Crow eyed the corridor that led up to the stairs, wanting to make sure the knights had gone. He felt bad for Penelope—she must have been feeling terrible to know that her comrades were going to be executed—but it wasn’t like there was anything they could do. It was only a matter of time before someone found out there were intruders in the castle or that the servants had been poisoned. They couldn’t waste time looking for William and Abraxas and risk losing both them and the staff. If he didn’t steal it tonight, they would have to wait for months or maybe even a year before the palace lowered its guard again and he would have another chance. At that point, they may as well turn back and prepare for war, because the king of Brerra wouldn’t keep waiting around.

Once he was sure the hallway was clear, he turned back to Penelope to let her know they could keep moving. However, when he met her gaze again, he was surprised to see not sadness or guilt, but fiery determination in her eyes. He was even more taken aback by her words that followed. [i]Penelope…[/i] he frowned. He supposed he should have known that she would want to go after her fellow knights, but he didn’t like the idea of leaving her to wander around the castle alone while there was a chance that the guards would figure out she was the one who had slipped the henbane into the servants’ dinner.

He opened his mouth to protest, but she continued first by saying that she had an idea about where William and Abraxas were being held. He held her gaze, still unsure, but also aware that it would be difficult to convince her to knowingly abandon her comrades. [i]But who knows?[/i] he thought. [i]Maybe she’ll be safer trying to free them while the Younisians are focused on stopping me.[/i] The possibility made him relax slightly. He still didn’t like the idea of parting ways after they had only just found each other again, but it was starting to look like this new plan might actually work out for the best.

“Do what you have to do,” Crow nodded when she took his hand. He drew her in and wrapped his arms around her, pressing a parting kiss to her lips. When he pulled back, he looked at her with eyes full of a mixture of affection and seriousness. “But please be careful. I know you would do anything for your comrades, but I want you to come back to me in one piece, okay?” He kissed her one more time on the forehead. “I love you, Penelope. Don’t make me find out what I would do without you.”