‘Damn it, you idiot of a man!’ George growled under his breath as the man beside him shuffled awkwardly. Sighing, he watched as Lewis and Emily disappeared through the trees. Just moments earlier, Lewis had sprung from the bushes, bow at the ready. He was sure that they hadn’t made a sound. How on earth had they known that they were being watched?

Cursing under his breath, George moved out from between the trees, dragging the man who was with him along. That was far too close. After days on the island, he found himself getting irritated by the tiniest little thing. So far, their journey has been completely pointless.

It had taken them three days to find the tomb in the forest, only to find that they couldn’t get in. Whatever precursor technology had been used to seal the entrance, they lacked the key. That was why he was out in the forest now. They had been searching for another entrance when George saw a ship coming towards the island.

Leaving his father to guard the entrance to the tomb, he had gone into the forest, stalking those who owned the ship. He had almost laughed when he had seen Emily walking across the beach towards the forest. After all this time and all this way from Tristan, it had to be her who had shown up. If she hadn’t been surrounded by her entourage and had the crew of her ship within shouting distance, he would have shown himself to her. Instead, he kept out of sight, following them carefully through the forest.

He had already been fortunate not to be spotted on one occasion. The boy he didn’t recognise, Arthur, as he had heard Emily call him, had slipped on the rocky hillside and slid back down. When he had come to a stop, he had only been half a dozen feet from where George was hiding. This time had been far closer, though. If it hadn’t been for the deer, he had accidentally startled them, and he was sure they would have kept looking around until they found him.

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‘Come on,’ he muttered, gesturing for the man to follow him. His name was Leo, a twenty-something-year-old sailor from the ship that he and his father had commandeered to reach the island. He had mentioned his age a couple of times, but George didn’t care enough to commit it to memory. To say he was simple would have been an understatement. Thankfully, though, he did whatever George and his father told him to do. He was pretty sure he would walk off a cliff if he was asked to. It was frustrating having to constantly keep an eye on him, though, especially when they were close to Emily.

Emily, he thought. Part of him wished that he would get a chance to catch her alone. Deep down, he knew that she liked him. She had just become obsessed with putting up her façade of hatred over the last couple of years. He didn't know how she had escaped from the castle, but it had given him a chance to reflect. He hadn’t meant any of what he had said. He was just fed up with her being so cold towards him all the time.

Vowing that he would find a way to win her away from the Hargrove boy, George ducked through the undergrowth, leading Leo back towards the tomb. It wouldn’t be long before Emily and her friends found it. Perhaps he could get the crown and Emily, escape from the island, and leave the rest of them for dead. Yes, that would be perfect. She would have no choice but to respect him once he was king.

‘Leo! Come here,’ George whispered harshly, pulling the man away from where he was peeking through the bushes at Emily and the blonde girl.

‘Do we have to?’ he muttered, reluctantly turning away as he stroked his messy black beard.

‘Yes, they’ll be heading to the tomb soon,’ George insisted.

‘Why can’t I stay? Make sure they make it and that?’

‘You’re not staying,’ George snapped. ‘And I told you, she’s mine. If you so much as lay a finger on her, I’ll cut it off and shove it down your throat!’

‘What about the blonde one? She’s pretty,’ Leo said, glancing back in her direction as George dragged him away.

‘You can do what you want to her after we get the crown,’ George sighed as they headed down the hill in the direction of the tomb. ‘We need to get to the tomb and find somewhere to hide. They’ll open it for us.’

‘They will?’ Leo asked.

‘They will,’ George confirmed. ‘They just don’t know it.’