“I will,” Crow promised when Penelope told him to be careful, smiling softly at the kiss she touched to his cheek. As she stepped back, he did as well, nodding his head in a brief goodbye before turning to slip silently into the snoring nobleman’s room on his way back to his own. On the other side of the door, he allowed his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness and then crept across the bedchamber to the window. He’d left it cracked open so that he wouldn’t have to bother with the latch this time.

Stifling a weary yawn, the viceroy stepped up onto the window sill and reached into the cold night air to grab hold of the cord that was still dangling outside. Even though he had the skills to climb back up without it, he was tired after spending half the night sneaking around the castle, and the rope would let him get back to his bed faster. No reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He leaned up on the balls of his feet to grip the cord higher and stepped off the ledge. For a moment, he swung by his arms until he managed to get his feet underneath him on one of the knots. Letting go with his right hand, he leaned over to the window and pulled it shut. There was no easy way to redo the inside latch. He just hoped the nobleman would assume one of his servants had left it open on accident.

Once the cord stopped moving in the air, Crow began his ascent, using his hands, thighs, and feet to hold onto the linens until he was high enough to grab onto the window sill. He hauled himself onto the ledge and rolled down into his room, too apathetic to bother making a more graceful entrance when no one was around to see him.

The viceroy got up from the floor and carefully reeled the cord back in, finally letting out the yawn he’d been suppressing as he dropped the fabric in a pile, which he pushed beneath his bed with one boot. Once that was done, he closed the window and stepped away from it to get ready for the night. He stripped down to his linen underclothes and laid down on the mattress, shivering slightly against the cool air that had filled the room while he’d left the window open earlier. It wasn’t as comfortable as usual, but with the thick blankets that he could bury himself beneath to warm up, it was plenty tolerable.

Crow let out his breath in a slow exhale and closed his eyes, relaxing into the cushioned bedding as he drifted off to sleep.