Crow nodded when Penelope said they could try to find time alone when they stopped for a break or when they reached the inn. Although he wanted to tell her about the mercenary sooner rather than later, he supposed it wasn’t an immediately pressing issue. They were still inside the bounds of the inner kingdom, so if there were any enemies who would try to stop them, they would be hard pressed to strike while there were so many other knights posted in and around the cities. The danger wouldn’t come until after they traveled too far to call for aid if the paid killers made an appearance. There was still plenty of time until then.

He parted his lips to agree to the knight’s plan when his sister interrupted them again. He exhaled in mild annoyance. They had been joking that he was the one who needed a babysitter, but it seemed like the princess needed someone to look after her more than anyone else. She couldn’t even go five minutes without pestering them out of boredom. He turned around in his saddle again to cast her an unamused frown, “How did you ever get through an entire guard shift at the castle if you can’t even stop talking for part of a trip?”

“Tybalt usually gives me a post with someone else,” she mirrored his expression. “I just talk to them until it’s over.”

[i]So you’re spoiled,[/i] he thought dryly, though he kept the observation to himself. It wasn’t surprising anyway. After he’d learned more about the way Albin raised his children—or at least the ones he had kept—he’d had a feeling that Naida hadn’t been exposed to many situations in which she didn’t get her way. The trip they were on now was going to better for her than he’d thought, since her eyes would be opened to the reality that the whole kingdom didn’t revolve around her.

“Why don’t you try paying attention to your surroundings instead of talking with us?” he suggested, turning around to look ahead again. “That’s what guards are supposed to do, after all.”

“You’re just trying to exclude me again,” Naida accused him suspiciously.

“I’m not,” he assured her. “I just think you need to learn how to be comfortable with silence.” He glanced over his shoulder at Percival. “Maybe Percy could teach you.”

The knight’s eyes widened slightly, clearly unexcited about the prospect of trying to convince the princess to keep her mouth shut, and Crow offered him an apologetic smile.

“Not right now,” his sister shook her head. “Penelope is only going to be traveling with us for a couple days. I want to talk to her for as long as I can before she’s gone.” She winked at him playfully. “You may be marrying her, but she’s [i]my[/i] best friend.”