Crow nodded when Penelope said she’d thought this would be her last trip to the inner kingdom. Looking back over everything, it was strange to think about just how much had changed since they had arrived at the castle. Until now, he’d been planning on moving to Farhill with Penelope when the war ended, but now it looked like that future was a distant dream. Knowing that they wouldn’t have the life together that he’d always imagined made the thief’s heart sink a bit, but the disappointment was nothing compared to his relief that he was finally able to give her the life she deserved.

Once he took the title of viceroy, he would no longer have to take her away from her friends and family. Of course, he would now be giving up what he had as a thief, but by comparison, it wasn’t much. Being a fugitive, he had no permanent place to call his home, and he had no money or status to his name. Sure, he was going to be losing his companions, but he’d already been planning to leave them behind since the beginning of when he and Penelope had gotten back together. The only thing that changed was that now, with his rise in class, he likely would never be able to see them again, even by visiting. It was a bit disheartening, but he knew it wasn’t anything that would make him feel like he had made the wrong decision. He was firm in his belief that sacrificing his life as a criminal was the right choice for both him and Penelope.

Crow smiled as Penelope shifted to walk closer to him, reminded of the reason why he’d made his decision in the first place. As she went on to say that their trip to the outer villages would give them some time before everything changed, he shook his head in agreement. “It’ll be nice to slow down again too,” he sighed. “Ever since Jaxon showed up, I feel like I’ve been running without a destination. I just want to take a break from everything to catch my breath.”

When Penelope added that she was excited to travel alone with him, he returned her smirk with a grin, “Me too. It’s been far too long since we’ve been able to get away from everyone. I’m just glad that my father bought my excuse to bring you along, since he doesn’t have any other work for you to do at the castle.”

He glanced off to the side, where a few nobles were gawking at him, as if surprised to see the most infamous thief in the kingdom walking away from the citadel without chains on his wrists. Rolling his eyes, he turned away from them again to look forward at the road. “It’ll be nice when we get away from all these intrusive people too,” he muttered under his breath. “It feels like everywhere we go, there are at least five pairs of eyes on my back.” Slipping his hands into his pockets he met Penelope’s gaze with a helpless shrug. “Hopefully they’ll back off when Father finally tells everyone the real reason why he brought me here, but something tells me that the staring is only going to get worse… We’re going to have to be extra careful around the castle for a while.”