The next day, Crow slept until close to noon. After being out almost all night with Penelope and having nothing to do until the trip to Grimsby, he didn’t bother getting up from his bed until he felt decently well rested. When he finally decided he had slept in long enough, he left the shelter and walked into the camp with a wide yawn. He looked around to see that Alistair and Rikki were playing some sort of game he didn’t recognize—probably something one of them had invented to pass the time.

Rikki looked up with a grin when she saw him come outside, “Look who’s back from the dead.”

Crow just grunted in response and sat down near the others, too tired to justify giving her a proper reply since he was still waking up. Able to smell food, he looked around until he spotted a pot near the fire pit. Judging by the smoke that was still rising from the pit, whatever had been cooking was probably still warm. “Did you save me any lunch?” he asked, glancing back towards Rikki.

“There’s plenty left,” she nodded. “Alistair made a stew out of some of the food we stole from the knights last time. It’s actually pretty good.”

“Smells like it,” Crow could already feel his mouth beginning to water at the enticing aroma. He got up again and stepped over to the pot to fill up a bowl for himself. Once he had enough, he walked back to the other thieves to eat in their company.

“So,” Rikki spoke up again, leaning back on her palms and smirking amusedly. “I heard you had a late night with Penelope.”

Unprepared for the sudden comment, Crow choked on his food. He coughed and shot Alistair a glare, “Spreading rumors now, are we?”

“You’re the one who slept for half a day,” Alistair shrugged. “Rikki asked, and I explained. That was all.”

“I see you didn’t bother to explain the part where I told you nothing happened,” Crow rolled his eyes.

“Wait, so why were you out so late if you didn’t sleep with her?” Rikki chirped, staring at him curiously.

Crow hesitated. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell them about his night with Penelope. Even though it was true that nothing had happened between them physically, he knew the thieves would probably be even more critical of him if he told them what had actually occurred. They all despised knights. If they learned about the things he had shared with Penelope, they would just chastise him for putting so much trust in her. It was the same reason why he had never told them about his relationship with her two years ago. They would never understand.

[i]I don’t know if I even understand it anymore,[/i] he frowned. Though he and Penelope had managed to bridge some of the distance between them, part of him wished he hadn’t told her so much. He trusted her to keep everything he had said a secret, but they weren’t lovers anymore. Giving her more of himself would just make it harder to part with her later. He needed to focus on pulling away from her, not getting closer again.

“Crow,” Rikki snapped her fingers in front of his face. “I asked you a question.”

“Not much happened,” he finally answered her with a shake of his head. “Sorry to disappoint, but we just ran into some local knights and hid out in the woods until they left. That’s it. End of story.”

“If you say so,” Rikki shrugged, seeming satisfied with his response. Of all the thieves, she respected his privacy the most, so whether she believed him or not, he knew he could trust her not to push for more information.

Crow allowed a short silence to fall between them as a natural end to the conversation topic. He finished off the rest of his stew and set the bowl aside before going on to relay the news Penelope had shared with him the night before, “The next battle is going to be in Grimsby in six days. If we want to get there in time, we should leave in three.”

“Sounds good,” Alistair nodded, having no problem with the plan. “Are we going past Norcrest again?”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m giving us an extra day to travel.”

“Alright,” Alistair stood up and dusted off his pants. “I’ll go tell Simon. He went off somewhere by himself again to read his books.”

“Okay,” Crow watched him leave before glancing at Rikki. The female thief had a pained look on her face as she avoided his gaze.

“I’m going to have to stay behind… aren’t I?” she said after a moment, gingerly touching the bandages around her leg.

“It’s for your own good,” Crow said softly.

“That damned knight,” Rikki spat suddenly. “This is all his fault for sneaking up on me while I was protecting that villager. What a dirty trick.” She looked up to meet his gaze determinedly. “There has to be something I can do to help. Please, let me come with you. I’ll think of something.”

“You’re helping by getting better so you can join us next time,” Crow offered her a smile and reached out to take her hand in a calming gesture. “I’d rather you stay behind and heal than come with us and die in battle. I still need you around, darling. You’re too important to lose.”

Rikki’s cheeks grew rosy at his words. “You’re lucky you’re such a smooth talker, Crow, or I’d be fighting you tooth and nail for this,” she chuckled quietly, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. After a moment, she pulled back to meet his gaze again, “Fine. I’ll stay here just this once, but you’re gonna owe me.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” he winked at her coyly before climbing to his feet. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got preparations to make for the battle.”