Crow spent the majority of the ride to Silverpool chatting idly with Naida and looking around the region that used to be his home. The closer they traveled to the border, the more he recognized. The sights of the familiar forest stirred a sense of nostalgia inside him that was equally as warm as it was painful. The outer villages would always be his home in his heart, but since the moment he’d agreed to be his father’s viceroy, he’d closed the door to returning to them forever. Now, he would only visit in passing and he probably wouldn’t have many opportunities to stay longer than a few days at a time. He was going to miss the life he’d built for himself as a thief, but even as he rode through on horseback now, he couldn’t say that he regretted the decision he’d made.

As much as he’d loved the outer villages, he’d always been at his happiest when he was with Penelope. Choosing between her and everything he’d known had been difficult, but there was no doubt in his mind that becoming a nobleman for her had been the right choice. Now that the status barrier that had kept them apart was gone, there was nothing left standing in their way of being together. He’d do it again a hundred times over if it meant they could finally stop sneaking around and get married.

So, while he had mixed feelings about returning to the villages in which he’d grown up, he didn’t find himself tempted to run at any point. Rather, he rode along compliantly with the knights, only balking at the journey when he became hungry around noon and demanded to have lunch before they continued down the road to Silverpool. Even with one break, they made great time to the village thanks to Otto’s prodding. The sun had yet to fully set on the horizon when the viceroy slid off his horse’s back and stretched his legs. Around him, the others did the same. He could tell they were all starting to get just a little sorer as the days went on, though no one verbally complained about their aching legs aside from a few grunts and grumbles here and there.

“I’ll find out what the availability looks like at the inn,” the baron announced as he handed the reins of his steed off to Percival.

“While you do that, I’m going to get a drink at the tavern,” Crow volunteered his own plan. He was still a little hesitant to speak with Evelyn now that he was a noble, but he couldn’t pass through Silverpool without saying hello to her. Stopping by the Black Dagger was the perfect excuse to do so before the group retired to their room for the night.

“It would be better if you stay close to the inn, Collin,” Otto turned to him with a frown.

“The tavern isn’t far from here,” he justified, handing Baine over to Preston. “It’s one of my favorites in the outer villages, so it would be a crime not to visit while I’m here. I’ll come back when I’m done.”

Otto studied him quietly for a moment before he exhaled in reluctant resignation. “Fine, but if you must go, take Rayner and Princess Mannering. It would give me peace of mind to know that you’re not alone.”

[i]Because I could be in danger or because you don’t trust me not to take off?[/i] The former thief wondered to himself. He would have preferred to visit Evelyn without the chaperones, but he had a feeling that the compromise was as much as he was going to get out of the stubborn baron. “Fine,” he agreed curtly. “I’ll be back soon.” Without waiting to find out if Otto would change his mind again, he turned around and headed down the dirt path that would carry him to the Black Dagger while the two knights hurried along to catch up with him.

--

In the camp behind the waterfall, the band of thieves were lounging around the hearth, preparing their supper for the evening. Hazel stirred a pot of rabbit stew, while Rikki and Alistair were gambling with their homemade dice. Since Crow had left, a lot had changed. They still participated in protecting the villagers during battles, but their motivation to do so had slowly begun to taper off. Out of all of them, their former leader had been the most convicted about defending the peasants, so without him around to remind them why they did it, they found themselves sticking closer to their hideout more often than not. The lethargy brought on by the winter season hadn’t helped them with that either, as the cold wind beyond the falls deterred them from venturing outside in the first place.

Although they had been sad to see Crow go, they’d eventually settled into a new rhythm that was becoming their new normal. Hazel had stepped up as their new leader, albeit reluctantly, and was doing a fine job of getting them through the most treacherous time of the year. Despite her initial reservations, she was a natural at taking over the role. She was intuitive when it came to making decisions, and her attentiveness to detail allowed her to make sure they had everything they needed in advance to survive until spring. She was the best replacement the thieves could have asked for, and they were thankful she’d come into their lives before Crow had gone off to the inner kingdom with Penelope.

She was happy that she was staying with them too. For a while, she’d contemplated going back to Silverpool to be with her mother now that she was pregnant, but she’d ultimately decided to wait until spring, so she could make sure that Rikki and Alistair were cared for while they were still adjusting to life without Crow. Of course, she was still going to leave eventually—a cave was no place to have a baby—but for the time being, she’d turned her quarters in the hideout into a comfortable home. The thieves had given her the softest blankets and the warmest animal furs to make sure she wouldn’t get sick during the winter, and they always gave her first pick of their meals, so she could “eat enough for her and for little Simon.” They were endlessly considerate, and she couldn’t have asked for better company while she was carrying her late husband’s, their old friend’s, child.

That particular night, she’d volunteered to make their supper to return the favor for all the meals they had been making for her over the last few weeks. So she was the one sitting closest to the falls when they had an unexpected visitor.

At the sound of a familiar, feminine voice calling their names, all three of them looked up at once and turned toward the opening in the rock wall as the knight stepped into view. “Penelope?” Hazel blinked in surprise. She and the others had assumed it would be quite a while before they ever saw her or Crow again after they’d left. The sight of one of them now was perplexing, and she wasn’t sure whether she should be excited or worried by her appearance.

The thieves had apparently settled on the former. “Penelope!” Alistair exclaimed as he and Rikki both scrambled to their feet to hurry over to the lieutenant. He wrapped his arms around her in an unabashed embrace while she kept a slight distance, still battling through the emotional carnage of everything that had happened between her and Crow after the knight had come into the picture. Overall, Hazel thought she was doing much better and had accepted that things wouldn’t change, but she could tell the female thief was still a little bitter that he’d left her for a noblewoman. The lingering disappointment would take time to fully disappear.

“Is Crow with you?” Rikki asked tentatively, peering around Penelope’s shoulder with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. They all knew what his real name was since he’d divulged it in his letter to them, but since they’d always known him as ‘Crow’ and not as ‘Collin,’ they still referred to him by the alias. Not seeing him with the knight, she turned back to Penelope with a puzzled expression, demonstrating the same confusion Hazel felt about the sudden situation.

Slower to react than the excitable criminals, the herbalist rose to her feet to join them as well, eager to hear the lieutenant’s explanation for her spontaneous visit that evening.