It didn’t take long for Crow to finish his food as usual. Once he was done eating, he shifted slightly to lean more comfortably against Penelope’s side and closed his eyes peacefully. He hoped that Gavin would let them all stay in the clearing for a while longer, both because it would mean he could continue to be next to her and because it would mean they would get into Wheldrake later. The village was already just far enough away that it would take them until the night to arrive, but the later the night went on, the easier it would be for him to convince the others to wait until the morrow for their interrogation of the villagers.

He sighed, feeling the twinge of guilt that always seemed to appear whenever he worked on his plans to double cross his companions. Since their lead had actually taken them all close to Jaxon’s hideout, he needed to find a way to get a step ahead of them before the questioning began. The best way that he had come up with so far was to delay them so they would reach Wheldrake closer to the middle of the night. That way, there would be no one sober enough to take seriously during the interrogation. If he could manage that, he was sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to find a way to sneak off during the night and make his own arrangements in the village. He grimaced, loathing his own conniving nature in that moment as he was forced to use it on the people he cared about.

Unfortunately, Gavin didn’t wait as long as Crow had hoped he would to announce that they were to keep moving. He eyed the knight contemplatively, wondering if there was any way that he could force them to wait a while longer without being too obvious about it. To his disappointment, he couldn’t think of anything. The knight distrusted him too much to listen to a word he said. If he tried anything, he was certain that Gavin would be quick to shut it down and accuse him of delaying them again.

[i]And this time he would be right,[/i] he thought dismally, barely registering Penelope’s kiss on his cheek as he moved to stand up. He would just have to think of another way to slow down their procession later on.

Once everyone was ready to go, Gavin took the lead again to guide them all to Wheldrake. Crow fell behind, not wanting to be near to the other man after he had caught the strange look in his eye earlier. If there was even a chance that Gavin might pick up on his altered allegiances, he wanted to keep as much distance between them as possible.

As he walked, the thief laced his fingers with Penelope’s, once again taking comfort in her warmth and touch. As terrible as it felt to turn traitor to the others, he had to remind himself who he was doing it for. [i]This is all to keep her safe,[/i] he thought with some resolve.

“Hey, maybe while we’re in Wheldrake, we can find time to sell off that medicine we took,” Rikki’s unexpected voice made him jump slightly in surprise. She had trotted up to his side while he had been distracted. “You know, since you didn’t actually do it on your own,” she added with a playful nudge.

“I did sell some of it,” Crow rolled his eyes and then met her gaze with a suspicious frown. He didn’t like how much she was lingering by his side during this trip. The female thief’s presence obviously made Penelope uncomfortable, and he didn’t want her to feel that way. “Why don’t you spend some time with Alistair?” he suggested. “You haven’t really talked to him all day.”

Rikki snorted, “He wouldn’t even hear me if I tried. He’s so smitten with that other knight that I think he forgot we exist.” She glanced over her shoulder at Alistair and Olivia, who were caught up in their own conversation once again, before turning back to him with a shrug. “You’re the only other person here I don’t mind talking to.” She paused before casting a smirk at Penelope. “And you too, of course.”