As they stepped out of the house, Crow closed the door behind him and adjusted the strap of his bag, so it fell more comfortably across his shoulder. He laced his fingers with Penelope’s as she took his hand, falling into step beside her as they made their way back to the others. After sharing such a secretive piece of his past with her, he felt strangely lighter. It was nice to have someone else who knew about his history with Jaxon’s thieves, even if it wasn’t a piece of his past that he was proud of. Of course, his companions knew about it as well, since they had all been a part of the group, but it was such a sore subject that they never spoke about it.

Thinking about Simon, Alistair, and Rikki again, he hoped word wouldn’t get back to them about Jaxon’s arrival in the outer villages. They all held grudges against the man for various reasons, and he didn’t want them chasing recklessly after him after they had all been deemed traitors of the group. He didn’t doubt that Jaxon’s men wouldn’t hesitate to kill his companions if they showed their faces to them. And while he was out conducting a separate hunt with the knights, he wouldn’t be able to protect them.

[i]At least they’re all confined to the camp until the patrols die down,[/i] he thought. [i]And all of the knights believe we were the ones who destroyed their camp. There’s no way anyone could figure out it was Jaxon.[/i] Feeling slightly reassured, he walked a little closer to Penelope, enjoying the remainder of their time alone as the other two knights came into view up ahead.

Of course, as soon as they reached them, Gavin was quick to make a snide remark to Crow. The thief rolled his eyes. “No,” he said dryly. “I still have to get my other bag from the other side of the village.”

“What else could you possibly need?” Gavin groaned, seeming to have missed the sarcastic edge in Crow’s voice.

“Oh, just the weapons I’ll be using to kill you all in your sleep,” Crow shot him a devilish wink. His upper lip twitched slightly as he fought to keep from laughing. He may have disliked Penelope’s former suitor, but he was going to have quite a bit of fun if it was always this easy to fool him.

Gavin’s eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed as he finally seemed to catch on that the thief was mocking him. “Let’s just go already,” he grumbled, turning to lead them down the road.

Crow smirked, feeling pleased for having gotten under the knight’s skin so effortlessly, and gave Penelope’s hand a gentle tug as he followed after him.