The joy in Penelope’s eyes was more than enough to convince Crow that he had made the right decision by choosing to accept his father’s offer. He smiled at her fondly, glad to see that he was finally starting to make her as happy as she deserved to be. After constantly screwing up by lying to her, keeping secrets from her, and even working with Jaxon behind her back, it felt good to treat her with the respect of a better man. He had meant it when he’d told her before that he wanted to be a partner she deserved, and now he could rest in the knowledge that he was fulfilling his word to her at long last.

However, in the midst of his relief, there was still a twinge of anxiousness in his gut that refused to go away. Even though he’d made up his mind, and he knew he didn’t want to go back on the decision he’d made, he couldn’t help feeling a bit of loss for the life he was giving up. He had been a thief in the outer villages since as far back as he could remember. It felt strange to be giving that up so abruptly. Plus, there were still quite a few loose ends for him to tie up, namely in regards to his companions. His heart sank as he realized this meant he wasn’t going to be coming back to them after all. Everything they had been through together was coming to an end. It didn’t change his conviction to take the job as viceroy, but it did make him mourn what he was giving up for the title a little more.

Crow was drawn out of his brief moment of sadness when Penelope suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace and met him in a fervent kiss. The thief blinked in surprise, caught off guard by her sudden burst of affection before he relaxed into her lips. He closed his eyes and held her close, feeling his heart flutter in his chest as he was reminded that everything he was losing would be worth it if it meant she would be happy. Besides, he had already known that his time with the other thieves was limited. Once the war ended, he had been planning to run away with the knight anyway. Taking his father’s offer just meant he would be leaving them a little sooner than he’d expected.

When Penelope pulled back again, he grinned at her fondly, panting lightly as he tried to catch his breath from the passionate kiss. The sight of the joyful tears in her eyes made his affection for her grow all the more, and he found her excitement endearing. “Me either,” he shook his head when she said she couldn’t believe this was happening. “It almost feels like a dream.”

As the knight went on, he chuckled softly. “Darling, you’ve already done more for me than I can ever return,” he murmured, gently brushing her hair away from her pretty face. “Just the fact that you’ve continued to forgive me for all the times I’ve mistreated you is proof enough of that. This is the least [i]I[/i] could do to repay [i]you[/i].”

He pressed a long kiss to her forehead and then met her gaze again, his smile fading as it was replaced with a thoughtful expression. “I know I’ve already made up my mind about this, but I don’t want to just abandon my companions,” he mused concernedly. “I… I think when I tell my father that I’m going to take the job, I’m going to ask him if I can have a week to go back to the outer villages first so I can say goodbye to them properly.” He exhaled resignedly. “I’ve lied to them enough… They deserve to know what’s going on.”