Marcus smiled. “We’re going dragon hunting.”
Landyn narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure you got it right?”
Sage’s jaw tightened as she stared at the parchment, feeling the uncertainty in her mind intensifying. She had gone over the decoding again and again, doubting the translation herself as she reread it. Was it really a dragon? It was the first book she had ever deciphered, and she couldn’t be positive she was correct.
Marcus straightened his shoulders. “She decoded it properly. I don’t doubt her. Not for an instant. And you shouldn’t either.”
“Doubt who?” Willow joined them.
“Sage,” Marcus answered at the same time Landyn said, “No one.”
Willow grinned mischievously at her sister. “Why would anyone doubt you?” she asked sarcastically. “You’re never wrong. Except for that one time—”
“Don’t,” Sage warned, rising to her feet quickly. Memories of the failure flooded her mind, and she wished Willow would let her forget that she had been wrong. Sage had been sure she could pick the lock, but it had been an utter disaster. Raven and Willow had been relentless in their reminders ever since. And Sage had never been as confident.
Willow’s teasing smile grew.
Sage ground her teeth. “I think Christian’s looking for you.”
Willow bit her lower lip to keep the grin in, turned, and walked toward the horses where Christian was tethering his steed to a tree.
Landyn watched Willow before looking back at Sage. “You need to be correct about the directions.”
With a frustrated frown, Sage pressed her lips together. “Why?” she demanded. She had spent hours, even days deciphering the text, and she was almost certain she had translated it accurately. Almost. “What difference does it make if I am right or not?”
Landyn’s dark eyes were intense as he leaned closer to her. “We’ve crossed the English Channel. We are being pursued,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Instead of finding a safe place, we are following your directions. Instead of seeking others to help us, we are chasing this alone. It’s putting all of us in danger.”
The weight of her guilt felt like a lead blanket on her shoulders. But she pushed it aside, knowing they had made the right decision to leave France. Lately, it felt as though they were always running from something or someone.
A tight knot formed in her stomach. Something bothered her even more than Landyn’s warning. She had worked so hard to translate the book. But what if the passages led to a dangerous secret that could harm her family? She looked at Raven and then Willow as they tended their horses and ate bread. Would it have been better or worse if she had never decoded the book? With a sense of dread, Sage feared she had been blinded by her insatiate need to know the solution.
“Be certain,” Landyn added, turning on his heel, his long legs carrying him swiftly to Raven’s side.
Marcus settled a comforting arm around her shoulders. “He’s mistaken. We were in danger in France, too.”
“It feels as if we’re in danger everywhere,” she replied.
Marcus leaned in, pressing a tender kiss just below her ear, where her hair curved against her neck. The warmth of his lips lingered against her skin.
She let out a deep sigh, her shoulders drooping in exhaustion. She glanced at him, studying his strong jaw and blue eyes. She was grateful he was with her, grateful to have found him. Anxiety bubbled up inside her like a witch’s cauldron. “What if he’s right? What if it’s my fault?”
“Your fault? For bringing us to England?” Marcus asked incredulously.
“For chasing something that may be dangerous. For dragging everyone across the Channel to England?”
“Maybe it’s meant to be. Maybe this is the journey you were intended to be on,” he replied with a lopsided grin.
She stared at him in disbelief. She didn’t believe in fate. “You can’t honestly believe that this is our destiny? That we had no choice in the matter?”
His grin grew to a dazzling smile. “That’s as much an option as you dragging us across the Channel.”
Her eyes narrowed as the realization of what he was doing hit her. He wanted to make her understand that both choices were ridiculous. She sighed and dropped her head onto his chest, feeling a wave of acceptance wash over her.
“I’m always right,” he whispered and placed a kiss on her head.
Sage’s mouth dropped open in surprise, and she looked up at him. “Except when you kidnapped me.”
“I knew what I was doing.” He brushed a strand of hair from Sage’s cheek, trailing his finger along her skin.
