Crow waited for Penelope to climb up the stairs first before he followed after her, closing the door behind him as he started up the spiraling staircase. Though he was confident in his own fitness, the ascent took quite a bit more out of him than he’d been expecting, and he was breathing heavily by the time they reached a door at the top. However, not wanting to give away his exhaustion, he took a slow breath to calm his wild heartbeat and focused his gaze on the door to distract himself from how sore his legs were.

Once Penelope opened it, the thief followed her again onto the roof of the tower and took a moment to take in the view. They were quite high up, so he could see the neighboring cities that surrounded the citadel, although he didn’t know enough about the inner kingdom to recognize any of them from a distance. All he could tell was that every town was filled with large manors belonging to the nobles who lived there, rising above the treetops of the surrounding forest. It was a breathtaking sight.

As Penelope approached one of the embrasures, Crow trailed after her, leaning over to rest his forearms on the edge of the stonework when he reached the edge. “What do you mean ‘not much’?” he said, casting her an amused grin. “This is amazing.” He turned back to look out over the cities again for a moment before moving to wrap his arms around the knight in a sudden burst of affection. Getting to be a part of her life in the inner kingdom made him feel even closer to her, and he was glad that she had chosen to share it with him while they were here together, however long that would be.

Crow pressed a kiss to her cheek and then leaned his head against hers as he shared the view with her. “Show me where Bellmare is,” he suggested with a soft smile. “That was your home, right? I want to see it.”