“That’s an understatement,” Crow murmured in agreement when Penelope said the situation they were in now was much better than what had almost happened. He closed his eyes as she buried her head into his neck, resting his cheek against her temple. It was hard to believe how close he had come to getting crippled for the rest of his life by the knights. Two weeks ago, he had been afraid of being unable to function on his own anymore, but now the worst of his worries was the upcoming conversation with his father. While he still wasn’t happy about going through with it, he much preferred doing that to enduring the pain of having his hands cut off.

He sighed softly as he felt her begin to kiss him along his neck, shivering slightly at the feeling of her soft lips against his skin. Though his wound still had quite some time left before it would be fully healed, he hoped that they would be able to find some time alone on this trip to get a little more intimate again. It had been nearly a month since the last time they’d slept together, and he was starting to find the wait more unbearable with each passing day. The touch of her lips and the stroke of her fingers lit him up like fire, and he craved to have her fully after being bedridden for so long.

Turning his head, Crow was just about to pine for another kiss from her, when he froze at the sound of footsteps outside the tent. He cursed under his breath and parted quickly from the knight, sitting down on the edge of the bed to put some more distance between them as John stepped into the room. The thief casted a brief glance at the older knight and then turned away again, annoyed that the man had interrupted the only alone time he’d gotten with Penelope in days. He hoped she would be able to convince Mia to let her come with them to the inner kingdom. Perhaps then, they’d be able to get away long enough to have some quality time together.

As the two knights began to speak amongst each other, Crow watched them furtively from the corner of his eye, holding his breath as he waited to find out if John would accept her company on their trip to the citadel. To his relief, the man agreed rather quickly, seeming pleased with his daughter for her sudden interest in forming wedding plans. The thief bit his lip and looked away, stifling a victorious smirk. As things were right now, one of the two knights Penelope had to convince had been persuaded. All that was left was for her to win Mia’s approval. The thought made him feel giddy with excitement. He couldn’t wait to go on another trip with her, even if they would be accompanied by her stoic father. Anything was better than parting ways right when he was back on his feet.

As Penelope moved to leave the tent, Crow caught her eye for a fleeting moment and offered her a subtle smile. Once she was gone, the room felt lonely again, but the feeling wasn’t as terrible as it usually was now that he knew what was to come. His heart raced eagerly in his chest, and he had to fight from keeping a matching expression from taking over his face. After all, he didn’t want John to catch onto them before they had even left the knights’ camp.

“Get some sleep, Lockton,” John said gruffly as he sat down in Jane’s chair. “I don’t care how excited you are that your legs still work; I need you in good enough condition to make the trip to the castle.”

Crow glanced at him bemusedly. He must have given away his enthusiasm a little more than he’d intended to, but fortunately, the knight seemed to brush off his eagerness as a reaction to the fact that he could stand and walk again.

“Fine,” he shrugged airily, swinging his legs up onto the bed and laying down on his side. It was nice to be able to change positions a little more than he used to when his wound had forced him to lay flat on his back. He could only lie on his right side—the chain on his wrist prevented him from rolling onto his left—but any variation was better than none, so he didn’t complain.

Despite his buzzing excitement at the fact that Penelope might be able to come with him when he confronted his father, it didn’t take long before Crow drifted off into a light sleep.