Crow leaned calmly against a tree in the small clearing as he waited for Penelope to arrive. While he wasn’t feeling anxious or desperate to see her right away, he hoped she wouldn’t take too long this time. From what she had said at their last meeting, it sounded like they weren’t going to have much time with each other. If that was the case, he wanted to enjoy every second he could get with her before the next battle, since it would likely be at least five days before they could meet again.

His eyes wandered over the starry sky as he thought about what was to come. The fact that the battle was going to take place near Myrefall unsettled him. With the illness still about and uncured in the village, a fight would leave them in a bad state if it carried over into the town. He hoped Penelope was right that this battle would be the one that would finally give Brerra an edge over Younis. If it did, the people of his home would be safe, and the war might soon come to an end. The thought made a faint smile spread across his lips.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps off to the side, and he looked over to see someone stepping into the clearing with him. His heart raced excitedly as he saw that someone was Penelope. In his enthusiasm, he didn’t notice the distant expression on her face as he hurried over to greet her. “Oh, thank gods,” he sighed, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace. “I was starting to think you’d gotten too busy to show up tonight.”

Pressing a soft kiss to her cheek, he pulled back to meet her gaze, only to falter slightly as he caught sight of the look on her face. “What’s wrong?” he frowned, his mind working as he tried to think of a reason why she would seem so distressed. After a moment, he went on with a tentative guess, “Did your baroness blame you for our raid last night?”