Prologue

He sat still, his back to the wall, staring at the odd shadows cast by the guttering candles in the other room. Not for the first time in his life, Allan-a-Dale found himself at a crossroads. The road before him forked sharply, and he had to choose a path. The one path was inexorably evil, but led to a life of reward and luxury. The other was paved with good intentions, but its rewards were intangible and uncertain.

In his heart, he knew which path he would have to take. He would have to go back to Nettlestone to rescue the gang. He was just having a difficult time deciding why this was the right decision. Marian had done her best to impress on him the need to save the King, to save England. But he would not go back for king or country, because these things mattered little to Allan. His life would be the same no matter who was king.

He would not go back for Marian either. She was too daring and took for too many risks. The way he saw it, she was already dead. It was just a question of when, and Allan-a-Dale was not about to risk his life over that. He understood that he had to let Robin know of the danger to Marian, but there were ways to do that without going back.

So why was he going back, when staying meant money and power and a future without thieving or tricking (unless he wanted to)? Why was he going back, when being with Gisborne meant being on the right side of the law for a change? He could not put a finger on it, but he knew it had to something to do with the gang, with needing their friendship, with needing to know they still cared about him. But mostly, he knew it had something to do with Will and Djaq, the only two people in all the world that Allan thought of as family. He belonged with them…with the man who had called him brother that day in Nottingham, no matter how reluctantly, and the woman who had insisted on Allan's goodness, even when she knew that he had betrayed them. For them, he would go back, and gladly.

And with that thought, Allan chose his path, riding hard to Nettlestone, putting as much distance between him and the other, unchosen path as possible.