“Thank you,” Crow sighed when Penelope said she or Olivia would speak to his companions for him. He was glad that she was willing to stick to the lie he’d come up with, but he also felt a twinge of guilt for withholding the truth yet again. After everything that had happened with Jaxon, he was starting to get tired of sneaking around behind the backs of the people he cared about all the time. They deserved to know the truth. He just wasn’t sure if they could handle this secret, and he was afraid of how they might react if he told them about his father. For the sake of keeping their view of him the same, he couldn’t let them find out he was related to the king.

As Penelope went on to talk about finding time alone with him in the inner kingdom, Crow grinned, finding her enthusiasm infectious. Though he’d been to the inner kingdom many times now, his focus had always been on the targets of his heists. He’d never really taken the time to explore the citadel and appreciate it for what it was. Despite his hatred for nobles and their greedy way of life, he couldn’t deny that the cities were quite a sight to see. The money that had gone into their creation was apparent, and there were plenty of places he had yet to visit. The thought of getting away with the knight sounded like fun to him.

“I’d like that,” he said, smiling at her affectionately. The brightness in her eyes made his heart flutter. He loved it when she looked at him like that. Feeling a particularly strong wave of fondness for Penelope, Crow leaned in and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips and pulled her close in a tight embrace with his free arm. He lingered for a bit before he pulled back again to catch his breath, lifting his hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I can’t wait to see your favorite spots,” he said softly, touching one more gentle kiss to her cheek and another to her jawline. “It’ll be nice to have some real time alone again too… No more of this.” He gestured to the tent around them and then gave his bound hand a tug to emphasize the chain.