Having not gotten a good night of sleep in days, Crow slept more deeply than he had in a long time. Even when Penelope kissed his cheek and whispered to him, he barely stirred, just shifting slightly on the bed instead of getting up. The rest had felt so good, and he was comfortable in the knight’s embrace. He didn’t want it to end yet. However, before he could start drifting off again, he realized vaguely that something seemed off about the situation. He wasn’t sure what it was, but there was definitely something that set off a red flag in the back of his mind, and he couldn’t bring himself to ignore it.

Letting out a soft groan, he opened his eyes to look over the room. The sight made him relax at first, since nothing seemed out of place; but after a moment, he stiffened as he remembered that he was in the wrong bedchamber. He sat upright, suddenly confused. How had he and Penelope ended up sleeping beside each other in his sister’s room, and why were all the lights put out? Exactly how late was it? Naida had told him that she would wake him up when she finished writing her letters.

His dark-adjusted eyes swept over the space once more, only to find the princess fast asleep on a long, cushioned chair. He clenched his jaw. It seemed Naida hadn’t been writing at all, and to make matters worse, she had no intention of waking anyone up. Though he knew his sister’s intentions were innocent, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of frustration with her for lying to him. If Penelope hadn’t roused him before dawn, he could have found himself in another panic and drawn the royal guards to the bedchamber by screaming. He shuddered to imagine what could have happened if the knights had caught him and Penelope in a bed together. They needed to get out as soon as they could.

“I can’t believe she did this,” he muttered irritably, still simmering from the situation his sister had put them in. Swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress, he climbed down from the bed and made his way toward the door, eager to leave the bedchamber. However, before he even made it halfway, he sucked in his breath as he felt his leg collide with what felt like a table. Too late, he realized that Naida must have moved it back into place while they had been sleeping.

The legs of the furniture grated loudly against the floorboards, and the former thief lifted a hand to his face in humiliation. He’d never made a mistake this bad in years. Living at the castle for so long must have made him soft. He mentally chided himself for getting so complacent as he glanced worriedly at Naida, praying that the abrasive sound hadn’t woken her up.