Crow leaned back against the mattress with his eyes closed, trying to get comfortable while Penelope searched for water to give him. His wound still hurt after what Layth had done, so it was difficult for him to settle down, but he still felt like the pain had lessened enough that he would be able to sleep that night. Even though he couldn’t tell the time from inside the tent, he knew he was tired, so he guessed it was probably dark outside by now.

When Penelope returned with a flask of water, Crow murmured a quick ‘thank you’ and brought the container to his lips, downing the rest of its contents all at once. The cold liquid stung a little on the way down, probably because of the damage Layth had caused, but he still managed to finish it off. Once the flask had been emptied, he set it aside on the bed and let out his breath in a content exhale. It hadn’t been quite enough to quench his thirst, but it was better than nothing, and his mouth wasn’t dry anymore.

At Penelope’s mention that she had to leave soon, the thief looked up at her with a frown. He wished she could stay with him through the night, but he knew it was too much to ask. She had probably already drawn enough attention to herself as things were by staying in the tent all day. Besides that, she was probably tired too. They both needed to get some rest after everything that had happened that day, and she couldn’t do that if she was watching over him through the night.

“Alright,” he smiled softly as she kissed him on the cheek and met her gaze when she pulled back. “I’ll be here.” He followed her with his eyes as she exited the tent and then sighed, suddenly finding the room to be lonelier. It was especially disheartening to know that he wouldn’t be able to see her again until the following night. He didn’t want to spend most of his day in the company of knights he barely knew—and some he didn’t even know at all.

[i]Maybe I can just get some extra rest tomorrow,[/i] he mused, his eyelids drooping wearily as he drifted closer to falling asleep. After all, if Penelope was in a meeting, that meant Layth would be too. With the vengeful knight out of the way, he might actually be able to spend a full day recovering properly from his injury. That was a pleasant thought. Settling down a little more comfortably on the bed, he was about to let himself fall asleep when Olivia spoke up once more from across the room.

“Goodnight, [i]Collin[/i],” she cooed, clearly intent on milking the fact that she knew his real name.

The thief shook his head faintly in exasperation. He regretted letting the other knights find out such a personal detail about himself, but it was too late to do anything about it now. He supposed he might as well just accept that the information was out. “Night,” he murmured, closing his eyes to signal that he was done speaking. Olivia may have found out his secret, but that didn’t mean he was going to give her the satisfaction of complaining about it. With that stubborn thought in mind, he finally drifted off into a light slumber, hoping the next day would go by quickly so he could see Penelope again.