As Crow made his way back down the hall that led toward his room, he let out a long sigh to cool his head. Now that he had left the room, his temper had simmered back down enough that he could think clearly, and he began to feel a bit guilty for being so harsh with his sister. While he didn’t regret confronting her about what she’d done—he still believed she had been wrong for tricking him for her own gain—he knew she hadn’t meant any harm by it. She had never tried to lie to him in the past, and there was no way she could have known that the “innocent” joke she had pulled could have such serious consequences.

Still, it stung that she had fooled him when he had trusted her to follow through on her promise.

Rounding a corner in the hallway, his mind wandered back to Rikki, another person who had manipulated him before, and he winced. Part of him knew he was being unfair in comparing Naida to the thief, since his former companion’s intentions hadn’t been nearly as harmless as his sister’s, but it was difficult not to when the frustration was still so fresh. He wondered if there was anyone he’d allowed into his life that he could trust beside Penelope.

[i]Stop it,[/i] Crow closed his eyes as his old bent to isolate himself began to creep back up on him. [i]She was just fooling around. I’m overreacting.[/i] Despite the knowledge in his head, it was difficult not to be swayed by memories of past hurts that told him he couldn’t trust anyone.

Suddenly, the viceroy was pulled from his spiraling thoughts when Penelope caught up to him and asked if he was alright. He opened his eyes and turned to her briefly before looking away again, unsure what to say. The thought of telling her what was going on in his head made him cringe. He knew he was blowing the situation out of proportion, but he didn’t want to tell her that. He just needed some time to calm down on his own, so he could move on from what had happened… He hoped.

“I know, I know,” Crow admitted quietly after a pause, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to be. She just…” He trailed off, changing his mind about speaking even vaguely about what had bothered him. “I’ll be fine,” he finished instead with a low exhale.