“Oh yeah?” Crow raised a brow in amusement as Penelope spoke about keeping her pride. “You’d better watch out or I might dethrone you one day… assuming this gets any easier.” He added the last part with a yawn. Despite his competitive words, he doubted he would ever have more discipline than the knight. She had been raised in the tradition-filled inner kingdom and had been groomed to be part of the king’s army. Meanwhile, he’d lived life on his own terms until less than a month ago. Unless he put in quite a bit of work to shape up—which he didn’t want to do in the first place—he had a feeling he was going to be relying on Preston to drag him out of bed for years to come.

As John stepped over to them, the viceroy turned away from Penelope to face him. He nodded at her father’s announcement that he would be leaving and then winced as the older man reminded him again about the deal they had made. “Right,” he agreed with the lieutenant in a subdued tone. Even though he’d complied with John’s terms and had no intention of breaking his word, he didn’t want to think about the fact that they had to stop being intimate until they were married. It was easier not to think about it, so he didn’t feel tormented by the wait that currently had no end in sight.

Caught up in his thoughts, Crow blinked in surprise when the older knight placed a hand on his shoulder and wished him well on the journey. “Thank you,” he said in return, warmed that the stoical man would take a moment to address him instead of just leave after speaking with his daughter.

As John walked back to the castle, the viceroy followed him with his eyes until another voice caught his attention.

“This is going to be so great!” Naida squealed, bounding over to the newly courting couple. “I’m so excited! Are we all ready to go?”

“Almost,” Crow assured her amusedly. “We’re just waiting on—”

“Oh good. Everyone is here.”

He turned around to see the last two members of the group descending the stairs, distinguished by their decorative uniforms that matched the armor Percival and Naida were wearing. The knight on the left was young, around his own age with curly, light brown hair and dark eyes. The knight on the right was someone the viceroy recognized. The older man’s name had slipped his mind, but he was one of the members of Albin’s council, a baron who had supposedly earned his mettle as a renowned commander in a past war. At the sight of him, Percy immediately dropped into a deep bow, “Baron Theroulde, it is an honor to be working with you.”

[i]Otto Theroulde,[/i] the name came back to Crow at once.

“Likewise,” Otto smiled at the younger knight. “I’ve heard promising things about you, Granger, and I look forward to seeing you at work.” He rested a hand on the shoulder of the man at his side and turned to the rest of the group. “This is my son, Rayner. He is my lieutenant and an excellent swordsman, and I have no doubt he will make a fearsome guard for you, Lockton.”

“The king did say he had chosen the best,” Crow agreed with a distant shrug. The baron was friendly enough, but kindness alone wasn’t enough to erase his prejudices against knights. He was just glad he had two guards he actually trusted with his life, in case the Younisians weren’t as welcoming as they were hoping they’d be.

Otto studied him quietly for a moment before his brown eyes traveled over the other faces in the group. “A pleasure to see you as always, my lady,” he said to Naida, leaning forward in a surprisingly elegant bow for a man his age.

“You too, Otto,” the princess grinned, clearly fond of the baron.

“And lieutenant Vermillion,” he gazed upon Penelope with a polite smile when he straightened his back again. However, his eyes were marked by an unreadable expression as they sought hers. “I was unaware you would be joining us.”