Crow nodded when Penelope said Gavin would have to see that he wasn’t the one who had raided the knights’ camp. He hoped she was right. It was frustrating to have the knight constantly breathing down his neck over something he hadn’t done. He didn’t understand why Gavin was so convinced that it had been him in the first place. Sure, he was the most wanted thief in the kingdom, but it was because of the length of time that he’d been stealing and the high-ranking nobles whom he had chosen as his targets. Killing and plundering had never been on the list for him.

He let out his breath in a thoughtful sigh. Honestly, he was starting to think that, given enough time, Jaxon’s reputation would outgrow his own. The man was ruthless and clearly wasn’t afraid to kill during his raids. He was a much more dangerous thief than Crow ever was. Usually, murderous thieves were also more reckless, which was why they weren’t as successful as Crow had been. They would make more mistakes that usually led to their deaths. However, Jaxon was different. He was too calm to make the same errors that caused most criminals’ captures. It was what made him such a fearsome thief and deadly adversary.

Crow was drawn from his thoughts when he felt Penelope shift beside him, moving to get up. He took her extended hand to stand as well, stretching his sore back one more time before stepping over to put his bedroll away. Fortunately, since Gavin had taken care of most of their supplies, that was the only thing he had needed to put up.

Once they were all ready to go, Gavin took the lead again, and they began the last leg of their journey to Aramoor. Crow fell behind a bit as they walked, partly to keep his distance from Gavin, but also because he didn’t want the others to notice the difficulty he was having because of his soreness. His eyes swept cautiously over the trees around them, searching for signs of movement. If the knights’ barons were still sending patrols to the southern side of the outer villages, he didn’t want to be caught with his guard down, especially when he could tell that his reaction time would be slower than usual. So, he remained quiet as they trekked through the forest, keeping his attention on his surroundings rather than the knights he was traveling with.