Now that he had a way to keep warm, the pain in Crow’s body finally began to pass. He laid on the bed with his eyes closed, relaxing into the peacefulness of being able to breathe easily after spending most of the morning—or what he guessed was the morning—forced to hold his breath every time the ache got worse.

Absently, he noticed that the injury was making him grateful for things he normally didn’t even think about, such as simply being alive without pain or being able to inhale without his breath catching in his throat from said pain. The thoughts put him in a strange mood that he wasn’t sure he liked, but since he was trapped in the physician’s tent with nothing else to do, he couldn’t help but dwell on them.

“Thank you.”

Crow opened his eyes and looked across the room at Gavin, surprised to hear him speak up. Since Jane had left, the two men had fallen into a somewhat awkward silence. Crow hadn’t been sure how to approach him, since he was still just getting used to the idea that the knight didn’t want him dead anymore. He wasn’t sure what was going on in Gavin’s head, but it was clear that the other man didn’t feel comfortable speaking openly with him either. For him to say something now, especially an expression of gratitude, was strange.

“For what?” the thief asked, unsure what the knight was talking about.

Gavin shifted slightly in his chair. “I hadn’t said it before, but… I saw what you did in the battle,” he explained slowly, seeming uncomfortable with talking so openly with a criminal. “If you hadn’t stopped that sword, Penelope would be dead right now, so… thank you.”

Crow stared at him, not expecting to hear the knight say that he’d witnessed his exchange with Jaxon in the thieves’ camp. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “I just did what I had to,” he said with a shrug, looking away from the other man again to gaze up at the canopy. He could see Gavin observing him from the corner of his eye, and he wondered if the knight was going to add something else. However, before he had a chance, the flap of the tent pulled back as another person entered the room.

Crow turned, expecting that Jane had returned to check up on him again, but instead, his heart skipped excitedly as he saw Penelope step inside. His lip curved upward into a smile of its own accord, but in the next moment, he faltered slightly when he noticed something seemed off about her. She was acting quieter than usual, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had happened since the last time he’d seen her. [i]What if the conversation with her barons didn’t go well?[/i] He swallowed nervously.

The thief watched her in silent contemplation as she spoke briefly with Gavin before walking up to his bedside. At her question, he paused before answering. In truth, he was feeling worse today than the day before, but he felt fairly certain his pain was only because of the brisk night. So, not wanting to worry Penelope unnecessarily, he chose to respond with a simple: “I’m alright.”

He offered her a smile and reached out to take her hand, longing for her touch. “I mean, I’m doing as well as I can be in this condition,” he added and then frowned as he held her gaze, hoping to find out why she seemed more subdued than normal. “Did you have a chance to speak with your barons yet?