Holding Penelope against his chest, Crow could feel his muscles relaxing as the temptation to sleep began to tug at him more and more. In the back of his head, he knew it wasn’t a good idea and that he needed to return to his room as soon as the commotion died down in the hallway. However, he couldn’t bring himself to part from where they laid cuddled up against each other beneath the warm blanket. As long as he left before dawn, it wouldn’t be [i]that[/i] hard to sneak out, right? The guards in the hallway might even switch shifts too, and then it would be less suspicious for him to pull the same distraction he’d used on the first set when he’d slipped into her bedchamber earlier.

He exhaled slowly, convinced by the excuses his weary brain was coming up with. Even more persuasive was that it seemed like Penelope had drifted off in his arms. A faint smile crossed his lip as he felt her sink against him, her breathing slowing down as she lost consciousness. If the orderly knight thought they had time to fit in a nap, then he supposed there was no harm in resting his eyes for a while. Satisfied with the justification, he leaned his head comfortably against hers as he finally gave in to the impulse to stop fighting against his exhaustion.

--

The next morning, Crow woke up with a start. As he jolted upright on the bed, a strangled gasp escaped from his throat, and he clutched at his chest where he had felt Jaxon’s sword pierce him once again. Even in a different bedchamber, it seemed his nightmares were determined to torment him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to get his breathing under control, involuntarily reaching for Penelope’s hand to ground himself. Even though he knew it had just been a dream, the twisted memories had been just as vivid as always. It took him some time before he was able to calm down enough to take a look around and figure out where he was.