Crow didn’t like where this conversation was going at all. He’d thought that when Mia had said she would involve him in the final decision, she’d meant he would have something of a say in it. Instead, it seemed like she had just come to tell him what his punishment would be before someone came in with a knife. He looked away from her, struggling to keep a handle on his fearful emotions.

Despite what Mia was saying, he would have rather been left to die in Jaxon’s camp than suffer through something like this. At least that way, he wouldn’t have had to go through the pain of having his hands cut off and then living out the rest of his life looking over his shoulder in fear of being caught by a bounty hunter. Even if he managed to survive for a few more years with the help of his companions—and Penelope, if he saw through the end of the war—he wouldn’t have much of a life at all. In his opinion, what the baroness was offering him was a fate worse than immediate death.

As Mia went on to say that he could give an alternative suggestion, Crow took a moment to think it over. It was hard for him to think clearly while his mind was riddled with panic, but he forced himself to try. After all, if she was being serious about letting him give his input, this could be his only change to save himself from a very horrific consequence.

“I don’t think a punishment is the only course of action here,” he started tentatively, turning back to meet the stern woman’s gaze again. Perhaps there was still a way for him to convince her to let him go. He wasn’t certain she would come around, but he had to try. “Those thieves who raided your camp were working for the Younisians. They were hired for pay to sabotage your battalion and turn the tide of the war,” he explained, his voice straining faintly with a mixture of excitement and desperation. “What if we formed the same type of alliance? I know others who would be willing to work under your command to sabotage the enemy forces too.”

He paused to study her face, trying to read whether or not she was interested in his proposal. “Surely there’s something to be gained in hiring us. My reputation speaks for itself, after all. I’m quite good at what I do, and I can personally attest to the skills of the others.” He really hoped she was at least considering his offer. If the other barons liked it, things would turn out in everyone’s favor. The knights would finally gain the upper hand against Younis, the thieves would get paid a better wage than what they were making by trading stolen goods, and he and Penelope could look forward to an accelerated end to the war. It sounded perfect in his mind.

“I know you nobles have your reservations about working with criminals, but we’re in the middle of a war,” he continued, trying to play on any desperation Mia might have to conquer the enemy kingdom. “I believe this is a gray enough area that you could make an exception.” His lip turned up in a small smile as he added: “I want this war to end just as much as anyone else, so I’m quite willing to set our differences aside to make that happen. What say you?”