Over the course of the following two days, Crow’s life finally returned to something of a state of normalcy. After he had told Hazel about his physical improvement and she had seen it for herself during his sparring match with Rikki, the herbalist had finally backed down from trying to make him stay close to the camp to rest. Instead, she simply focused on making his medicine and asking him about the state of his health at the end of each day.

He spent most of his free time with Rikki—and Alistair whenever the thief joined them. Now that the tension between them had fully died off, he had a hard time telling if she was still trying to win him over or not. One moment, she would act affectionate and caring in a seemingly romantic way, and the next she would offer to go on another walk with him to help him keep tricking the other thieves. Her back and forth attitude confused him, but as long as she didn’t push his boundaries, he decided he was just going to deal with it. After all, he had stopped instigating all physical interactions between them and had told her directly that he was in love with Penelope, so she couldn’t accuse him of leading her on again.

So, when the day came at last when he was going to see Penelope again, he didn’t think twice about accepting her invitation to go to the marketplace in Wheldrake to get more supplies. They left just before noon, heading south through the forest on their way to the village. A comfortable silence fell between them, which Crow spent thinking about the coming night. As the sun made its course through the sky, his excitement to see the knight grew, and he was glad that Rikki had suggested they go on this trip since it would make time go by faster.

After they had walked for a while, the female thief finally broke the silence between them. “So,” she started in a tone that made him think she had something planned to say. “I was thinking… Maybe we could turn this trip into a [i]real[/i] getaway.” She looked up at him with a light blush on her cheeks. “I know it’s been a while for both of us. We might as well have a little fun… blow off some steam, if you know what I mean.”

Crow turned to her, surprised at the forwardness of her words. “Why would you even suggest that?” he asked. “It doesn’t matter how long it’s been. I’m still with Penelope. That hasn’t changed.”

“Come on,” she rolled her eyes. “You’re not married to the woman, and you certainly aren’t making any effort to court her. What’s the harm?” She sidled up a little closer to him. “You know just as well as I do that noblewomen are often courted by more than one suitor. Why can’t you have the same luxury?”

Crow averted his gaze, “She left her suitor for me. She’s serious about our relationship, and so am I.”

“You haven’t even seen this knight for nearly a month,” Rikki slipped her arm around his, pressing ever closer as she caught sight of a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. “You barely have a relationship. I’m sure she would understand that you can’t keep waiting around for her. You’re a man with needs, and I’m a woman who can meet them.” She leaned up to whisper in his ear, “I can be there for you until the end of the war. It’s just a bit of harmless fun.”

Crow shuddered at the feeling of her warm breath on his ear. He hated that her words were actually tempting to him, but she made some valid points. It was true that there was technically nothing to keep him loyal to one woman outside of the bonds of marriage, and it was also true that it [i]had[/i] been a while… His eyes wandered to Rikki’s attractive body as he felt swayed by her seduction. [i]No,[/i] he closed his eyes. [i]I’m faithful to Penelope. I can’t ruin what we have over a stupid fling.[/i] Taking a calming breath, he pulled his arm out of her grasp.

“I’m faithful to Penelope,” he repeated out loud, speaking to the thief this time. He met her gaze sternly, “I would be upset if I found out she had slept with someone else. I’m not going to cause her that pain.”

“She doesn’t have to know,” Rikki murmured, leaning into him again. “We don’t have to tell her.”

Crow stared at her, shocked to hear such words come out of his friend’s mouth. Suddenly, everything snapped into place. The friendliness, the playful touches, the help she had been offering him; it had all been leading up to this moment. “You’ve been planning this from the start,” he said slowly as he pieced it all together. She had been gaining his trust to seduce him into sleeping with her and tarnish his relationship with Penelope. It had all been one long con.

And he had almost fallen right into it.

“I can’t believe this,” he stepped back from her, curling his lip. “I thought you were the one person here that I could trust. To do something like this… Maybe you’re not the woman I thought you were.”

Rikki crossed her arms defensively. “I was doing you a favor,” she snapped. “Penelope is a [i]knight[/i]. Wake up, Crow. It doesn’t matter how much you think you love her; you’re just going to get hurt. I just figured it would be better for that to happen sooner rather than later.”

“Stop acting like you know her,” he narrowed his eyes. “None of you do. You’re all too blinded by your prejudice against nobles to see that she’s different from the rest.”

“Did you ever consider that maybe you’re too blinded by your infatuation to see that she’s playing you like a lute?”

“Not even for a second,” Crow took another step back from Rikki, appalled by her sudden change in attitude. [i]No, not sudden. She’s believed all of this from the start.[/i] He suddenly felt the intense urge to get away from her. “You can finish your errands alone,” he spat, turning to walk away from her. Without waiting for her to respond, he stormed off into the surrounding trees, not caring where he was going as long as it was away from her.

--

Crow spent the rest of the day away from the camp, wanting to avoid any chance of running into Rikki again before his meeting with Penelope that night. He was still seething that she would have tried such a dirty trick on him, and he shuddered to think what would have happened if it had worked. He could have lost Penelope’s trust, or worse, lost her completely. Just the thought of it sent a knife through his heart.

When night finally fell, he made his way to the clearing in the north, more eager than ever to see her and put this whole mess behind him. He walked cautiously through the dark forest, his eyes flitting over the shadows as the more paranoid part of his mind worried that Rikki would follow him and somehow find another way to ruin his relationship with Penelope. Of course, no one was there, and he made it to the clearing without trouble.

His eyes swept over the space to find that it was empty. He was the first to arrive. Glancing into the trees around him, he began pacing agitatedly as he waited for the knight to appear, hoping she would reach him soon.