When Penelope questioned him about the thing he had stolen, Crow just shrugged airily. “I guess you’ll have to wait and find out.” He could never make it easy on her. Not only was it against his nature to be agreeable, but he also enjoyed the theatrics that went with making her wait. So, toying with the object in his pocket, he stayed put until she followed his directions to close her eyes before he removed it from his cloak. He liked surprising her, so a smile crossed his lips as he lifted up a leather cord and looped it around her neck.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” he informed her, brushing her hair out from underneath the semi-stiff thread. Against her chest, a silver pendant dangled. When they had visited Belmare, the piece had caught his eye, so he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take it. Compared to the merchant’s other goods, it hadn’t been the most impressive piece of jewelry, so he doubted the man had noticed it was gone anyway. The silver had been molded into a round leaf with veins of emerald threaded into the surface as texture. The tip of the leaf pointed down and swept to the right, as if it was billowing in the wind, and the cut stem was attached by the cord around the knight’s neck.

“I know you don’t approve of stealing, but I couldn’t afford anything at that ridiculously overpriced market,” he justified, studying her face with a hapless smile. “Besides, it’s not like that foreign merchant needed my money. The rings he was wearing on his fingers were probably worth more than almost everything I own. I figured I could get away with taking just one pendant, and I wanted to get something for you in case everything worked out at the party, and my father sent me away to Younis. Unlike the last few times we’ve been apart, now you’ll have something to remember me by while I’m gone.”

He reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, watching her features as he gauged her reaction. “The green in the leaf reminded me of your eyes… Do you like it?”