Despite his lack of appetite, Crow managed to finish off his half-filled bowl of stew. It hadn’t been much, but with the incessant churning in his stomach from his stress, he almost felt like he had overeaten. He set his bowl aside and leaned back on the palms of his hands, letting out his breath slowly as the food settled. He hoped the discomfort would pass quickly, otherwise the rest of the walk to Aramoor was going to be quite unpleasant.

At the sound of footsteps, he looked up to see that Gavin was approaching them again. Just like before, the knight’s presence made him stiffen slightly, and he looked away to keep from meeting his gaze. Unfortunately, he still caught Gavin’s glance towards him and saw him whisper something in Penelope’s ear from the corner of his eye. It wasn’t hard to take a few guesses about what the knight was saying to her. He shot the other man a cold look. Even though he wasn’t sure where he stood with her, he didn’t want her ex suitor to speak with her about something that he should discuss with her, himself. It wasn’t Gavin’s job to push them apart. If she was going to leave him, or if he was going to let her go, it needed to be decided between them, and no one else.

Fortunately, all it took was a few sharp words from Penelope for the knight to leave them alone. Crow was just about to relax again, but he didn’t have the chance before she suddenly leaned into his side. It took all of his strength not to flinch, but he couldn’t stop himself from tensing slightly. He silently cursed himself for slipping, and quickly moved to put an arm around her shoulders in the hopes that she hadn’t noticed his momentary stiffness.

Pressing her close to his side, he leaned his head against hers and sighed. “I suppose I could say I told you so,” he murmured. “But I think the evidence speaks for itself.” He glanced at Gavin as the knight packed up their camping supplies before going on in a quiet voice, “I don’t think he’s ever going to trust me. I just hope he doesn’t let his stubbornness get in the way of this mission. Jaxon is too dangerous to lose over a petty feud.”