Even though Crow knew exactly where he stood with Penelope, it was difficult for him to watch her walk away on the arm of another man. He followed the pair with his eyes as they made their way to the center of the ballroom, where the other nobles had been dancing. Distrusting of Cedric, he didn’t want to let them out of his sight. He was certain the knight was trying something—the passive compliments he’d been showering over her lately had convinced him of that—but there was nothing he could do about it as long as they were keeping their relationship a secret.

It would have been disastrous to cause a scene by getting possessive over the hostess who was supposed to deliver a compelling speech at the end of the night. No one would listen to her if they realized she had been romantically involved with a former criminal. The other women in the castle had a pass to flirt with him because they had only known him as the king’s viceroy, but it was common knowledge that Penelope had been one of his guards when he’d been the thief chosen to steal the staff in Younis. Even if they claimed they hadn’t gotten together until after his change in title, he doubted anyone would believe them. Her reputation for be ruined, and the entire purpose of the party would fall to pieces.

That was why Crow ripped his gaze away from the dancing knights and downed the rest of his wine at once.

“Hey, what happened?” Naida’s voice appeared from behind him. Turning, he saw his sister walking up with a disappointed frown on her face. “I thought I told both of you to stay here until I got back.”

“Someone else asked her to dance,” Crow lifted his shoulders in a shrug, trying to keep the frustration out of his mellow tone. Unsure if his eyes would give the emotion away, he avoided her gaze by fixating on the thin glaze of wine at the bottom of his empty glass.

“Oh,” Naida pouted. She searched the room for her friend and then raised her brows when she found her locked in a rather close dance with Cedric. “[i]Him[/i]?” she squeaked, looking back at her half-brother in surprise. “Why didn’t you ask her to dance?”

“I already promised a few other women that I’d dance with them first,” he shrugged again, swiping a sample from one of the servants carrying trays of food. Really, he hadn’t thought to ask her because he’d gotten complacent and assumed they would be able to talk for a minute without an excuse. It had been a foolish guess, and now he was stuck watching her spin circles with a man he despised. He regretted not taking advantage of the opportunity he’d had sooner.

“Then why are you standing over here instead of dancing with them?” Naida’s sly smile returned. “It looks to me like you’re waiting your turn with Penelope.”

Crow stiffened, not expecting his usually oblivious sister to catch onto him. “I’m sure you’d like that,” he met her gaze with a smirk, falling smoothly into the lie out of habit. “Actually, I’d just rather try all these fancy foods than dance with anyone at the moment.” As if to prove his point, he bit into the sample he’d taken from the hors d’oeuvre tray. The hot food was rich with seasonings he’d never tasted before. Maybe it wasn’t a total lie.

“You picked food over women?” the princess groaned. “There’s something wrong with you, Collin.”

“I told you I don’t want to court anyone,” the viceroy reminded her through a full mouth.

“I don’t understand why not,” she shook her head. “You’re one of the most eligible, unattached men in the whole kingdom. You could be courting someone [i]tomorrow[/i] if you wanted to—maybe a pretty knight in a gold dress…”

“You’re never going to give up, are you?” Crow chuckled, nudging her playfully with his shoulder.

“Never,” she smiled back at him.

Crow rolled his eyes, finishing off the rest of his snack and swallowing. “I should probably honor my promise,” he sighed, catching sight of Tilla, Fye, and Palatina eyeing him from across the room. “I’ll see you later. Don’t get into too much trouble without me.”

“Only if you save a dance for Penelope,” she shot back with a grin.

“Fine,” Crow pretended to agree reluctantly, even though he was already waiting for the chance to steal her away from the other men at the party. With that, the two siblings parted ways as the viceroy offered his arm to Tilla for the next song.