Crow shook his head in agreement and closed his eyes, letting out his breath in a slow exhale when Penelope said the situation was a mess. Everything seemed to be crumbling around them. First, Jaxon had appeared to sabotage the knights’ camp, throwing the results of the war into question; then he had gotten blackmailed by the murderer to turn on the one person he loved most, nearly losing her in the process; then he’d almost gotten killed in battle and had ended up bedridden yet again; after that the barons had almost decided to cut off his hands as punishment for his crimes; and now, after all of that, John was here, threatening what was left of their hope to make it through everything with their plans for the future intact. The whole thing was a complete disaster, and he wished they could just run away from it all.

Crow brought Penelope’s hand to his chest as the silence dragged on between them, wanting to hold her close without risking getting caught if someone walked in on them now. Fortunately, it seemed like he’d made the right decision, because it wasn’t long before the sound of boots on gravel could be heard outside the tent. He groaned inwardly as his time with Penelope was cut short yet again and quickly pulled his hand away from hers to rest at his side, watching the flap of the thick fabric to see who had come to visit this time.

To his surprise, it was Gavin. He blinked as the unexpected guest made his way furtively towards them, as if he was afraid he had been followed. At his words, the thief shifted nervously. He didn’t like knowing that John intended to spend any more time with him than he already had. Any time any knight tried to get close to him, it was always because they wanted something. Though they had gone about it in different ways, both Layth and Mia had been after information. It wasn’t a stretch to guess that Penelope’s father was trying to get the same thing. He already wasn’t looking forward to this.

At Gavin’s question, Crow took on an uncomfortable look and averted his gaze. “Actually, we do,” he admitted hesitantly, glancing up at Penelope as he spoke. “I told Penelope that you both should act like nothing has changed—pretend like you’re still courting… whatever that looks like.” He added the last part in a reluctant voice after a pause and turned back to the male knight. “Her father can’t find out about us, so it’s the best option we have. Do you think you can pull it off?”