Once she was out of the room, the commander wondered, “You don’t like her?”
Landyn eased the door closed and stepped up to the commander. “I don’t trust her.”
“Trust? She is Hawke’s daughter. How can you say that?”
He took a deep breath. “John was a good friend. I trusted him. But Raven…” He peered at the door. “She wants revenge. Boucher killed her father.”
The commander sat back in his chair, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. “Boucher led the men who attacked you?”
Landyn nodded.
“How is it you escaped the attack?”
“I was with Raven. John sent me to protect her.” His lips tightened. “If I had been there… If I had been with John…”
“You would have been killed, too. He saved your life by sending you to protect his daughter.”
Landyn shook his head in disagreement. He should have been with the Templar Knights. He should have been with John.
“The woman is headstrong, is she not?”
Landyn again glanced at the door and chuckled. “She is a Hawke.”
The commander nodded knowingly. “I like her, too.”
Landyn’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He hadn’t said helikedher.
“What will you do now?”
Landyn dropped his chin to his chest. He would do what he didn’t want to do. “After I see Raven to safety, I have to go after Boucher. He has John’s key.”
The commander’s eyes widened, and he leaned forward on the desk. “Does he know what it is for?”
“He knows as much as I do. But John insisted the key belonged to his daughters. He wanted me to get it back and give it to them.”
“Boucher is leading his men toward La Rochelle and the nearby port.”
Landyn looked away. That made sense. Boucher was trying to find the Templar treasure. Boucher and the king must have believed the Templar Knights were going to ship it away to a safe area. Landyn felt his fists clenching, and he purposely relaxed them. There had been a time when going after Boucher was the only thing he’d desired. He’d believed Boucher’s death would appease him. But that was years ago. He still felt that hunger thriving in his heart. He was afraid if he pursued Boucher that the anger and darkness would return and consume him.
“Will you be able to do it?” the commander asked. “Will you be able to face him? To kill him?”
Landyn’s teeth clenched. It was his old, instinctual reaction to Boucher. Hate. He took a deep breath, but before he could answer, the door swung open.
Raven entered. “I’ll do it.”
