Crow winced when Penelope said she wished he had told her sooner. However, her voice didn’t sound as upset as he had been expecting. Instead of addressing him with frustration or disappointment, she was actually [i]gentle[/i] with him. A small, melancholic smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. He knew he didn’t deserve the amount of affection she showed him, but he appreciated it nonetheless, especially since he was still a bit shaken up by his nightmare. Right now, the last thing he needed was to be reprimanded for something he had already known he’d done wrong.

He nodded faintly when she said there wasn’t anything she could have done anyway. He was glad that she finally seemed to understand what he’d been trying to tell her. The dreams weren’t like a physical wound or even an illness. They were all in his head. There was nothing anyone could do to help, since they couldn’t get inside his mind and change the memories. As difficult as it was, this was just something he was going to have to fight on his own.

As the knight pressed a kiss to his forehead, Crow closed his eyes again and leaned into her embrace, taking comfort in having her so close. Her words did little to reassure him though. He doubted Tybalt would have any better ideas than Eldon had. However, he kept his thoughts to himself, in no mood to start an argument over it. Right now, he just wanted to focus on the warmth of her body and the steady movement of her chest as she breathed. The rhythm helped calm him, just enough to be caught off guard when Preston suddenly spoke up.

At the sound of the attendant’s voice, the viceroy tensed. In his panic, he’d forgotten that the boy was still in the room with them and that he and Penelope needed to keep their relationship a secret. He opened his eyes again to see the servant watching them with an intrigued look on his face, but, unsure what to say, he remained quiet.

When no one answered his question, Preston took it upon himself to fill the silence.

“I was right,” he said matter-of-factly.

Crow shifted slightly. It was going to be hard to convince the attendant he was wrong now that he’d caught them in such an intimate moment, but he was in no mood to discuss it. “Read the room, kid,” he rolled his eyes instead, hoping the servant would drop the subject on his own. Unfortunately, if Preston picked up on the warning, he didn’t heed it.

“I knew it,” the attendant went on as he looked between them. “You tried to tell me I was wrong, but I knew I was right.”

“Alright, fine,” Crow sighed, leaning away from Penelope to put some distance between them while the boy’s eyes were still on them. “You win. Are you happy now?”

“Quite,” Preston nodded. He stepped over to the table, retrieving the glass of water he’d set there before returning to the viceroy’s bedside. “Here. Drink this.”

“Thanks,” Crow accepted the water and downed the whole thing. When he was finished, he handed the empty glass back to his servant and moved to swing his legs over the edge of the mattress. “Well, I guess I might as well get up now since I’m awake.”