Noble Thief

by M. Lynn

  He jerked his head toward a building nearby with broken windows. “Abandoned?”

  John pushed away from the wall. “Half the homes in this forsaken town are, so good chance.” He slammed his foot into the wooden door. It splintered and broke inward. He kicked it again, and it burst open.

  Tyson looked inside, waiting for any residents to come out screaming. No one came. He entered, eyes scanning the front room. Broken furniture lay scattered around the space, but nothing else of value sat within view. “Looters.”

  John shrugged and kicked broken glass from a spot near one of the windows before removing his cloak and laying it on the ground. He sat, his eyes focused on the house nearby. Tyson leaned against the wall. If he sat, he worried his tired body would relax into sleep.

  Throughout the night, no guards came or went. Tyson eventually let himself relax onto the floor, and his eyes drifted shut of their own accord.

  By the time he woke, a dim light filtered through the window and muffled voices reached his ears. He sat up quickly, all sleep fading from his mind as he caught sight of Edmund talking to John and… Simon? He jumped to his feet and rushed toward them.

  “Si, where’s Amalie?”

  Simon’s lips drew down. “They’re keeping her locked in a room across the street with her men.”

  “How did you get out?”

  Simon glanced from John to Tyson as if trying to decide what to say. “A few of Captain Anders men used to be mine. They follow him now, but they also know holding me prisoner is no way to gain favor with the crown… They also wanted me to get the child to safety.”

  “Child?” Tyson finally saw the sleeping form wrapped in a cloak on the floor near Simon’s feet.

  John crouched down, pushing the cloak back from the girl’s face. “Elayne.” He said her name in reverence as if not quite believing she was there with them.

  Simon addressed John. “Amalie thinks the child is dead.”

  John lifted his face, pain in his eyes. “That’s… They’re destroying her.”

  The girl roused herself, lifting her head of dark hair. Large sapphire eyes landed on Tyson, and something inside him stirred. He couldn’t explain it but it was as if his magic called to her.

  “Simon.” He could barely breathe. “Who is this child?”

  Before Simon could respond, the girl wiggled out of the cloak and stood on wobbly legs. She reached out a hand, connecting her skin to Tyson’s. Warmth spread through him, a happiness he hadn’t felt in years. He could sense it. Her magic. It covered him in a blanket of comfort.

  But it was too much, too false. There was no happiness that lived inside him while Amalie marched to her death. He snatched his hand back, and the girl gave him a questioning gaze.

  “She has magic.” He turned away from them and paced the length of the room. He stopped in front of them once more.

  John shook his head. “I didn’t know.” He put his hands on his head in exasperation. “We should have guessed. She would never be safe in this village with magic in her blood.” He leaned against the wall and slid down. “What have we done?” His face fell into his hands. “I told her to do it. That she had to do it to keep the girl safe, to continue on with her mission.”

  “Told who?” Tyson yelled. “I need to know what’s going on.” Suspicion warred in him as he looked at the girl once more. He shook his head and backed away. “She couldn’t… she… Amalie?”

  “Tyson.” Edmund tried to calm him.

  Tyson pushed him away and advanced on John. “This is why she came?” It all made so much sense now. “I need you to say it, John. I need to hear the words.”

  John lifted a tortured face. “Amalie is the girl’s mother.”

  Tyson stumbled back as the words battered into his chest. His eyes fell on the girl they’d called Elayne. She couldn’t be much more than a year old, probably less. And her magic… His breath clogged in his throat until he couldn’t breathe.

  Amalie, how could you do this?

  He thought he knew her—that he knew the worst sins of her heart, but he’d been wrong. “John, when Amalie sent for me…”

  “It was the childbirth killing her,” John finished. “She’d have had you take the girl.”

  He shook his head. “Get out before I kill you.”

  John opened his mouth to respond, but Tyson pulled water in from the rain-soaked streets with his power and sent it barreling into John’s chest, throwing him through the broken window. John sputtered and picked himself up out in the street. “What about Amalie?”

  Tyson’s eyes blazed. “We don’t need you to save her.”

  It went against everything Tyson believed in to use his magic to fight every battle. He’d done it before, but never with such premeditated intent. This time, though, Anders would pay.

  Tyson’s anger lessened until it only simmered inside him as his eyes found Elayne once more. She cowered against Simon’s leg. Fear sprang to her eyes when she lifted them to Tyson, and it sent a dagger straight through his heart.

  He wiped a hand over his face, regaining his composure. His magic once again reached out to her, and he dropped to his knees.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered, holding a hand out to her.

  She only hesitated a moment before taking it. The warmth of her power mended his frayed nerves.

  How had he not seen it immediately? She looked every bit like his mother, the queen. The dark curls. Wide eyes. But there was some Basile in her as well. Tyson thought nothing could make him feel whole again after the hell of the last few years, but as he stared into the face of a girl who was a part of him, he felt some of the cracks in his soul heal themselves.

  He knew then that everything Amalie had done was to protect the one person in this world she’d always love. She’d given her up, wanting the child to have no connection to the Hood. She’d come back when the danger reached her daughter’s doorstep.

  Tyson cupped Elayne’s tiny cheek in his palm before pulling her into his chest. Her little body shook in his arms. He couldn’t imagine what she’d been through in the last day, but she released it all.

  Tears filled his eyes as she asked, “Mama?” It took him a moment to realize she didn’t mean Amalie.

  Simon smoothed a hand over Elayne’s head and whispered to Tyson and Edmund. “Her mother was killed by the guards yesterday. Captain Anders has her father imprisoned with Amalie.”

  Tyson lifted Elayne into his arms and passed her to Simon, hating to relinquish her safety to anyone else. “Si, you’ve already done more than we deserve, but I need you to do one more thing for me.”

  Simon nodded for him to go on.

  Tyson breathed deeply before he could force the words out. “Leave. Take Elayne from this place.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Today, Edmund and I will go against an untold number of guards. I can’t do that unless she’s safe, and she won’t be safe in Gaule. Get her to Bela, to my brother and sister. Please. I can’t…”

  Edmund put a hand on his shoulder, and Tyson was grateful for the support.

  “I can’t risk myself unless I know she’s safe.”

  Simon nodded. “I’ll protect her as if she was my own.”

  “You’re a good man, Si. There isn’t enough time in this life to repay you for everything you’ve done for me over the years.” He leaned forward, pressing his shaking lips to the back of the girl’s head.

  It wasn’t enough time. He’d only had minutes to come to terms with his fatherhood, but nothing had ever felt so important in his life.

  And it only strengthened his resolve. He wouldn’t leave his child without a mother.

  “They’re leaving.” Edmund fixed his eyes on the house across the street where a line of shackled prisoners streamed out the front door and down the street. They were out of time.

  He nodded to Simon once more before grabbing his bow and sword, leaving through the back into an alleyway between homes.

  Edmund caught up with him. “We�
��ll save her, Ty. Then they’ll both be okay.”

  He wished he was as confident. “Edmund, we have to use our magic.”

  Edmund didn’t respond.

  “It’s Amalie. I know how you feel about using it in Gaule, and it probably means we’re going to have to run from this place with a mob demanding our deaths, but—”

  “Ty.” Edmund gripped his shoulder, pulling him to a stop. “If there’s ever a time to fight using whatever we have, this is it.”

  Tyson breathed out in relief. They wound through back alleys and side streets, trying not to lose sight of the prisoner train. Guards lined the street, more than Tyson could count in a hurry.

  “I don’t like this,” Edmund whispered.

  Tyson didn’t stop moving.

  Edmund spoke again. “Ty, my father—”

  “Needs to be stopped.”

  “I know that better than anyone.” Edmund cursed as his foot hit a water-filled hole in the road and he stumbled forward. Righting himself, he grunted. “But there are a lot of soldiers we have to go through. Your mother’s soldiers.”

  “My mother would never stand for this, for her guard to be used in such a way.”

  Edmund stepped in front of him and turned. “Ty, if we’re going to do this, you need to go in with open eyes. The queen might not allow Amalie to be treated this way. She’d do everything to save her granddaughter, but she has also allowed her guard to rove the land in search of outlaws. Amalie is the person they think she is. She is the Hood. But many who’ve been captured before her were innocent. They. Do. Not. Care. We aren’t just going to grab Amalie and escape. We’ll need to fight.”

  “I know that.”

  “Do you?” His eyes burned into Tyson. “After we do this, that’s it. You will no longer be able to set foot in Gaule. Your old home will be lost to you. You won’t see your mother unless she makes royal visits to Bela. Royal visits that may cease after this. After two Belaens use their magic against an entire unit of the royal guard. This is the end of your life as a prince of two kingdoms. After this, you will only have one.”

  Tyson lifted his chin. “And you don’t think every word you’ve said hasn’t occurred to me? You don’t think it’s worth it to me? Like I said, I know what this will cost. And just like those guards, I do not care.”

  A grim smile spread across Edmund’s face. “Then we fight. I never wanted to return to Gaule, anyway. Exile will be a welcome fate.”

  “And your father? Can you truly fight him?”

  Edmund turned and started walking again. “That man is no father of mine.”

  “Thank you. For doing this for me.”

  Edmund shrugged. “It’s what we do. We come for each other. No matter which of the six kingdoms tries to strike us down, we aren’t alone in our fights. Ever.”

  Tyson thought of the little girl he’d sent with Simon. Elayne. And her mother. They weren’t alone either. They had him.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Ayden was dead. He’d tried to escape in the night only to receive a sword through the belly. He’d left the world behind. Just like his wife and daughter. Daughter. Amalie closed her eyes picturing rosy cheeks and a kind smile. Yes, she was Ayden and Sara’s. Amalie had no claim over the mother’s grief raging through her. She’d given her up. No matter the reason, however noble the cause, it didn’t change the facts.

  Amalie no longer cared what waited for her at the end of the long walk. She was finished, done with a life of hiding. Through with the pain of losing everything she loved again and again.

  If this was brokenness, she hoped the cracks shattered her completely.

  Behind her, Tuck whispered soft prayers to himself. He didn’t deserve what was coming. He hadn’t deserved to watch them carry his sister’s limp body from the cellar below the chapel where he’d once performed weddings. How could such a happy place be stained with so much blood and so many tears?

  In front of her, the men and women who’d placed their faith in the Hood walked to their ends. Thieving was punishable by death as was abduction and attacking royal forces. All of which they were guilty of.

  But they were good, trying to make some sense of their world by helping those who couldn’t help themselves. They’d given up everything to join her, to become her Merry Men. And it seemed they’d make one final sacrifice.

  Will lumbered at her side, a hulking mercenary who’d once killed for gold. Far off in the distance lay the walls of Dracon, a kingdom once ruled by the dark sorceress, La Dame. A kingdom Will had fought for, bled for. He’d joined the Hood out of some misguided notion of atonement. Would this final act absolve him of his sins?

  The town’s scaffolds came into view as the guards marched them into the square. Villagers mingled nearby, waiting to witness the act, relieved that this time, it wasn’t them waiting for the ground to fall underneath their feet.

  Amalie wanted to hate them, but she couldn’t muster a shred of emotion.

  Everything was a calculated move by Captain Anders. He’d announce the names of the prisoners before ushering them into their final moments. The news of the Hood’s demise would spread throughout the kingdom and his fame would only grow. The people would fear him. They’d obey him.

  The queen would be distraught upon hearing the news, but would she be more upset that her precious Amalie had deceived her or that she’d been hung with no trial, no chance for absolution.

  The guards had learned their lesson with John’s execution. No friar stood waiting to give last rites. They cleared each surrounding building, allowing nowhere safe for a rescuer to hide.

  What they didn’t understand was there was no one left to rescue her. Everyone who may have tried was either a prisoner or far away in another kingdom.

  Tyson would hear of her death eventually, but he’d never know the secrets she took with her. He’d never learn how she’d deceived him and kept him from looking in to the face of their daughter, born of a love so intense it haunted her days and filled her nights with never-ending darkness.

  Amalie lifted her face to the morning sun. The gray skies of the day before had disappeared, leaving a dazzling blue in their wake. At least she wouldn’t spend her final day in shadow.

  She scanned the backs of each man in front of her, making a mental note of the names of those crossing over with her. They deserved to be remembered even if she wasn’t there to shout their names.

  One was missing, but she wasn’t surprised. Anders couldn’t punish Simon, the queen’s own man. Just like the others, he’d tied himself to the Hood when he journeyed to the border village with her. Where had he gone?

  She scanned the surrounding area. Maybe he couldn’t watch. She didn’t blame him for staying away.

  Tuck sucked in a breath behind her. She turned her head. “What is it?”

  “Oy!” a red-headed guard to their right yelled. “Shut yer mouth.” He moved past them.

  Tuck leaned in, his breath blowing across her cheek. “John is here.”

  She searched the crowd, finding him quickly. He had a scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face, but she’d recognize those eyes anywhere.

  “I don’t know what he thinks he can do against all these guards.” She lifted her hand to brush it through her hair but the iron chains stopped it halfway there.

  “Ames…”

  She shook her head, stepping away from Tuck. There were no more words to be said. Accepting defeat was one of the tenants of a great warrior. She’d had years of glory, saved many people. It was someone else’s turn now.

  She rubbed a sore spot, remembering the sword hilt that had rammed into her when she tried to get to El’s body. They hadn’t let her see her or say goodbye. One of the guards had walked past Amalie’s temporary cell carrying a still bundle in his arms. He hadn’t even glanced at her.

  Amalie thought the safest place for El would be in a rural town living as an unremarkable girl. She was wrong. She should have known they’d get to her eventually. That the Hoo
d’s enemies were relentless and ruthless. Finding the child was the one surefire way to draw Amalie into their trap.

  Now she was a prisoner, and it had all been for nothing because she couldn’t save her. Elayne was dead. The light she’d been in the world was extinguished, leaving only ash behind.

  Her eyes found John once more on the edge of the crowd. He’d done so much wrong, but the Hood wouldn’t have existed without him. Even after the tragic end of her mission, she couldn’t regret it. She wouldn’t take it back. For a short time, she’d had purpose. There was a reason she was still there when everyone else who bore the Leroy name was gone.

  For a while, she’d bested them. Her father, a traitor just as she was, did not control how she would be remembered. From this day forward, Amalie Leroy would not be spoken of in hushed tones as people cursed her father.

  No, she’d be known as the woman who inspired her people in a way even the queen could not. She lifted her chin. She wasn’t a fire to be stamped out by the boot of the crown.

  She was an uncontrollable blaze at the edge of the kingdom, catching fire to everything she touched. Gaule couldn’t go back. They couldn’t forget.

  A guard grabbed her arm, jerking her forward. She stumbled until she stood at the edge of the raised platform. The wood hit her mid-chest, digging into her flesh as she knew the swinging rope soon would.

  The guards pushed two of her men up the steps to where their end waited. A masked figure stood at the lever, his dark eyes catching hers. A hand landed on her back, pushing her forward. The crowd murmured words she couldn’t make out. Were they shocked to see a woman preparing to hang? Did they care?

  She sucked in a breath. They would.

  Her feet took the four steps slowly, deliberately. Her eyes didn’t leave the crowd. They wouldn’t escape the memory of her fiery gaze. Three nooses hung in a row. Once her legs stopped kicking and her lungs stopped expanding, the executioners would move on as if she hadn’t been there at all. Those behind her in line would suffer more for having to watch their comrades lose their final battle before hanging themselves.