Chapter Five
Landyn searched the felled Templar Knightsand took what he could carry to return to le Bezu. He retrieved his horse and, on the way back to Raven, gathered the reins of any horses that remained.
She knelt at her father’s side, and sympathy washed over him. He reached out a hand to her, but then lowered it. While John was a good friend of his and Landyn would miss him, he was Raven’s father. Nothing could comfort that loss. Nothing he said would wipe away her grief. He remembered when his own father passed. He had been just a boy, and still he recalled how shocked and distraught he had been seeing his father lowered into the earth.
He dropped the reins of the horses and led John’s steed forward. He looked at Raven’s slouched shoulders. Her bloodied hands were curled before her in her lap and her gaze was on the ground.
Landyn tugged open a string on one of his steed’s saddlebags. He removed a cloth and returned to her side. Bending to one knee, he reached for her hand.
She lifted her gaze to him.
He was struck by the complete devastation in her eyes. Tears ringed her thick lashes, but as far as he could tell, she had not shed one drop.
He collected one of her hands. As he wiped the blood from her hand, he noticed how small it was compared to his. He carefully and gently scrubbed her palm until her tan skin emerged from the deep red. Then he eased her hand down. Before he could grasp her other one, she slid the cloth from his fingers and began to work on it. Her fingers rubbed her thumb with the cloth and pushed the material over her palm.
He shifted his gaze to her face. Her skin was flawless, her cheekbones high. There was a slight scowl on her brow and her almond-shaped eyes were heavy with sadness. “He was a good man,” Landyn told her. It was a weak statement of sentiment, but he couldn’t convey his loss.
She paused her movements before continuing to wipe her hand without acknowledging him.
“Will you be well?” he asked.
Again, she hesitated, clenching the cloth in a fisted grip. Her chin quivered before she murmured, “Of course.” She swallowed, lifted her chin, and stood. She straightened her back. “Let’s get my father on his horse and head back to le Bezu.”
Landyn looked down the road. “The men who attacked us headed that way. We’ll have to be careful.”
Her lip curled in a sneer and hatred burned in her eyes. “Who were they?”
“I believe they were the king’s men. But I can’t prove it.”
“And the man with the eye patch. Who is he?”
Landyn faltered. “Why do you ask?”
“He is a walking dead man,” she explained coldly.
Landyn bridled. Her hatred was all-consuming. It poured out from her heart, threatening to scorch all in its path. He recognized this darkness. She was going after the man with the eye patch. She was going to kill him. He shook his head, denying her the information. “John wouldn’t have wanted this path for you. He said to find your sisters.”
Raven nodded, standing. “And that is exactly what I plan to do. After I find my father’s murderer.” She tossed the cloth aside and stepped up to her horse.
Landyn gazed at her in shock. He was familiar with intense anger and remorse, her need for vengeance, from personal experience. But it didn’t help. It couldn’t help her heal. “Killing him will not bring your father back.”
“No,” she agreed with a clenched jaw. “But it will send a message to everyone else—never hurt my family.”
He grabbed her arm. “Find your sisters. Don’t let the rage consume you.”
She pulled her arm free. “I’m not asking for your approval.” Raven took the reins of John’s horse and guided it into position beside her father.
Landyn stood firmly rooted in discontentment. She was on a deadly, lonely path. And if John hadn’t asked him to take care of her, he would have left her. He didn’t want to be swept into that darkness again. It had taken him a long time to break free of it.
She bent down and grabbed her father beneath his shoulders.
He clenched his lips. John’s final order was to look out for her. He owed his friend at least that much. Landyn stalked to Raven’s side and indicated John’s feet with a tip of his chin.
Raven relinquished her father’s shoulders and moved to his feet.
Together, they lifted him and placed him over his horse. Landyn pushed him up, situating him so he wouldn’t fall.
Raven mounted her horse.
