Landyn gathered up the reins of the other horses and tied them to his steed’s saddle. Then he mounted his own.
Raven took the lead, moving slowly past the wagons. Her gaze swiveled to look at the open crates.
Landyn cringed. He knew she would be angry when she found out why they were empty. He sighed softly. She was going to be a lot of trouble for him. He had planned to help her find her sisters and leave her to their care. But he hadn’t imagined her need for revenge. If John had not asked him to care for her, Landyn would see her back to le Bezu and depart. She was on a path that could lead only to death.
The horses needed to rest and so they paused as the sun began to rise over the horizon.
Raven wanted to keep going. She wanted to reach the chateau as soon as possible. She was restless and on edge. Her muscles clenched as she stood beneath a tree, near a stream where Thunder and the other horses drank. Her gaze was on the road, and she crossed her arms, swaying from side to side as if ready to run. The only thing she could see in her mind was the man with the eye patch. Her upper lip curled, and her body shook. He had brutally killed her father.
“Raven,” Landyn called.
She swiveled her gaze to him. Landyn held out a flask. She shook her head and turned her stare back to the road. She would find that man with the eye patch and kill him for what he’d done.
She glanced at her father’s body hanging over his horse. Grief welled inside her. She still couldn’t believe he was dead. It didn’t seem real. She didn’t even know why he had died, what his last mission really was. Those crates. Had the men taken what was inside of them? Or had they been empty to begin with?
All those Templar Knights had fought to defend what was inside of the crates and lost their lives doing so. She shook her head. Even if it had been treasure, it was a waste of good lives.
Chills raced along her shoulders. Empty crates? Her sisters missing? An unexplained job that sent her father to his death? Brother Nicolas’s murder? It was all too much to handle.
She took a breath and refocused. Nothing mattered except for finding the man with the eye patch.
“What are your sisters’ names?” Landyn asked, coming up beside her. “Willow and…”
“Sage,” Raven answered. Of course, he would know of Willow. Every man had at least heard of her. She was beautiful and appealing to men. Raven didn’t know if it was Willow’s beautiful blonde hair, her charisma, or both. But men found her irresistible.
Sage was quiet and smart. Brilliantly smart. She could pick locks without trouble. She could figure out any puzzle quicker than any of them.
Raven loved both her sisters. She didn’t know how she was going to tell them their father was dead. And that she was with him but couldn’t save him. It was her job to protect the family. As the oldest, she was supposed to look out for her sisters, and she didn’t even know where they were. It would have been easy to blame Sage for insisting they go to the chateau instead of following her father’s orders. But Raven knew she was just as responsible as either of her sisters. If only she had tried harder to talk Sage out of translating the book, they would be together. Sadness fell upon her like a black cloud. She swallowed past a lump in her throat and bowed her head. She had failed her family.
“You couldn’t have saved him,” Landyn said.
Shocked, she turned to him. She shook her head. “You are wrong.”
His eyes glided over her face. They were dark like his hair. His jaw was square and strong. “If you had tried, you would have been dead alongside him. There were too many men.”
She peered down at the brown earth beneath her booted feet. “At least I wouldn’t have failed trying to defend him.”
“What about your sisters? Who would tell them what happened? Who would look out for them?”
She clenched her teeth. He was using her father’s order against her. She nodded. “I will look out for them. I will. After I find the man with the eye patch.”
“This is a dangerous path you are seeking,” Landyn advised.
“I won’t let my father’s murder go unpunished,” she vowed and stole another glance at her father’s body draped over the horse.
Landyn shook his head in disapproval. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“Then tell me. Tell me why you are keeping the identity of the man with the eye patch a secret. Tell me why those crates were empty. Tell me what was worth my father’s life.”
Landyn took a deep breath. “It won’t help you.”
“It will make it easier for me. I’m going to find out with or without your help.” She pushed herself away from the tree and approached him. “If my father was your friend as you proclaim, you would want the same thing I do.”
Landyn bowed his head, his black hair falling forward to cover his face. “Your father’s killer will get what’s due to him. But it doesn’t have to be by your hand.” He swiveled his gaze to her. “Trust me, Raven. I’ve been where you are. Your anger can become uncontrollable. This will consume you.”
“You watched your father be murdered?” she asked in a mocking tone. “You haven’t been where I am. I am a Hawke, and we look out for our family.” She lifted her chin. Even as she proclaimed this, her heart ached for her father.
“Not all of your family is gone,” he reminded her quietly.
