Page 58 of Legacy of Thorns
“Fin!” Archer’s familiar voice made her falter, pulling back on Finley’s grip.
Finley stopped and spun, scanning the trees around them. Archer stepped from between two of the trunks, his face lined with worry.
“What is it?” He stared behind them. “What are you running from?”
“Barlowe,” Daphne panted, struggling to catch her breath after the unexpected flight.
“Who?”
“It’s a long story.” Fin frowned at his brother. “But what are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here!”
“I couldn’t just sit back at the cabin and wait.” Archer’s expression was defiant. “I wasn’t going to burst into the ballroom or anything. I just thought I’d wait out here and…and provide backup if you needed it.”
Fin drew a deep breath, but whatever he wanted to say to his brother, he suppressed it. “Morrow and Nisha?”
“I went to bed early and snuck out the window,” Archer confessed. “I knew you’d be furious, but?—”
“Actually, this is a good thing.” Finley’s words caught both Archer and Daphne by surprise.
She frowned at him. A good thing? She clutched his hand tighter, foreboding filling her to the fingertips.
“If you’re here, it changes everything.” Finley turned from Archer to Daphne, taking both her hands in his. “There was no way I was walking off with Barlowe and leaving you alone back there. But with Archie here…”
“No, Fin.” Daphne shook her head stubbornly. “Don’t do it. Don’t even think about it.”
“But if I don’t, this will never end.”
Daphne’s lips pressed together. “We’ll report him. We know who he is now. We’ll go to the guards and?—”
“And what? Tell them we’ve been chased for years by alord? He’ll say the whole thing is nonsense, and they’ll believe him,not us. Given Archie was robbing Lord Castlerey only weeks ago, we’re not exactly going to be considered reliable witnesses. If we had proof, it might be different, but…”
“We might not have proof,” Daphne said, “but neither does he have proof of being a lord. We can challenge him, demand he produces proof of who he claims to be.”
“And when he laughs in our faces and walks away, do you think they’ll force him to respond?” Fin sighed. “He’s been keeping up this ruse for ten years, and he said he pays attention to details. Who knows what false proof he might have accumulated in all that time?”
“What in the kingdoms are you two talking about?” Archer broke in. “Who’s a fake lord?”
Fin looked at him, a shadow in his eyes that made Daphne’s heart contract. Archer still didn’t know the truth about their father or why they’d been pursued for so long.
Would Finley tell him immediately? Archer needed to know, but he deserved to be told with more sensitivity than Barlowe had shown Fin.
“There’s no time.” Finley sounded anguished. “Barlowe isn’t going to just let us go. He’s not the sort of man to pursue us himself, but he’ll send those ruffians after us without hesitation. Unless I go with him.”
“What? No!” Archer grabbed Finley’s shoulder. “What are you talking about, Fin? You can’t just hand yourself over to him! Why would you do that?”
Finley squeezed Daphne’s hands, looking down into her face, his own gaze steady. “You have to tell Archie for me—the truth about our father, everything.”
“You should tell him yourself.” She clung to his hands even harder.
“So you found out what Father did to this Barlowe fellow?” Archie asked. “Tell me! What is it? Can we fix it?”
“Yes.” Finley pulled himself free from Daphne’s clasp. “If I go back now and help him.”
“No!” Daphne threw herself at him, winding her arms around his chest and holding on tight, her face pressed against his chest.
“Daphne,” he said gently. She didn’t move. “Daphne,” with more urgency. She still didn’t move.
He sighed and took her firmly by the shoulders, holding her away from him so he could see her face. “I don’t want to leave you, either of you. But this is the only way I know how to protect you. I can’t let you spend the rest of your life running. They just want me to go through the brambles and free the castle. Just like you did for Archie. No problem.”
