage looked away from him, pursing her lips in an attempt to keep silent.
Marcus inhaled to calm himself. “Guillume would never do that.” And yet, even as he proclaimed his cousin’s innocence, doubt festered at the corners of his mind. Guillume had become the king’s pawn. He was ruthless. But surely, not against his cousin. Marcus had gone after the book without question. He had defended Guillume’s innocence in killing the pope to many people, including Sage. And for her to insinuate that his cousin was responsible for the attack on his life was repulsive. He shook his head. “Maybe they weren’t after me. Maybe they were after you.”
Sage shrugged, a grin curving her lips. “Maybe.”
“Maybe they weren’t after the book. I mean, they never asked about it.”
Sage bobbed her head patiently.
Marcus’s eyes narrowed. She was placating him.
“If they knew we had the book, they wouldn’t need to ask,” Sage stated.
He clenched his teeth. Everything she said made sense. Still, he refused to believe his cousin would try to have him killed. Guillume was family, the closest thing to a brother he had. He ground his teeth, incensed at the thought, infuriated that she had put the idea in his head.
She sighed. “Marcus, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just want you to be aware of all the possibilities.”
“What would you do if I suggested one of your family wanted to kill you?” he demanded.
She considered his words silently for a moment, her finger pausing in the lone lock of long hair at the side of her face. Then, a smile bubbled on her lips, and she fought to keep a straight face. “Laugh.”
Marcus sighed. Her grin was contagious, and he couldn’t help but answer her amusement with his own grin. “Granted. It wouldn’t happen for you. I am envious.”
“Envious?” she echoed in surprise.
“To have a family that you could depend on like that.” Marcus paused, glancing at his horse near a tree. His horse was the only constant family he had interacted with in years. And he hadn’t even named him. “It must be nice.”
“Nice?” she scoffed. “You don’t know what it is like to have so much pressure on you. You have to learn to fight. And you have to be good. Father’s skill was the level we endeavored to attain.” She shook her head. “I just couldn’t live up to it.”
Marcus scowled. “I heard he is an admirable fighter.”
“Admirable? He is thebest. Raven and Willow idolized him. But not me.” Sage leaned back against the tree. “I was different. I wanted to learn. I wanted always to know why. And they looked at me…” She turned to him, and anguish shone on her face in the light of the moon. “As though they couldn’t understand me.”
Marcus’s gaze swept her. A thin girl. Looking at her, one would think she needed protection. But they would be wrong. Still, her admission of feeling as an outsider in her own family made him want to put his arms around her and console her.
“Don’t get me wrong. I love them. I do. I would do anything for them. They’re my family,” she clarified.
He stood and moved to her side to sit. He rested his shoulder against hers and bent his head to whisper, “But they’re not like you.”
“No,” she admitted with gratitude. She swiveled her head, and her breath washed over his face.
His gaze skimmed from her eyes to rest on her lips. Such full, kissable lips. It was a mistake. He had no place with her. She would return to her family, and he would continue working as a mercenary. He knew he should stay far away.
But he couldn’t.
She leaned forward and wrapped her fingers in the hair at his nape. She tilted her lips toward his.
