As Penelope began to tell him about her efforts to end the war, Crow listened quietly. He continued to rub her back, moving his hand in a small circle as he tried to help distract her from the storm. Luckily, it seemed to be working. She didn’t sound as distraught as she spoke about the letters she had sent or the results of her talk with the other lieutenants. He was glad to see that she appeared to be feeling better and that she was already making so much progress in her plans to convince his father to negotiate with the Younisian king.

He lifted his hand to run his fingers through her hair when she rested her head against his shoulder. “Good so far, I think,” he answered her softly. He opened his mouth to continue, but then paused when he heard the sound of footsteps outside the storage closet. Tensing slightly, he glanced back over his shoulder as a shadow passed by their hiding place. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a servant, because the footsteps receeded into the distance almost as quickly as they had appeared. He let out his breath in relief.

“I met with three men at breakfast,” Crow went on in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. “I gave them the impression that I was just looking to start making friends around here, and they seemed to buy it. They invited me to eat with them again tomorrow morning.” He casted her a mischievous grin. “I know they’re all just trying to use me to increase their families’ statuses in the castle, but since they all have connections here, I’ll have some influential support if that baron you met with tries anything funny.”

He leaned his head against hers and sighed contentedly. “You know, there could be another benefit to getting to know more people here,” he mused. “If I can improve my reputation faster, then maybe everyone will stop hating me as much and we can stop hiding.”