Crow grimaced as the knight on his left tightened his grip on his arm. He shot the man a foul look, annoyed that the knights weren’t even giving him a chance to prove that he had permission to be here. [i]Once I outrank them, I’ll make sure they regret treating me like this,[/i] he promised silently to himself, carefully studying the faces of his captors to ingrain them into his memory. He supposed one perk of accepting the title his father had offered him was that he could look forward to eventually getting back at all the noblemen who had been cruel to him before. It would be fun to simply talk to them and watch them flounder as they had to teat him with respect that he knew they didn’t want to give him.

His eyes drifted to Layth, and his lip curled upward into a devilish smirk. Out of all the knights he had encountered, he looked forward to getting revenge against Penelope’s brother the most. He couldn’t wait to see the merciless knight again and make him squirm beneath the weight of the rank his father had given him. It was going to feel great.

When Layth finally gave a reluctant order for his comrades to let the thief go, Crow let out an indignant huff and straightened out his tunic. He watched the knights leave with a petty satisfaction, knowing that they were just as upset about the situation as their lieutenant was, and then turned back to Layth as the knight demanded to see his letter.

“Right here,” he held out the rolled-up paper with a pleased smirk as he saw a brief flash of astonishment cross the knight’s face, as if he hadn’t fully believed it existed.

With a snort, Layth snatched the letter from his hand and unraveled it. His eyes swept over it in a scrutinizing fashion before widening slightly in surprise. “My gods, this really is the king’s seal,” he shook his head. “Why the hell is the [i]king[/i] allowing a criminal to roam free?”

Unsure who the knight was speaking to, Crow took it upon himself to reply. “Beats me,” he shrugged, barely suppressing the amused grin that threatened to take over his mouth. Deciding to prod at Layth a little more, he added: “Now then, would anyone like to tell me what my accommodations will be for the night?” He folded his arms over his chest and eyed Penelope’s brother snidely. “I’m tired from my walk here, so I’d like a bite of food to eat and a comfortable bed.”