Betrayal (Shadow Hunters Trilogy #1) *COMPLETE*

Nobility

Once the gang is fast asleep, I lie near Isaac but find myself restless as I am most nights. I feel a light tap on my hand and look up at the shadow near me. "Eva?"

"Robin? Can't sleep?" I whisper back.

There's silence for a moment as if he was checking his surroundings. "No... you neither?"

"Not really." I say gently.

"Care to talk?"

"Sure." I say smiling although he can't see it. He helps me up and I check on Isaac before we make our way back to the little waterfall that he showed me the night before. I rest on a low branch that hovers about a foot above the lush grass with Robin directly below me so that we can talk. I asked him about the Crusade that he went on with King Richard and he told me about the horrors he had seen. The way he spoke of them was almost as if he was in a trance.

"That sounds terrible." I frown.

He looks up at me. "It was." He looked back up at the darkened sky for a moment and we lie in silence until he speaks again. "About 2 years ago when my gang and I were coming back to Sherwood Forest from Barnsdale, we found a scene that was just...horrifying."

"What did you find?" I ask curiously.

His eyes meet mine and I could see something in his expression. Fear? "We found men...brutally killed and left there for the animals." I furrow my brow and he goes on. "There were 3 of them I believe all tied to a tree...."

Hearing this my heart started to pound. I never knew that Robin way up where we were when I killed the three men. "Wow..."I say quietly. Robin must have not noticed since he continues.

"One had an arrow in his throat, another was shot in the heart and..." He pauses for a moment and when I look at him, he looks like he's about to be sick.

"What?" I ask.

He shakes his head as if trying to shake the image out of his head. "The last one was the worst. Whoever it was had sliced him open and just left him to die in agony. His insides were—" He stops suddenly as though he can't go on. He looks up at the sky and I lie my head on my arm. He must never know the truth.

Isaac rouses from his sleep as he shifts and lays an arm where Eva should be. Noticing the emptiness, he sits up and looks around at the darkness. "Eva?" He whispers. Waiting until his eyes adjust to the darkness, he then scans his surrounding and frowns. "Where is she?" He thinks aloud before worry grips his heart. Removing his cloak from his legs, he stands and silently ties it around him and grabs his bow and quiver nearby. He casts a glance around at the rest of the gang, making sure every one of them is fast asleep before stealing away into the darkness.

He first circles the camp, listening carefully for any trace of sound. Venturing further out, he stops as he hears a man's voice, faintly, off to the south of his location. Isaac stalks off into the direction of the voice and smirks as the sound becomes louder as he gets closer. As he comes nearer, he hears the sound of water and a woman's voice. Through the green he sees a small waterfall, basked in silver moonlight. He scans the scenery and sees a woman lying on a low hanging branch and a man beneath her. Thinking it's only two lovers he starts to shrink away but hears the man say Eva's name. Moving closer while remaining hidden, he squints a little at the couple. His eyes widen as he realizes that the couple is Robin and Eva! Kneeling down, he turns his head slightly to listen to the conversation.

Robin reaches up, his fingers lightly grazing the palm of my hand that hangs down loosely. "Tomorrow is Midsummer Eve." He says before smiling up at me. "It'll be a day full of food, games, music...."

"Do outlaws go to festivals?" I ask, teasingly.

"I can't speak for all outlaws but we do." He gently presses his palm against mine.  "Did you know that in parts of Brittany, it is rumored that a girl who dances around seven bonfires will be married within a year."