Still on edge from everything the knights were telling him, Crow tensed slightly as he felt another hand slip into his. He looked up again to meet Penelope’s gaze and relaxed a bit, intertwining his fingers with hers to take comfort in her touch. He nodded when she said she would remove the chains for him if she could. Even though he hated the feeling of being tied down like this, he didn’t want her to risk getting into any more trouble with her barons. She had already done more than enough by bringing him to her camp to be healed in the first place. He couldn’t ask her to unbind him on top of that.

[i]It’s just until I’m healed enough to get out of this place,[/i] he thought, trying to calm his temper. [i]I can handle that much.[/i] Although, with the way the metal cuff was already starting to chafe at his wrist, he wasn’t so sure. He let out a long exhale, wishing he still had his pick lock key.

As Penelope tried to assure him that she would stop her brother from choosing his guards, Crow just nodded wordlessly again. He hoped she was right that she could convince her barons, but after what she’d told him about their dwindling trust in her, he wasn’t so sure. Layth could be a stubborn man, and he despised the thief, so Crow knew he would put up a fight to get his way. Even if the hotheaded knight managed to assign one guard to him, he was going to have to keep his guard up. He shuddered. It was a good thing he was a light sleeper, because he had a feeling he might need to stay alert in the upcoming days.

Crow softened a bit when Penelope leaned down to kiss his forehead. Despite his doubts, her confident words did make him feel better. Maybe she could pull this off after all. He glanced between the three knights in the tent with him. Even though he would have preferred to just have her as a guard, he supposed the other two wouldn’t be so bad. Olivia was decent enough company whenever she wasn’t up to no good, and Gavin… He eyed the other man from across the room. Well, he still wasn’t sure what to expect from him, but he knew he could at least trust that the knight wouldn’t hurt him. That was good enough for now.

As for the other knights that might come to guard him, he trusted Penelope’s judgement. Whoever she picked, whether he liked them or not, would be acceptable watchmen.

“I’d put in a good word for you if I could,” he shrugged with an edge of sarcasm. “But unfortunately, I don’t think my criminal voice would do very much to help.” He shook his head and looked up at her with a halfhearted smile. “Thank you though… I hope your barons are willing to listen.” He paused, frowning slightly as he remembered what Gavin had said about the little rest she had gotten since the battle. While he enjoyed having her by his side, he didn’t want to keep her from recovering from her own injuries.

“You know, I’m feeling much better than before,” Crow said slowly, offering her a soft smile and giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. “I should be fine on my own now. You should go and get some sleep.”