[i]Come on, Penelope,[/i] Crow thought desperately, biting his lip as he watched her look around for an attacker. It didn’t seem like she had gotten the message. [i]Turn around,[/i] he silently pleaded. [i]Look at it again. You have to get it.[/i] Fortunately, after no one jumped out to ambush them, Penelope seemed to second guess her initial assumption and did in fact turn around to look at the dagger again. He watched her rigidly, looking for a sign that she understood what it meant. Still, there was nothing, but she seemed more confused than aggressive now, which he supposed wasn’t quite so bad. All he had to worry about now was the physician.

Staying put in his hiding place, he continued to observe the nobles with unwavering focus as he waited to see if Penelope would remain with the healer or choose to separate. After a moment, he felt a wave of relief as the knight instructed her to go back to the camp. The physician didn’t even bother to question the order as she ran ahead to get away from the potential danger. He smiled to himself. As long as Penelope didn’t attack him now, everything was going according to the plan.

He rose slowly to his feet, lingering behind the tree since he didn’t want to jump out and startle the knight while she was holding a sword in her hands. In the next moment, he blinked in surprise as she tentatively called out his name. She has gotten his message after all. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding, glad that the owl feather had worked.

Sheathing his remaining dagger—he had kept it in his hand just in case Penelope had tried to come at him without thinking—Crow stepped out from behind the tree and smiled a bit lopsidedly. “Long time, huh?” he said, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. Suddenly, the weight of seeing her again for the first time in so long struck him at once, and before he had a chance to think, he hurried to close the distance between them. Brushing her sword arm aside to wrap his arms around her body, he pulled her close and leaned in to kiss her passionately.

The thief sighed against her lips, trailing his hands over her shoulders and back as he melted into her touch. It had been far too long. He pressed into her deeply, as if trying to make up for all the time they had been apart in just one moment.

After a while—he lost track of time in his fervor—Crow pulled back just enough to catch his breath. He leaned his forehead against hers and laughed dazedly, “Gods, it’s good to see you again.”