Crow’s mind was reeling as he walked through the corridor that led to the Great Hall. It was great news that his father had decided to seek peace with Younis, but he didn’t want to leave in just [i]three days[/i]. There was still so much left that he needed to do. He hadn’t had the chance to talk to Albin about courting Penelope, and he had been hoping that they could establish their relationship before he left the kingdom for no less than two weeks to meet with the foreign king. The thought of other noblemen flirting with the knight in his absence made his blood boil. If he was going to be gone, he wanted her to be able to tell them that she was already being courted by someone else, so she wouldn’t have to put up with bold men like Cedric who would try to win her over using whatever method they could think of, even if it meant pushing her boundaries.

He shook his head to himself as he stepped into the dining hall and took a look around for any familiar faces. Surprisingly, there were quite a few that evening. Naida was sitting with their other siblings near the back of the room, John was having a discussion with a group of older knights, and Wayne and Robyn were laughing at a table full of noblemen. The viceroy lingered by the door as he took in the sight, debating whether or not he had the energy to join his male acquaintances—he didn’t want to go near Braden or the knights in John’s company—when the sound of the last voice he wanted to hear jarred him from his thoughts.

“Hi, Crow,” Elizabeth greeted. He turned around to see that she had entered the Great Hall behind him. The noblewoman stood in an unexpectedly sheepish posture, gripping her arm with her hand and looking up at him with a half-smile. “Or would you prefer I call you Collin?”

“What do you want?” the former thief narrowed his eyes untrustingly.

“To apologize,” Liz winced. She paused for a moment before asking tentatively, “Can we sit?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Please?” she frowned. “I just want to talk… No games this time.”

Crow studied her warily, already certain that she was just playing an angle despite what she said. However, there weren’t any other groups that he felt like sitting with for supper, and he knew she would just follow him if he planted himself at an empty table, so he sighed. “Fine, but make it quick,” he shot her a warning glare. “And don’t touch me, or I [i]will[/i] leave.”

“Fair enough,” her bashful smile returned.

They walked over to an open table and sat down across from each other. Crow folded his arms on the surface and met Liz’s gaze impassively, waiting for her to speak first since she was the one who had invited him to join her.

She shuffled her feet, seeming abashed by his stare, and took a deep breath, “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. I… assumed, wrongly, that you were the same man I knew before.”

“Seven years is a long time,” Crow pointed out blandly.

“I know that now,” Elizabeth grimaced. “The Crow I remember would have been thrilled to find a woman warming his bed when he retired for the night, but I can see now that you’ve changed. I swear, I never meant to offend you. I was just trying to appeal to your taste.”

“Then why did you allow that rumor to spread about me?” Crow curled his lip accusatively. “Everyone in the castle thinks I’m out to trick women into sleeping with me now, and it isn’t helping that you haven’t denied that I was the one who instigated what happened.”

“I know, and I’m sorry about that too,” Liz lowered her gaze. “I really thought you were the same man I knew seven years ago, the one who would have been proud to boast that he had convinced a noblewoman to sleep with him. And…” she shifted her weight. “I-I was embarrassed. If I had denied the rumors, everyone would know that I had put myself on the line and been turned away. I don’t want to be known as the woman who was rejected by the viceroy… It seemed easier to give you the credit for what happened, because I thought you would have been happy to accept it.”

Crow dragged his hand over his face, unsure where to even begin. “First of all, how did you not get a hint that I might have changed when I kicked you out of my bedchamber?” he asked incredulously. “As I said before, seven years is a long time. I know I used to get around, but I’m not like that anymore. I’ve—” he wavered, nearly slipping up with the ending of: [i]found someone who means more to me than meaningless flings[/i]. Catching himself, he finished instead with: “—come to realize I want something more than meaningless flings, and I can’t find that if I’m still messing around with women with whom I have no future.”

He exhaled, frustration seeping into his voice, “And secondly, you can’t just pass blame because you’re embarrassed. The thing you don’t want anyone else to think about you is exactly what happened. If anything, you should have thought about that before you took off your dress in my bedchamber. I have no sympathy for you when you were the one who put yourself in this position.”

Elizabeth bit her lip, her chin quivering slightly, “Are you saying we have no future?”

“We don’t,” Crow confirmed without hesitation.

“But why?” she shook her head, toying nervously with a strand of her long hair. “I know I was wrong for the way I behaved, and I’m sincerely sorry, but I promise you, that’s not who I am… I just saw all the other women who want to be with you too, and thought I would be able to stand out from them by reminding you of our past. I you give me a chance, I can show you—”

“I think you showed me your true colors the moment you tried to coerce me into bed with you,” the viceroy interrupted coldly. “And honestly, I don’t believe you’re really sorry for anything you’ve done so far. I know people, love, and there’s something in your eyes that tells me you’re not here for anyone but yourself right now. If you had demonstrated even the slightest hint of remorse while you were speaking, you might have had me, but all I see is a snake who missed with her first strike and is terrified of watching her prey get away.” He turned away from her as Preston approached with his food. “Do yourself a favor and slither off before you embarrass yourself anymore.”