Crow leaned his head against Penelope’s hand as she caressed his cheek, enjoying the comfort that her touch always gave him. He was a bit relieved to hear that she was just as reluctant as he was about using her arranged marriage to buy her way back to the inner kingdom. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but if it was enough to give her the excuse she needed to come with him when he confronted his father, then he supposed they would just have to tough it out and hope John wouldn’t rush the wedding any more than he already had. After all, now that the option for her to go was on the table, he was willing to try anything to make sure it happened. Having her by his side would be much better than speaking with Albin alone.

“It’s alright,” he assured her with a confident smile. “Besides, it might make it easier for us to keep fooling your father if he still believes you’re being courted by Gavin.” Leaning in again, he met her lips in a brief kiss and then frowned at her following words. In all his worries about what his decision would mean for himself, he had completely forgotten about the fact that his trip to the castle would mean it would be even longer before he could return to his companions. They had to be getting concerned that something had gone wrong by now. If he didn’t try to contact them soon, they might even get desperate and try to come to the knights’ camp to find out why he hadn’t left yet.

“Right…” Crow shifted his weight awkwardly and gave Penelope a bashful look. “I guess I haven’t thought this through as much as I should have.” He paused, mulling the situation over for a moment before he spoke again in a low voice. “I don’t want them to know where I’m going. None of them know that I’m related to the king, nor that he’s reached out to me before, and I’d rather not let them find out. They all hate nobles, so I’m not sure what they would do if they discover my lineage.” He grimaced. “It would be bad enough if I was the son of a vassal or some other low-titled lord, but my father holds the most despised position in the kingdom. I can’t imagine any circumstance where that [i]wouldn’t[/i] change their opinion of me.”

The thief exhaled and wrapped his arm a little more tightly around Penelope’s back. “Honestly, I’m not sure what I could even tell them that would justify staying away longer,” he went on. “I think the best option would just be to say that it’s taking longer than we expected for me to heal and hope this trip goes by quickly enough that they don’t even realize I left the outer villages.”

He touched a kiss to her forehead and then pulled back to meet her gaze with an apologetic look, “I’m sorry to ask any more of you than you’ve already done, but do you think that you or Olivia could speak to them for me? I would do it myself, but I doubt I could get away since I’m barely well enough to walk.”