Crow wrapped his arms around Penelope as she embraced him, pressing close to her as he sought comfort in her touch. He still wished he hadn’t needed to tell her about his illness, but he found that her reaction was surprisingly soothing to him. Until now, he had been dealing with it on his own—even Hazel, who was trying to treat him, didn’t do much to support him in other ways—so it was nice to have someone else come alongside him in the midst of it all.

At her reassuring words, he nodded faintly. He wished he could bring himself to feel so confident. Before Hazel’s help, he had been doubtful he would find a cure for his illness. Now, even though he had the herbalist working every night to figure out how to treat him, he was only slightly more hopeful. His mood waxed and waned depending on his condition. When he was feeling well, he felt more strongly that he would make it, but whenever he had another episode, he lapsed back into worrying and doubt. It was hard to stay positive when his health changed so often.

As Penelope went on to tell him that she wasn’t going to leave him no matter what, he frowned, feeling a pang of guilt. Part of the reason he had chosen not to turn her down when she had told him she wanted to be with him was because he knew they could always part ways later. Now, it was starting to sound like she wasn’t going to do that, even if it meant that she would lose everything. The news was concerning to him. He didn’t want her to give up everything just to stay by his side if he was going to die. She deserved so much more than that. He couldn’t take that away from her.

At her final words, he winced, knowing them to be true as well. It was the same thing Hazel had been trying to get through his head for the past few days. However, hearing it come from Penelope made him take the warning a bit more seriously.

“I know,” he murmured with a sigh, burying his head against her neck. “But it’s not like I can do anything about it. I have to protect my companions and the villagers.” He pulled back from her slightly, just enough to meet her gaze. “I’m being as careful as I can, but I’m not going to run away just because I’m ill. There are too many lives at stake.”