Smart girl.
“Lily, you're not going. You need to stay here with Jamie. With the others.”
“But—”
“No, Lil. Last night Aman and Claius found some men that have decided to come with me…”
“That's bullshit!”
Lily's outburst rung throughout the open field, and it reminded me how old she really was. At just eighteen, Lily still had what I like to call “crises." My sisters had been prone to them also. I think most teenage girls were, and the fact that Lil could be like this meant that at least she was somewhat healthy despite her darker days.
I just wished I had a better understanding of how a normal girl was supposed to act, because I certainly didn't want her to be this pissed.
The last thing I wanted was for another person close to me to die. Claius was already going, and even Aman had started to weave his way into my hardened, though lately thawing, heart. My heart was already being pulled in a dozen directions. I didn't need one more.
“Lily, you can't go. I can’t keep an eye on you, and get Smite, the girls, and possibly the shifters now.”
With each word, my breathing became labored, and I grasped at the grass, ripping it from the ground.
Did she not realize what it would do to me if something happened to her?
Her eyes bored into mine, not giving an inch.
Apparently not.
Ever since her rescue, Lily had most certainly come into herself. And I loved she had flourished here. Whether it was because of being among other women like her, or meeting Jamie, I didn’t know. Either way, I was happy for her.
But it also made it that much harder for me. As Lily had discovered, she possessed stubbornness that most couldn’t contend with.
So, with a slow breath, I unclenched my hands, letting the grass fall from my grip. I had to use the only option I had to make her see reason. Because at the end of the day, Lily might be stubborn, but she was also soft.
What did I use?
Guilt.
“Lily, stay here. Do you want to leave Jamie alone?”
I cut my eyes to my other friend, silently asking for help.
Jamie, picking up on what I wanted, pressed herself against Lily’s back, caressing her arm. “Yeah, babe. I think you should listen to Robin.”
Lily looked between the two of us, before tilting her face up and eyeing me. “Are you sure, Robin? I don’t want you to be alone.”
I smiled, her small admission thawing my heart just a little more. “I won’t be alone. I’ll have Claius and the others with me. What I need you to do is watch Jon. Be my eyes when I'm not here.”
Her eyes widened at the mention of Jon. I softly cursed myself, knowing I had started another discussion. “Jon isn't going with you?”
Her innocent question reminded me once again of her age, but I couldn’t stop the harsh laugh that fell from my lips.
“Lily,” I said softly, “Jon made it perfectly clear, more than once, what he thinks about rescuing Smite.”
Jamie tousled her red hair before laughing. “That's because he’s jealous. Have you never been so jealous that you didn't think straight?”
I thought back to him with Ava, and how the evil green monster had reared its ugly head.
Maybe I did understand.
But that’s not what Jon was. He had a chance to stay with me, to be patient, but he couldn’t do it.
“Oh, I understand jealousy. But Jon isn't jealous. That’s not him. He's just used to having everything his way.”
At both Lil’s and Jamie’s patronizing stares, I shrugged and looked down at the grass. “Besides, in a little while, I’m going to talk to him.”
I peered at their fingers, still entwined together.
I wanted that.
I couldn’t have it, but I wanted it.
“I need to at least try to get him to understand why I have to go.”
A bird flew overhead, and I watched it dance across the sky. Ironic that my name was Robin, and I had abilities, but flying wasn’t one of them.
The sun had just started to rise. Any minute the cooks would be starting breakfast for everyone, while Jon would be just getting up, ready to start the day. He had no clue I was going to drop something big in his lap.
I continued watching the bird as it stopped to perch on a nearby tree.
Lily pulled me from my musing. “Even if your talk with him doesn't go the way you want, just remember Jon does care for you.”
She paused, her blue eyes holding mine. “In his own way, he really does. He's just too stubborn to admit certain things… kind of like someone else I know.”
Lily's not so veiled hint caused me to smile. “Are you saying I'm as stubborn as that ass?”
Lily didn't return my smile. I rarely saw her this serious. “What I'm saying is, you’ve both been hurt and, well, you need to give each other a break.”
Jon had been hurt?
The idea never occurred to me.
When we had first gotten together, lust had been the main component. A need to be sated. But the longer it had gone on, I guess things had begun to change. I just hadn’t realized it. Somehow emotions had slowly become a factor.
Whether it was a smile here, a touch or a word there…
That had been right before everything had changed for me.
And it had changed me. The only problem, now that I was looking at it, was that it hadn't changed him.
Maybe Lily was more insightful than I gave her credit for.
“Fine. I'll try to keep it in mind, but I can't promise anything if he starts acting like an ass again.”
Jamie laughed. “Well, this is going to go well.”
I nodded but didn't say anything. I didn't need to. Instead, for the next hour, we sat in silence, soaking up the sun and listening to the birds as I prepared to go on the biggest mission of my life.
13
King John
“Is everything ready?”
My two puppets stood on either side of their puppeteer. At attention, they kept their eyes straight forward, pretending not to hear or see the conversation and goings on between me and their fearless leader. I suspected, but couldn’t prove the general had grabbed them at the last second. A way to keep me at bay. Maybe on the off chance I would watch what I said… what I did.
A small smile graced my refined features.
He didn't know me.
Instead, he had just piqued my curiosity.
He pushed me to act out.
What I did next would really be his fault.
I pulled at my beard, the scraggly hairs slipping through my fingers. Maybe that’s what he secretly wanted. Perhaps he wanted me to punish him for his naughty ways…
Ideas ran through my head.
Possibilities… possibilities...
Besides, even if I did say something that caused my soldiers to be sickened or maybe want to switch sides, causing their conscience to finally get in the way, where they might try to join my niece in an attempt of upholding the law. Well, then all it did was make it easier to kill them.
Cutler had signed their death warrants. Not me.
After all, dead men couldn’t tell secrets.
Let alone betray me.
Frustration coiled through me at losing two good puppets. Now was the worst time to lose cannon fodder. I needed my plan to work. I needed my niece brought here. I needed the truth.
Then I could kill her.
Father was to blame for all this. Stupid man.
If he hadn’t drilled into my head the rules of knowing all your secrets, I would have killed her when I had her cuffed in my dungeon.
Cutler grabbed his stomach, his digestion paining him, before a loud belch erupted from his mouth.
Filth.
All this stress wasn’t my fault… it was his.
His and my father's.
Hands clenched, I fought against the voices in my head that wanted me to wring Cutler’s neck. I couldn’t kill him. He
had a purpose.
But the cannon fodder would have to go.
Pity they had no clue—it was the sins of their master and my father they would pay the price for.
I looked back and forth between the two. They were quite handsome lads… hmmmm.
Maybe I could break one of my rules. They would be dead soon, after all.
I could have both.
The soft whispers in my head agreed.
One had a boyish face and blond hair, the other burly and bald with a strong jaw.
My cock twitched. Yes, something would most definitely placate me with the unfortunate sin of killing them.
After I got rid of the general, who continued to sweat profusely in my living quarters, the smell taking away my good mood from seconds ago.
With a tug, I pulled a handkerchief from my sleeve and held it to my nose. I crossed the quarters to the window to watch the soldiers training down in the courtyard, and to get farther away from the pig who was using his coat to wipe his sweaty brow.
Vulgar.
Watching the men with their swords, I tried to picture their sweat-ridden muscles and what they would feel like up close and at my will.
Robust specimens of men, their stamina made me jealous. The scientist still hadn’t figured out what was wrong with me. And their experiments on the shifters didn't seem to be helping, as another had died from an overdose this morning.
It was a miracle we had them to try the drugs for me. Now if only the scientist could get it right, my problem would go away.
Loud puffing came from behind my back, interrupting my fantasy as the general, still out of breath, decided to sit his fat ass in my favorite chair, causing my ire at him to rise more.
“Everything is ready, my king. A handful of girls have been rounded up while the others have been hidden away.”
Turning fully toward them, I smiled beneath my handkerchief. “Wonderful, General. See, this is why you remain living. And are you sure your intel is right? That this is going to work?”
The general placed his feet on the end of my bed, stretching out, but I held in my anger. If this lazy slob could get me what I wanted, then I would endure him.
Cutler nodded, the fat under his chin shaking. “Yes, Your Highness. The traitor in the camp was very specific about what was heard.”
I glanced at the soldiers, who hadn’t moved.
He did bring me some new playthings.
Today was looking to be a glorious day.
Dropping my dressing gown, I let the soldiers get a small glance at what royalty looked like, before stepping behind the partition and deciding what I would wear for our adventure.
Without looking over the barrier, yelled, “Thank you, General, you may leave.”
“And what of my boys? They are free to leave also, Your Highness?”
I smiled as I found the perfect outfit for my game with the soldiers. “No, General. I think I want them to stay. I have a little game I want to play.”
The general cleared his throat. “Very well, Your Highness. Have a nice game.”
The door thudded shut. I hurriedly dressed in a matching general’s uniform.
After all, if I was going hunting, then I needed to look my best.
The soldiers turned slightly toward me, their mouths dropping as I stepped out of hiding, slapping my riding crop against my leather pants.
“All right boys, we’re going to run through some drills.”
14
Robin
* * *
I couldn’t bring myself to go into his tent. The last time I had plunged in there without thinking, I saw something I didn't want to.
Ava.
Was she in there now?
Upheaval was a strange thing. Doctors at the castle had diagnosed people all the time with it, after major traumatic events. Before the event, a person handled the upheaval of everyday life in regular fashion, but after the traumatic event? Everyday things, like walking into a tent with the unknown inside, caused sweat to break out over your brow and your heart rate to accelerate.
I had never been diagnosed.
No doctors here could really say I had a problem, but given the clamminess of my hands and my heart shooting off faster than one of my arrows, I was pretty sure I had it.
Which made me angry.
People passed by, giving me strange and pitying looks as they went about doing their jobs in the small village, while here I stood outside Jon’s tent, wondering if I had the guts, or even the mental capacity, to go in there and tell him what I planned to do.
“Are you going to go in?”
Too busy with my inner turmoil, I failed to hear Rafe come up behind me. I turned. His ebony hair was tied back with a piece of leather, while wisps of it were being pulled away by the wind. His face was so close I could make out his reddened scar, the jagged edges looking more pronounced, but in no way taking away from his dark beauty. If anything, it enhanced it.
Hands still clammy, I tried to subtly wipe them on my shortened dress, the leather skirt not helping. I really needed some damn trousers.
Rafe smirked as he watched me wipe my hands, and I placed them behind my back in an attempt to hide the slight jitter in them.
“I was fixing to go in.”
His gaze lingered a little too long at my back, reading too much into my movements. I didn't like it.
What appeared to be a look of concern drifted over his face for a mere second, but an air of assholeness I had quickly learned was him was quickly back in place. “That’s exactly what it looked like to me, Princess. Are you waiting for him to tell you to enter, by chance?”
The slur of his words as he called me Princess dug into my skin as I stared into his dark eyes. He was mocking me, and yet when his scent of apple drifted over me, and the wind blew his hair out to caress my skin, I couldn’t come back with a smart retort. Instead, I was honest.
Why?
I had no idea why I wanted to be honest with the one man who could care less about how I felt. He had made it perfectly clear what he thought about my family.
Maybe that was why—he held no illusions about who I was, because he didn't care.
So, with the scent of crisp apples surrounding me, I answered softly, “No, I was deciding something.”
He smiled, the white of his teeth mixed with his scar giving a devilish quality at odds with him bopping me on the nose. “Deciding what? That if you can do it without him, do you think you need his permission?”
His light touch on my nose seemed to burn, and when I didn't react to his statement, the smile that could so easily frighten children fell from his face. He looked at the tent, then back at me. “You know, you don’t have to go in.”
What was this? Rafe falling over his words? Looking somewhat ashamed? What had caused the change?
Rafe seemed to be a complicated puzzle. A puzzle I didn't have the time or desire right now to figure out.
“I don’t need—”
“Robin?” Jon’s gentle voice spoke from inside the tent, causing us both to stiffen. In an instant, Rafe’s mocking gaze and sneer were back on display.
Bending down lower to me, his breath grazed my ear as he whispered, “Go ahead, Princess. Let your boyfriend know exactly what you plan on doing without him.”
Stunned by his closeness, words failed me.
Without a backward glance, Rafe turned and walked toward the women with the baskets of laundry, leaving me reeling.
I’d been so caught up in him, his ego and what he was doing, that my hands had quit shaking and the clamminess was gone, though my heart rate was still fast.
Rafe whispered to the woman closest to him. Her resultant giggles were loud and clear.
Now my heart was fast for an entirely different reason.
“Robin?” Jon called for me again, and I knew the conversation couldn’t be put off any longer.
With a deep breath, I pushed back the flap just as another giggle erupted behind me, causing me to pause.
Don’t look.
Straightening my back, I ignored the man who had more issues than me and focused on the one man I thought I could handle.
My eyes adjusted instantly to the dim light. Candles cast shadows over the room, and the worries Rafe had erased seconds ago came roaring back.
Jon sat on the bed, lacing up his boots ready for the day.
He was alone, which surprised me.
Not that I had seen many women come and go, but I knew for all of Jon’s cheekiness, he was lonely. And having a warm body next to you at night made life seem just a little less so.
Once he finished putting on his boots, he leaned against the bed, his hands behind his back. “I thought I heard you outside. Talking to someone?”
Thanks to my enhanced vision, I picked up on the tightening around his eyes.
"Who was it?”
The words from Lily and Jamie flittered across my mind.
Was he jealous? Were they right? Even when he knew how damaged and unready for a relationship I was, did he think I was still looking for one?
Dread about our conversation died to embers at his question, where seconds earlier, the flames had burned bright. I almost felt sorry for him and what I was about to do, if all he cared about was what guy I was trying to have in my bed. I couldn’t even seem to muster a small quip about jealousy and him being nosy.
“It was Rafe.”
He rolled his deep blue eyes, the lines of his mouth tight as he laughed harshly. “I can’t say I’m surprised. If anyone could get to your quick temper, it would be Rafe. Though I didn't know that you really knew each other.”
He eyed me, waiting for me to deny that I knew him, that nothing was between us… but I couldn’t.
The heat in the room rose higher at my silence. With each second that passed, the anger on his face grew. With jerky movements, he pushed himself off the bed and came closer. “When did you start to know each other?”
Nervous, I licked my lips as I tried to put distance between us and walked over to the red chair behind the desk.
He was angry, but I listened to what wasn't spoken. His heart rate. I heard it clear as day and it didn't sound angry. It sounded hurt.
Being an elite had its disadvantages and its advantages. This was one of them.
The Vengeful Robin Page 10