“One man?” Raven gawked. “We have to hide from one man?”
“We don’t know how many more there are,” Landyn explained.
“Father always said if you spot one, you can assume there are more,” Willow reminded.
“We need to gonow,” Landyn said. “If the man is a scout for the king, they could raid at any moment.”
“We have to wait until the inn is more crowded,” Marcus instructed. “There are too many of us just to walk out.”
Willow glanced around the room at the other men, the Templar Knights. “Have you told the others?”
Christian followed her gaze. He had been more concerned with protecting their group than the remaining Templars, and he suddenly felt guilty.
Landyn shook his head. “He was asking about you, about the Hawke women.”
“Then he can’t be one of the king’s men.”
The image of the man, the white scar down the side of his face, burned in Christian’s mind. A memory taunted him, and he grimaced. “I wish I could remember where I saw him.”
“There’s six of us,” Raven said. “Why don’t we speak with him?”
“No,” Landyn and Christian said automatically.
“We don’t know if there are others,” Landyn added. “We have to be cautious.”
“I’ll go,” Marcus offered. “I’ll scout around the inn to see if there are others, any king’s men.”
“No,” Sage pleaded.
“He’s not looking for me.” Marcus gazed at her with tenderness. “You need to figure out the books. I won’t be long.”
“I’ll go with you,” Sage insisted.
“No,” Raven stated. “He’s searching for us.”
Marcus touched Sage’s cheek. “I’ll be back soon. It won’t take long.”
No matter how much Marcus meant to Sage, Christian still didn’t trust him.
“I’ll go with him,” Landyn suggested.
The fear on Raven’s face mirrored Sage’s. Raven’s jaw tensed, and her fingernails bit into her flesh as she kept silent.
A smile curled one corner of Landyn’s lips. He brushed a kiss to Raven’s lips and trailed Marcus out of the room.
Raven spun on Christian. “Why didn’tyougo with Marcus?”
“Raven,” Willow snapped with a frown.
Christian sighed, saying, “I know that man from somewhere. He might recognize me.” Christian had felt Raven’s growing hostility towards him since he had been with their family in the camp years ago. He had surmised that she didn’t appreciate his growing bond with Willow then.
Raven shook her head and turned away, moving to the doorway.
Sage returned to her spot beneath the torch to study the parchment. Christian was certain it took her mind off Marcus’s safety.
Willow embraced Christian. “I’m glad you didn’t go.”
A twinge of guilt tickled Christian’s insides at not accompanying the other men, but at the same time, he couldn’t bear to separate from her. “We have to locate another place. This one is no longer safe.”
