To Crow’s displeasure, it seemed his collision with the table had been enough to wake Naida up after all. He took a small step away from the furniture when his sister began to stir, as if the distance would be enough to hide the fact that he was the one who had stumbled into it. Now more than ever, he just wanted to go back to his own room and move on from what had just happened. He was frustrated with the princess for nearly getting him and Penelope caught, he was embarrassed that he had run into something when he knew better than to move without looking where he was going, and he was irritable because his left thigh had begun to hurt where he’d struck it on the corner of the table. Overall, he was in no mood to stick around and chat with anyone.

As Naida and Penelope began to speak, Crow averted his gaze, toying with the idea of stepping out before either of them roped him into the conversation. However, he didn’t even get a chance to set a foot toward the door before his sister made a comment that made him flinch. Even though he had put some distance between himself and Penelope when he’d passed out, they must have shifted on the bed before the princess had fallen asleep. He was disturbed to know that she had caught them lying in each other’s arms, but even more so, he was annoyed that she had decided to use it as an excuse to lie to him.

“You told me you were going to wake me up when you were done writing your letters,” Crow snarled, turning on her with narrowed eyes. “I don’t appreciate being lied to.” Privately, he knew he was probably being a bit harsh on her, since she couldn’t have known what she had been risking by letting them nap together; but at the moment, he was still too angry with her to be rational.

Naida frowned, seeming taken aback by his hostility. She held up her hands, “I didn’t lie though. I said I’d wake you when the letters were done, and I just decided not to finish them tonight.”

“You still knew I didn’t want to stay here long,” the viceroy objected. “I told you that.”

“I know…” Naida admitted a bit meekly. “I just thought you’d like to stay longer since you two looked so comfortable on my bed.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make,” Crow said sternly, making the princess shrink slightly in her chair. He opened his mouth to go on and then closed it again, turning toward the door as he thought better of what he was going to say. “I’m going back to my room,” he muttered instead, making his way out of the bedchamber without waiting for a reply.