Crow nodded faintly when Penelope said she understood why he believed Jaxon’s thieves had been the ones behind the attack on the knights’ camp. “I wish it wasn’t true, but it’s the only thing that makes sense,” he said with a frown. “They’re the only thieves I know of with the numbers and skill to pull off something like that. I just don’t understand why they would have come to the outer villages when there’s so much more wealth in the inner kingdom.”

He sighed, still puzzled by that detail. Jaxon and his men were fueled by their greed, so he couldn’t think of a good reason why they would have wanted to come to such a poor part of the kingdom. Even though the Younisians could pay them well for the stolen weapons, they would make much more money if they simply continued to raid the nobles in and near the citadel. It didn’t make sense. There had to be something he was missing—something that was attractive enough to draw Jaxon out of hiding and into the frontlines of the war.

As Penelope got up and moved to stand beside him, the thief leaned into her, taking comfort in her warm presence. He closed his eyes as she brushed aside a loose strand of his dark hair and kissed him on his forehead. Her lips were soft against his skin, and he found himself relaxing in spite of the less than comfortable subject they had been discussing.

Feeling a bit affectionate, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against her chest. At her confident words, he couldn’t help but smile. “He doesn’t know who he’s up against,” he chuckled softly, looking up to meet her gaze. “I’m sure if he took one look at you, he’d go running for the hills.” While he was clearly exaggerating, he did find her determination inspiring. Besides, she was right. They had dealt with killers before, and they could do it again. How much worse could Jaxon be?

Pushing back his chair, Crow stood up and turned to Penelope again, leaning down to press a deep kiss to her lips while snaking one arm behind her back to hold her close to himself. When he pulled back, he smiled at her fondly. “I’d love to stay here with you longer, darling, but we should probably start heading back before Gavin thinks I murdered you.”

Taking his own advice, he stepped over to the bed and knelt down, reaching underneath to retrieve the bag he had stowed there earlier. Once he had it, he got up and slung it over his shoulders, glancing back at the knight, “Ready to go?”