Page 30 of Queen of Sherwood

“Decide what?”

“Which side you are going to fight for. The side of tyranny and oppression, or the side of rebellion and revolution. Ravenshead is too important a land to get by unscathed—as you can see by the Templars being here in the first place.”

Landon stood taller, nostrils flaring. “You’ve cut out the choice of the matter and made it for us.”

“I am sorry.” Robert bowed his head.

Landon turned away with a disgusted huff and paced toward the front door. Shaking his head, he wheeled around to Robert. “I was close to making that choice, you know. I was in Nottingham during the botched execution.” He nudged his chin toward me without looking over. “Saw her and the big man running down the street toward the gate. Then I saw Sir Guy of Gisborne behead that stark-white fellow. In broad daylight. I decided then, with my people, that the madness had to stop. What gave the Nottingham guard authority to do such a heinous thing—in front of women and children?”

Robert pursed his lips. He glanced over at me, and I nodded. That was exactly how it had happened, though I never saw Landon in my rush to get out of the city with Little John.

“You will join us, then?” Robert asked, hope in his voice.

“I will join the Oak Boys, Robert, because I don’t have a choice now. Me and the able-bodied lads of this village.”

Robert quirked a smile. “Landon, this is great—”

“Don’t think it means I’m joining the Merry Men, though,” he growled, thrusting a finger into Robert’s chest, speaking about us as if we weren’t standing right there. “Those sniveling bastards. At least the Oak Boys have a hint of gallantry in them. You keep your women in line. Have them working and making a difference. The Merry Men don’t.”

I bristled, realizing where the hatefulness inside Landon stemmed from. His disregard for my sex.

And he wasn’t done, either.

“This is evidence of their depravity,” he added, gesturing at Sir Charles’ dead body behind Robert, which was starting to gather flies from the window. “They are led by a woman, cocks tucked away like castrated pups. And have you seen what that whore Maid Marian has done—”

“I think that is quite enough out of you, Deputy Landon,” Little John said in a low, dangerous tone. He stepped forward from my side, incredibly imposing and huge. Even though Landon was a big man, he was no match for John’s sheer size and magnitude. “Unless you want to continue this line of rhetoric in a different venue. Outside, perhaps? In front of your people where we can measure cocks and get an honest opinion?”

I couldn’t help but smirk, and Will barked a wicked laugh. Tuck just shook his head, hand scratching his cheek.

My mind wheeled back to something Landon had just said, which made me curious. I wanted to let this play out, first, though.

Landon seethed and narrowed his eyes on Little John. For all his bluster, he wasn’t about to press John’s threat any further. “I’ll join you, Robert. But not these barbarians.”

Robert shot his eyes my direction. They were unreadable, slightly narrowed, yet I had a sneaking suspicion what he was about to say. My shoulders slumped in preparation.

“Landon, my friend,” he began, stepping in front of the man to steal his attention away from Little John. “If you join me and the Oak Boys . . . you follow Robin, too. We are aligned. We are a team. You can’t have it both ways. So choose.”

Silence, as my brother shocked the hell out of me by coming to my defense. Certainly not what I had been expecting him to say. He showed his true colors—the lengths he was willing to go to make our alliance work.

I grew a new layer of respect for my elder brother in that moment, and had to do everything in my power to hide my proud smile. Instead, I remembered what I was going to say, and broke the silence. “What did you mean about Maid Marian, Landon?”

He blinked, apparently still trying to decide if he wanted to join me and Robert. “Huh?”

“You asked if Robert had seen what Maid Marian has done. I’m assuming because you knew her as a former Merry Man. What did you mean?”

“You haven’t heard?” Landon scoffed. “In your own house?” His eyes swiveled between me and Robert.

I tilted my head, giving him an expectant look. No, asshole, we haven’t heard.

“She’s started a brothel of her own, girl,” he said to me. When my face blanched, he grinned—enjoying seeing me falter. “And is running it out of the Wilford estate. Your home.”

I LEFT RAVENSHEAD FEELING more uncertain and fearful of the future than when I’d gotten there, which was saying something considering how ominous Will’s urgent message had been. That wasn’t even taking into consideration Landon’s parting words about Maid Marian, which infuriated me beyond belief.

Turned out Will’s cryptic message about “anticipating trouble” had been entirely well-founded.

Worse than the uncertainty was the nagging sense that I had done something wrong. Killing one man in self-defense who tried to kill you was fine, but then doubling down and getting rid of all signs of evidence and loose ends—Sir Charles, in this case—seemed downright sinister.

If I hadn’t been going to Hell before today, I certainly was now.

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