As the three thieves headed into the tunnels, a tense silence fell over them. Crow could tell that Alistair and Rikki were both buzzing with questions that they wanted to ask, yet were afraid to speak out loud. He wasn’t sure if he preferred the quiet or if he would rather they just come out and say what was on their minds. After all, he knew they must have blamed him at least in part for everything that had happened. How could they not? It had been his lie that had landed them all in this mess in the first place. Even he couldn’t think of a way to excuse himself from being the cause of Jaxon’s heinous deed.

After a short period of time had passed, Alistair worked up the nerve to ask him one of his questions. “So…” he started slowly. “Is it true? What Hazel said about you and Penelope, I mean… Are you really involved with a knight romantically?”

Crow sighed. He supposed there was no point trying to hide it any longer now that Hazel had admitted it in front of everyone. “It’s true,” he nodded. “We’ve been together for some time now.”

“I see,” Alistair trailed off, seeming lost in his own thoughts.

Another brief silence fell between them before Rikki spoke up. “Were you really visiting with her in Myrefall then?” she glanced over at him curiously.

“Not quite,” Crow shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t want to tell them about what he had been doing with the other knights, but he couldn’t keep lying to them—not after what had happened to Simon. They needed to be aware of everything that was really going on in the outer villages. He let out his breath again after a pause. “I was offering my assistance to her and two other knights to find a group of thieves that raided their camp,” he finally confessed. “On the same night we stole from them, another group of bandits apparently came in later. They looted half of the knights’ supplies and killed all of their night watchmen.”

He shook his head shamefully, “Honestly, I had a gut feeling that Jaxon was behind it, but I never expected that things would turn out like this. I’m so sorry. I should have told you all right away that it was possible.”

Rikki hesitated for a moment before she reached out to wrap him in an embrace. He blinked in surprise at the gesture. He had been fully expecting both of his companions to be furious with him. A hug was the last thing he would have thought she would do to him. “What’s this for?” he asked, thoroughly confused.

“You big idiot,” Rikki murmured, her voice muffled against his chest. “None of this was your fault. Jaxon would have killed someone no matter what. Simon died because he couldn’t find you, but you would have died if he had.” He felt her arms tighten around his middle. “I’m just glad you’re still alive.”

[i]But he did find me,[/i] Crow grimaced and averted his gaze. [i]He got what he wanted, and Simon is dead now. It is my fault.[/i] However, he couldn’t tell her that. Jaxon had told him that if he told anyone about their meeting, Penelope would be killed next. For her sake, he had to keep his mouth shut. “Thanks,” he said hoarsely. Clearing his throat, he pulled away from her embrace and went on more steadily, “We should keep moving. I still want to see Hazel.”

“Alright,” Rikki said compliantly. “The cavern she’s been sleeping in isn’t much farther ahead.” She waved a hand. “Come on, it’s this way.”

--

Crow wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but what he saw wrenched his heart with anguish. The cave was bare aside from a small oil lantern in the center and a single mat that had been shoved off to the side. Hazel herself laid curled up near the back on the stone floor with her face to the wall. The space was silent, which he just guessed was because she had run out of tears to shed. Overall, the air was stagnant with sadness.

After a moment, Crow worked up the nerve to step forward. “Hey, love,” he said softly as he sat down by her back. She didn’t respond, and he wavered for a moment before going on. “I heard about what happened… I know this doesn’t make anything better, but I just needed you to know that I’m sorry. I-I wish I had been here, or that I could have done something to change what happened.” He ran his fingers anxiously through his hair. “I just feel like I let you down, and I’m truly sorry.”

There was a brief moment of silence before a weak voice spoke up. “You should be,” Hazel mumbled. He blinked in surprise as she suddenly sat up and turned around to face him with the most hate-filled glare he had ever seen her give. “You should have told me the truth,” she said icily. “You know you can trust me, yet you still lied about it, and Simon was the one who suffered for your selfishness.”

Crow said nothing, taken aback by the harshness of her words. Could he really say she was wrong though? It was all true, every word of it. He should have told them all the truth, and then perhaps Simon would still be alive. “I know,” he finally said in a hushed voice.

“No, you don’t know,” Hazel said sharply. “If you understood, you would stop acting like you’re still working alone and learn to trust your friends. But you don’t. You’re just a snake who doesn’t care what happens to anyone else around him as long as he gets what he wants.”

Crow winced, “That’s not t—”

Hazel held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t bother,” she curled her lip. “You can’t convince me.” Suddenly, she bit her lip and looked away, her chin quivering slightly as she fought to hold back tears. “I should have never come with you from mother’s. I should have known you would just hurt me again.” She shook her head. “I was a fool to think you couldn’t hurt me worse than you did all those years ago… You’re still the same snake you were back then, and you’ve ruined my life yet again.” She laid down and rolled over again. “Just get out of here. You’ve done enough.”

Crow sat in silence for a moment before he rose to his feet and walked out of the cavern without another word. On the other side of the wall, Rikki and Alistair quickly fell into step by his side. “Crow, you know she didn’t mean that right?” Alistair studied him with a frown. “She’s grieving. She’ll come around once her emotions settle down.”

“Yeah,” Rikki nodded. “She’s told me before that she knows you’re a good person. This is just the pain talking. I’m sure she’ll be back to her old self with time.”

Crow shrugged, unable to think of anything to say. He knew that Hazel was right about most of the things she had said. It [i]was[/i] his fault that Simon was dead and she had been widowed. But he couldn’t tell anyone that. If he told them the truth, Penelope would be the next to be killed. He couldn’t be the cause of anyone else’s death—he couldn’t handle that burden.

“I’m going to lay down,” he murmured when they got back to the main cavern.

“Are you okay?” Rikki asked concernedly, stepping a little closer to him.

“How can I be, after everything I just learned?” he smiled melancholically and turned to look at her. “I’ll be alright though. I just need some time to process it all.”

“Of course,” Alistair rested a hand on Rikki’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s leave him alone.” She mumbled her agreement and the two headed out to give him some space.

Once they were gone, Crow walked over to his bed mat and laid down on his side, propping one arm beneath his head. Despite all of the terrible news he had gotten, he didn’t feel the urge to shed tears. Instead, he stared vacantly at the wall, numb to the pain that he had thought he would feel, until his weariness eventually caught up with him, and he drifted off into a much-needed nap.