When Penelope agreed to play one round with her friends, Crow watched her amusedly, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table. After drinking with her in the outer villages, he knew that she couldn’t handle many mugs before she lost control of herself, so he was curious to see what would happen after she chugged the rest of her cider. Even though he had a problem with getting drunk, himself, he cared little about what the knight and his sister chose to do. As long as neither of them tried to pester him to join them, he was content with sitting back and enjoying the show.

His green eyes flicked to Kane as he counted them off for the match. Now that the nobleman was with them, he was even more cautious about staying sober than he had been before. If the other man had too much alcohol and tried to cross a line with Penelope, the viceroy was going to be ready to stop him. He wouldn’t let anyone lay a hand on her after Cedric had kissed her at the party the previous night.

While the others downed their drinks, Crow lifted his glass to his lips to take another sip of his mead. Not long after, he felt the table shake as Penelope put her empty mug back down, closely followed by Kane. He casted her a sideways glance, noticing right away that she was starting to feel the effects of her drink. She looked like she was sitting a bit heavier in her seat, as was evident by the way she leaned into the edge of the table in front of her.

Subtly making sure the gesture wouldn’t be noticed by Naida or Kane, he slipped his hand down into his lap and then moved it to rest on the lieutenant’s thigh. “Bring it on, fireball,” he teased his sister with a grin. “I’ve spent enough time with Olivia to handle anything you throw at me.”

Naida made a face at him and turned to Penelope, “Are you sure you want to stop after just one? I think you can play one more round!”

“You really don’t like being the only drunk in the room, do you?” Crow noticed dryly. “Why’s that? Are you afraid you’ll embarrass yourself?”

“No,” the princess straightened her posture haughtily. “It’s just not as much fun without any competition.” Brushing him off again, she pouted at her friend. “Please? Drunk Penelope is the best, and you deserve to let loose after you worked so hard on that party.”