“Willow!” Raven charged toward them with her fists clenched and her jaw stiff.
Willow stood up, and Raven grabbed her arm. “Don’t do that,” she said through clenched teeth.
Willow stared in confusion. “Do what?”
“Disappear. You have to tell one of us where you are going. You can’t just…just walk away.” There was anger and something else in Raven’s voice. Concern. Worry.
Willow’s gaze moved over Raven’s face momentarily before she threw her arms around Raven. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
When she pulled back, Raven sighed and nodded.
Christian understood the anguish Raven felt. She had lost Willow once, and that was agonizing. She didn’t want to lose Willow again. She and Sage had thought they would never see their sister again, which had been heart-wrenching to them.
“Go back with Raven,” Christian advised. “I’ll check it out.”
Reluctantly, Willow returned with Raven, glancing uncertainly over her shoulder at him.
“You’re a lucky man,” Pons said, watching the women walk down the hallway.
“Aye,” Christian agreed, staring after Willow. He looked at Pons. “Are there guards outside of this cave?”
Pons nodded. “One.”
Christian met his wide eyes. He knew it wouldn’t be long until King Philip interrogated the arrested Templars and discovered that this place was a Templar haven.
It wasn’t safe here.
Chapter Three
Willow couldn’t tell whether it was night or dayin the cave; she had lost track of time. She was exhausted. She sat in Christian’s arms against the wall. Her gaze lazily swept the cavernous room. Templar Knights lounged sporadically through the room, their white tunics gleaming in the dim firelight like beacons.
A few feet away from Willow and Christian, Raven slept with her head on Landyn’s chest. Sage rested beneath a torch with Marcus sleeping at her side. Parchment pages were spread out before her alongside Willow’s open book. The torchlight illuminated the circles under Sage’s eyes. Her short hair was in disarray, locks going this way and that. Her eyes flicked from the words she had written to pages in the book. Her shoulders drooped, and she frowned.
Willow eased herself from Christian’s arms, careful not to wake him, and walked over to Sage. She stood over her, staring at the parchment with the squiggles on it. She couldn’t read and had no idea what the lines meant. “Not going well?”
Sage puffed out her cheeks in a sigh. “It makes no sense. There’s no mention of a starting place. How can you have directions if you don’t know where to start?” She flipped through the pages of Willow’s red book, stopping at one. “I did figure out these maps, though. Look,” she said, pointing to one.
Willow leaned over, gazing at the page. It was the one that looked like a boot.
“This is Italy. I recognize the layout. And this one…” Sage tapped another one.
It looked to Willow like a cloud.
“This one is London. See the names of the streets? I recognize some of them.”
Willow grinned, proud of her sister. Sage was so smart. There was nothing she couldn’t figure out.
Sage sighed again and shook her head. “But any map could be the starting place.” She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back from her face. “I must be missing something.”
Willow sat beside her. “You’re just tired. We all are. Take a break.”
Sage leaned her back against the cave wall but did not release the book. The lines on her forehead were deep. “We don’t have much time,” she said. “The king is looking for the treasure. It won’t be long until he finds Jo’s place.”
She was right, but Willow had confidence in Sage’s abilities. “Did you eat?” Willow asked. She knew how focused Sage could be. One time, she had been trying so hard to figure out how to open a lock that she completely forgot to eat.
Sage nodded. “Marcus brought me some bread and stew.” She jerked her head at a trencher on the ground that looked like mice had gnawed at the sides. Sage had only picked at it.
Willow knew Sage was too absorbed in working the puzzle. She picked up a piece of parchment and studied it. She liked the little curls on the ends of the lines. “Can you really read this?”
