Noble Thief

by M. Lynn

  Tyson nodded. “Viktor. When I left, she hadn’t yet sent the royal birth announcement to foreign kingdoms, but I assume my mother knows by now that she has a grandson.” His lips slanted up. “Edmund and Alex fight over who gets to hold him every time he wakes. One little baby has changed our entire world.”

  Simon laughed. “They have a tendency to do that.”

  Tyson didn’t bring up his mother’s pregnancy or the fact he knew Simon was the father. Instead, he spoke of home. Of his small house in the village. Of his family. In the years since leaving Amalie behind in Gaule, he hadn’t considered himself happy. But now, as he caught Simon up on life in Bela, he realized he’d been wrong.

  Amalie hadn’t broken him.

  She hadn’t removed his heart from his body.

  He’d gone on loving the family who awaited him back home.

  “What are you going to do?” He met Simon’s clear gaze.

  They both knew he couldn’t remain a prisoner forever. Not when he had a child coming and a queen to protect. “One of the guards keeping an eye on me is a man named Will.”

  Tyson nodded. He knew the man. The Madran mercenary Edmund had carried unconscious back to the estate only the night before.

  Simon continued. “If Amalie continues as she has, it ends only with a noose around her neck. Will can get her to Madra where Queen Helena will protect her. As soon as they are gone, I will return to your mother.”

  It was a sound plan. Tyson knew Helena Rhodipus. She’d take care of Amalie better than anyone.

  He rose from the chair and stuck out his hand. Simon grasped it.

  “I assume I’ll see you soon, my friend. With the royal births and the delays in foreign assemblies they’ve caused, there is bound to be a summit of kingdoms.”

  Simon released him. “You’re leaving?”

  Tyson nodded. “It’s time I return home. Gaule holds too many ghosts for me now.”

  As soon as he was back in the hall, he froze. Edmund leaned against the opposite wall waiting for him.

  “Are you going to say farewell to Amalie before you scamper away?” Edmund pushed off the wall.

  Tyson brushed past him, sighing when Edmund’s steps matched his own. “I’m not welcome here, Edmund.”

  “She needs you.”

  “No, she doesn’t. Amalie will be safe as soon as she gets to Madra. She has many people she trusts far more than she trusts me, and they can get her on a ship. I do no good by causing her any more pain than I already have.”

  “This is bull.” Edmund gripped Tyson’s arm and pulled him to a stop. “I’ve thought it was this secret identity of hers keeping you two apart. She was afraid of revealing it to you. But you don’t care about the Hood. I know you don’t.”

  “Edmund, just because you’ve found the one man who can put up with you for all of eternity does not make you an expert on relationships, especially mine.” He pulled his arm free.

  “But you love her.”

  “I will always love Amalie Leroy. It is my curse. Something inside her is broken, and it’s not something I can fix. Loving someone does not come easy for a Leroy, and it’s a task she seems to find impossible. I don’t think there’s a single person in the six kingdoms she’d love more than her mission.” He began walking again. “It’s time I find something else to wish for in this life.”

  Edmund didn’t follow him, but his voice echoed off the stone ceilings. “I’ve never known you to give up, Tyson Durand.”

  Tysons turned to Edmund one final time. “It is not giving up to accept defeat, my friend. It is growing up.”

  Tyson collected his belongings from his room, his eyes scanning the familiar walls. When he’d arrived, he planned to arrest the Hood once he discovered the outlaw’s identity. Amalie had known why he was here and invited him to stay anyway. She’d willingly brought her would-be pursuer into her home.

  He might never know her reasoning, but he’d never forget these last few weeks with her. Even as she hated him, being near her gave him a sense of peace he’d lacked these last few years. But that was gone now as he stood like a stranger inside those walls.

  When he arrived in the courtyard, it surprised him to see Edmund standing with their horses. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Edmund had come with him to Gaule in the first place, but he didn’t know where they stood. So many lies rested between them now.

  Edmund smiled. “You didn’t think I’d let you leave without me, did you?”

  Tyson ran a hand down his horse’s soft nose. “I never know what you’ll do, Edmund.”

  Edmund’s face pinched in pain. “Look, Ty, I’m sorry. I should have told you. You deserved honesty from me.”

  Tyson sighed and tied his bag and sword to the saddle. “I know Etta asked you to accompany me. But, Edmund, I’m not any less capable than you or my sister or brother.”

  “Of course you aren’t.”

  “Then you need to stop treating me like it.” He hauled himself into the saddle and nudged the horse around.

  “I can do that.” He paused. “I bid adieu to Amalie for both of us. She wished us well and said she will miss our presence in her house.”

  Tyson sighed. “No she didn’t.”

  Edmund laughed. “Well, she did say she wished us safety on the road.” He coughed and lowered his voice. “And that it was about time we left them in peace.”

  “That sounds more like her.” Tyson gripped the reins in one hand and kicked his heels to take off through the open gates.

  His mother would forgive him for not going back to the palace since Simon would return to her. That was all she’d wanted from this mission. And Ty wouldn’t feel better until he set foot in Bela once more. Until he sat with his sister and looked into the innocent eyes of his nephew. Eyes that had yet to see how cruel the world could be. He had a heart that had yet to be broken and a mind that had yet to be filled with falsehoods.

  Edmund pulled his horse up beside Tyson. “Do you think Viktor will remember me?”

  “He’s a baby,” Tyson deadpanned.

  “Yes.” Edmund scratched his jaw, deep in thought. “But that’s not what I asked. Will he remember me? Or has Alex stolen him.”

  Tyson laughed. “You realize Alex is his father, right?”

  Edmund waved a hand. “That doesn’t matter. Kids like their uncles better, anyway. I hated my own father so there’s still time for me to win Viktor’s loyalty.”

  Leave it to Edmund to make Tyson smile when he’d thought that impossible. “It’s not a competition, Edmund. And you shouldn’t want Viktor to love you more than his own father.”

  “It’s not like it’ll be hard. Alex is so… Alex.”

  “That’s the king of Bela and my brother you’re speaking of.” Tyson suppressed his grin. “Have some respect. Besides, the kid will be smart enough to love his Uncle Tyson more than both of you.”

  Edmund sighed. “You’re right. I didn’t take pity into account. Pity love is stronger than awesome Uncle Edmund love.”

  Tyson reached over and shoved Edmund. The blonde giant pretended to tilt from his horse before righting himself. “Violence is mean,” he grumbled.

  “Says the best swordsman in both Gaule and Bela.”

  Edmund shrugged. “Someone has to protect you.”

  Tyson tried to push him again, but Edmund kicked his heels and cantered through the village. They reached the paths that would take them from the busy streets into the rolling countryside. The nearest village was half a day’s ride away, but they wouldn’t enter it. The people of Gaule were no longer theirs.

  Both Tyson and Edmund had grown up in the kingdom they were so desperate to be rid of. Neither had been accepted for who they were. Both wore the revelations of their pasts like armor protecting them from the memories.

  Tyson glanced back at where the estate walls rose above the rest, seeing it one final time. He didn’t plan on returning. He’d still see his mother on her royal visits to Bela, and he loved her, but Amalie was
the final string tying him to Gaule. Now that it had been cut, there was nothing left for him but pain.

  With a shake of his head, he left the village behind, hoping one day it would get easier. That one day, he wouldn’t miss the love of his life, the most important part of his childhood. That he could eventually forgive Amalie for breaking them.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Cold seeped into Amalie’s bones as she walked the halls of her seemingly empty estate. In truth, people surrounded her. Guards. Maids. Cooks.

  And Tuck. He caught up to her, but she didn’t slow. Continuing to move was the only way to keep the ice from freezing her entirely.

  “Just say it, Tuck.” She pulled her chestnut hair over one shoulder, weaving her fingers through the strands.

  “Tyson and Edmund left. One of the servants brought the matter to me. I then questioned the stable lads and guards at the gate. They rode out early this morning.”

  She’d known. Edmund had wished her well before leaving, but even before that, her conversation with Tyson in the early hours of the morning had the distinct feel of finality to it.

  She wouldn’t see Tyson again. She’d pushed him away so even the most loyal man Gaule had ever seen would leave her behind. For good this time.

  She thought over his words. He hadn’t known. He could have been lying, but the rational part of her knew Ty would never lie like that, not to her.

  John, on the other hand… She couldn’t even muster up the anger necessary to confront her oldest friend. As she considered why, the reason became obvious. John’s betrayal didn’t surprise her. He’d trained her, taught her everything she knew. He’d created the mission she now called her own.

  But he’d always done what he wanted. For years, she kept a careful eye on him during raids, for fear he would harm the waggoneers and traders. The night she’d help him escape his cell was forever implanted into her mind. The way he killed effortlessly when anyone got in his way.

  For the first time, she truly considered the men who claimed complete loyalty to her. They protected her, sure. They helped the people of the village. But they didn’t operate on the same level of morality as she did.

  And she’d unleashed them on Gaule. She’d trained them to take up the mantle. Told them they were noble in their actions.

  The mission couldn’t change who they were.

  It couldn’t make John any more honest. Any more true.

  He’d kept Tyson from her in the weakest moment of her life. At a time when she’d needed him. Maybe if Ty had come, she wouldn’t have given up her child. Maybe strangers wouldn’t be raising a little girl who was in constant danger just because of who her mother was.

  If anyone ever found out the Hood’s identity… that was why Amalie played in the shadows instead of giving the people a face of hope.

  “Ames.” Tuck took her elbow and pulled her to a stop. “You need to talk to me.”

  “Why?” She lifted her eyes to his. “What about any of this requires words? They’re gone. John deceived me. My mission is…” She sagged against the wall. “It’s all over, Tuck. I can’t keep Simon here. The queen will soon know who I am. How am I to continue then?”

  Tuck bent his neck to peer into her face. “The Hood is not who you are, Amalie.”

  “What if I can’t be anything else?” She shook her head. “What am I supposed to do? I’m not a lady of court.” She ran a hand over the deep purple gown that fit her like a second skin she wanted to shed. “These dresses are no more who I am than that hood.”

  “What is it about you people thinking your station in life has anything to do with who you are?”

  “You people?” She pushed away from the wall.

  He took a step back. “Those born into a life of titles and duties know nothing of life outside those bonds. I grew up in a village where the people had little. Their lives comprised working the same job every day to put food into their children’s mouths. They didn’t try to save the world or even leave their little corner of it. Yet, they had lives just as big, just as important as yours.”

  “What about you?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “You left your village to join this mission. It’s part of you as well.”

  He shook his head. “I am a part of it, but it has never been part of me. Do you want to know what I’m made of? It isn’t noble duties or grand adventures. Inside me exists every single person I have loved in my life. They make up who I am. So, Amalie Leroy, you are a part of me, but your hood never has been.”

  His words struck Amalie, taking all the air from her lungs as she imagined Tyson stealing away with a part of her. The cold intensified until she could barely feel anything at all.

  Tuck wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “There’s still time to get him back.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve done so many unforgiveable things in the name of the Hood. I don’t know how to be the woman he loved anymore.”

  Tuck squeezed her against his side. “You don’t have to be her, Amalie. Maybe the real you is somewhere between the old and the new. Let Tyson grow to love her.”

  She peered up at him. He’d only been part of her life for a few short years, but Tuck was the closest thing to family she’d had other than Tyson. The love she felt for him was different, but no less true. There was nothing romantic about her feelings as she said, “I love you too, you know.”

  He smiled. “Good. Because you and I are a pair, Ames. I’ll follow you anywhere. Even to Madra if that’s where you want to go.”

  Footsteps sounded against the stone, breaking them from their conversation. Will rushed toward them.

  Amalie met him halfway. “You’re still recovering, Will. You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

  Before he could respond, Maiya joined them in the hall. Amalie looked between the frightened expressions on both their faces.

  “What has happened?” Tuck asked.

  Will swallowed. “Captain Anders. He knows.”

  “He knows?” The ice in Amalie’s veins thawed as fire raged inside her. “About what?” But she already knew the answer.

  “John arrived here only minutes ago. He told us Caldon is gone. His smithy has been closed up and they don’t think he’s coming back.”

  The town blacksmith, Caldon, knew everything. He kept a room in the back of his shop for the Hood and her people to meet. And he’d accompanied Tuck’s sister and her husband as they returned to their village with a new child they promised to keep safe.

  If Caldon had left town… “He told the captain everything, didn’t he?”

  Will looked to Maiya. She cleared her throat. “We don’t believe he revealed your identity because you would already be in chains if he had. But there are other secrets Caldon held.” He paused for a moment. “A few people in the village reported Caldon buying supplies this morning with gold coins instead of on credit.”

  “Gold?” Tuck cursed. Gold coins weren’t often seen in the poor villages of Gaule. Silver yes, bronze even. Never gold.

  “And that is not the worst of it.”

  Amalie kept her gaze on the healer, watching her irises shine orange in the candlelight. “Tell me.”

  Will flicked his eyes from Tuck to Amalie in hesitation. “Captain Anders and his men have left town as well.”

  Amalie took off down the hall. The others followed her. “We have to leave. There is only one place Anders would go after speaking to Caldon. Cal might not have told Anders who I am, but he said enough to show the captain exactly how to draw me out. We make for the border village as soon as we can. Tuck, I need you to ready the horses. The three of you will accompany me. We don’t have time to summon the rest of the men. Tell John to meet me in my rooms.”

  “John left, my lady.” Will’s strides matched hers.

  Amalie halted. “What do you mean he left?” He would have known exactly what this meant. Even when things were bad between them, she wanted to believe he’d be there for her. Maybe she was wrong.

  After
everything she’d done for him, he let her down again. But there was someone in the estate who would help.

  “Fine.” She turned in the opposite direction. “Forget John, but make haste in preparing everything else. I’ll meet you all in the courtyard.”

  They broke off from her path, but she didn’t stop until she was outside a familiar door. The guards opened it for her.

  “Simon.” She stepped in. “I need you.”

  He rose from his chair. “Amalie, what’s wrong? What has happened?”

  “Captain Anders will find my daughter. I can’t let harm come to her.”

  Surprise flickered across his face.

  “Will you help me?”

  He hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward and placing a hand on each of her shoulders. “How long of a head start does he have?”

  “Only hours.”

  He squeezed. “Then we don’t have time to waste.”

  The breath she’d been holding expelled from her lungs, and her shoulders dropped in relief. “Thank you. I—”

  Simon released her. “There will be time for us to talk on the way, Amalie. We must leave.”

  She nodded and walked back into the hall. The guards followed them to her room to gather her bow and then to the courtyard where a dozen men lingered.

  She sucked in a breath. “What is this?”

  Tuck appeared at her side. “Word of what has happened traveled through the barracks. All those who are not needed to guard the estate have decided to come.”

  Tears sprang to her eyes as she looked over her men. These were not the criminals of the woods, but the simple villagers she’d raised up and trained. Some, she’d known most of her life.

  Will led her horse forward. “We’re with you, Amalie.”

  Tuck eyed Simon. “Are you sure about him, Ames? You’ve kept him prisoner. How do you know he won’t turn on us as soon as we set him free?”

  She turned to her friend. “Because… Simon is better than me. And because he can’t go back to the palace and tell the queen he didn’t do everything in his power to save her granddaughter.”

  “Captain Anders is a queen’s man too. Won’t he want to bring the girl to her?” one of her men asked.