Crow glanced at Penelope when she objected to Naida’s plan. He was a bit surprised to hear her continue to argue, especially after the last comment the princess had made. Considering everything that had happened at breakfast that morning, he would have thought she’d jump at the chance to ensure that Elizabeth wouldn’t be able to confront him alone. Her new resolve made him second guess himself though. Perhaps there was another reason she was upset after all? He drummed his fingers against his leg contemplatively. He was so used to being the one to cause her to be upset lately that he might have made the assumption too quickly.

Naida’s response confused him as well. He looked up at her with a frown as she reminded the knight that she “owed her.” Having missed most of their conversation earlier, he wasn’t quite sure what his sister was talking about, but Penelope seemed to understand it. He exchanged a brief look with her as she reluctantly got up from the table but, too tired to question what had just happened, followed her lead without a word.

As they walked with the princess to her bedchamber, Crow had to bite his tongue to stifle a yawn. Though he’d agreed to the idea for Penelope’s sake, he still wished he could have just gone back to his own room to try and get some sleep. It was unlikely that he would actually feel well rested in the morning, but at the moment, he was too exhausted to think about it logically. All he wanted was to give in to the impulse to pass out so he would stop feeling so tired, if only for a few hours.

“Here we are,” Naida turned to them with a broad smile when they arrived at the door to her bedchamber. The princess reached out to grab the handle, letting the Crow and Penelope in first before she followed.

As soon as he was inside the room, Crow’s eyes wandered to the large bed that sat in the center. The thought of abandoning the dance lesson and laying down to sleep instead was tempting, but he knew he couldn’t do it. For one thing, this wasn’t his bedchamber. For another, he didn’t want the others to know just how tired he really was. He was sure Penelope would just worry, and he didn’t want Naida to know what was going on at all. So, pushing back against the impulse, he stepped over to lean against the footboard instead, crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to wake up a little more.

“So,” he mused, absently letting his eyes wander over the rest of the room. “What do I need to learn?”