Landyn’s hand clenched her arm. “Wait,” he warned.
The blond-haired man marched toward the wagons. The other men followed him.
Unable to wait another moment, she shook her arm free and immediately moved to a tree before the road. She glanced down the road in the direction of the wagons.
The black-tunicked men were mounting horses. The man with the blond hair was already atop his steed, charging away down the road toward le Bezu.
The crates on the wagons had all been opened. Two chests had been shoved from the first wagon and rested in the mud of the road with the inside of the wooden boxes visible. Two on the second wagon had been pushed onto their sides, one hanging precariously on the edge. All of them were empty.
Templar Knights in white tunics lay scattered over the road and around the wagon like pristine piles of flowers.
Raven looked back at her father. His knee was pointed up toward the sky, but he was still lying flat on his back. Not moving. She looked again at the retreating men as they galloped away.
“Raven,” Landyn whispered.
Raven wasn’t listening. She dashed across to the road and fell to her knees at her father’s side. His eyes were closed. Her anguished stare swept his torso. His bloodied hand covered his abdomen. “Father.” Her voice was a whisper ripped from her soul.
He winced and gritted his teeth, opening his eyes to slits.
Raven gasped hopefully.
He tried to sit up; his hand pressed tightly over his stomach. “You have to get out of here,” he commanded.
She shook her head, refusing to leave. Blood oozed through his fingers. She had seen many wounds in her life. The location of his injury and the amount of blood he was losing were concerning. Her hands trembled as she reached for his injury.
“Landyn,” he growled. “Get her out of here.”
Landyn had come up behind her and took hold of her arm.
She tore her arm free of his hold. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“I’ll be well,” her father said through clenched teeth.
She knew it was a lie. Blood pooled in the mud at his side, creating little swirls of red liquid in the rainwater. “Let me look at it.”
He grabbed her hand, squeezing it. Blood smeared across her fingers and for a moment she could only stare at her father’s blood on her skin.
“Raven,” he growled.
She looked into his dark eyes. His face was ghastly pale. She knew death was coming.
“You have to leave,” he commanded.
She shook her head.
“They’ll come back. And I’m counting on you.”
Her mind refused to focus. What was he talking about? She had to save his life.
“Raven, you have to find your sisters,” he said. “You have to leave me.”
Angered by his suggestion of abandoning him, she leaned toward him. For the second time in her life, she refused his direct command. Her voice wavered as she declared, “Hawkes don’t leave Hawkes. You taught us that.”
He stared into her eyes and with a sigh, he reclined back.
At that moment, she knew she would lose him. He would never relinquish command. And she would never admit defeat. She twisted toward the road and put her fingers to her lips to whistle loudly for Thunder.
Her father began to sit up with a frown on his face.
