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The old me would have shared her impatience. But the new me was starting to understand about sacrifice.
I nodded firmly. “Two hours. Otherwise, it’s too risky. Wait five minutes after the church doors shut, then head to the library. Understood?”
Willa opened her mouth, but John covered it gently with his huge hand. “Understood.”
With that, I raced off on Malachi.
By mule cart, Nottingham was nearly two hours away. Malachi covered the distance in a quarter of that time. If it weren’t for Marian, I would have taken a long detour just to enjoy the thrill a little longer. The sheer speed and power of a horse. The wind in my hair, the thunder of hooves over hard ground…
My heart pounded, because this wasn’t a game any more. This was the real thing.
I halted a mile outside the north gate, spotting another rider charging out to meet me. Now what?
Charging turned out to be appropriate, because it was the sheriff on that dappled war-horse of his. Poor Malachi had cut a much more respectable figure beside the mules.
I sighed, and not just because of the horse. Although we were both allies of Robynne Hood, the sheriff and I didn’t particularly get along, having rubbed each other the wrong way at our first meeting. We respected each other, but that was as far as the good vibes went.
“Sheriff,” I growled.
“Friar.” He gave me the tiniest nod.
I waited. He was the one who’d called me in, right? So why was he looking at me like that?
I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder. “If that’s all you wanted, I’ll be heading back now.”
He frowned. “In a rush to get back to the monastery? That’s a first.”
If only he knew.
I stirred the air with my hand, refusing to take the bait. “You summoned me. What can I do for you?”
He cast a dark look at Nottingham’s castle. “I summoned you on Lady Thornton’s orders.”
I froze, then covered up with a quip. “And I thought you were bad company.”
He motioned toward the north gate. “Come. We’ll talk as we ride.”
We set off at a walk, quiet as we each collected our thoughts.
“Does she know about you?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
Daniel snorted. “Know about what part of me?”
Interesting. What exactly did he mean? I knew he was a dragon shifter and a secret ally of Robynne Hood. What other secrets did the man harbor?
“Shifter, I mean.”
Lady Thornton, I surmised, was a wolf shifter like her brother, the late Sir Guy of Gisborne. As such, she would have identified Daniel as a dragon shifter in one quick sniff.
He circled around to ride upwind of me. “No, she doesn’t know — yet.”
When his scent hit me, I held a hand to my nose. “My God, man. What’s that?”
He made a face. “Garlic — as much as I can stomach, plus the incense I’ve been burning night and day. I also stand downwind of fires and hearths every chance I get. I’ve told people it’s my grandmother’s cure for a cold coming on fast.”
I chuckled. Crude, but effective. Even I couldn’t pick up on the leathery scent of dragon.
My thoughts drifted to Marian. She’d hinted at being a shifter, but she didn’t need to resort to such tricks to hide her scent. What species was she, then? Or maybe she wasn’t a shifter at all, but a witch or a sympath…
