Crow listened quietly as Penelope explained everything that had happened after they had parted two years ago. He was eager to hear her side of the story, since he wanted to know why she had never come to be with him as she had promised. However, the tale she told was quite a bit more than he had been expecting.

When she lifted her shirt to show him the scar on her torso, he frowned. He supposed he hadn’t been that far off in assuming she had died. A wound that severe definitely would have bordered on fatal. She was lucky to have made it out with her life, and he was glad that she did. He felt another short wave of relief as he remembered how distraught he had been when he had initially believed her to have perished. Even though he had been misled for so long, he was glad to know that she was alright now.

He continued to listen as she went on to explain what had happened after the attack, mildly surprised to learn that she had received the scar on her face from an entirely different battle. He was grateful that William had been wise enough to make her turn back after that incident. Who knew what could have happened if they had kept searching for the staff? Even if they had found a lead, they might have ended up walking into a trap. He shuddered at the thought.

As she finished telling her story, he stood in silence and lowered his gaze, taking a moment to process it all. There was a lot to take in, but after a brief pause, he looked up again and shook his head, “Don’t be sorry. What I went through was nothing compared to all of that. I’m honestly just glad you’re still alive.” He shifted his weight. “Until today, I thought you had died. I overheard some knights at the border talking about how the mission had failed, and, well… I guess I just assumed the worst.”

He let out his breath in a sigh and then smiled, “When Olivia told me you were still alive, and in the outer villages, at that… Gods, you have no idea how happy I was.” He flushed slightly, realizing he was starting to ramble. “Look, the point is: The past is in the past. I don’t care that you chose to stay to help your family. In fact, it sounds like that was the more honorable thing to do at that time rather than running off to be with a thief like me.” He reached to take her hands in his, his heart hammering as he worked up the nerve to say what he had come to say to her. “I just wanted to tell you… I still love you, Penelope. I always have. And when this war is said and done, I-I still want to be with you.” He swallowed nervously, holding her gaze as he went on in a hushed voice. “Do you still want that too?”