Fortunately for Crow and Percival, the rest of the group was still out cold by the time they finally got back to the inn in Silverpool. Unfortunately, when they returned, the sky was already beginning to lighten ever so slightly, preluding the come of the dawn. The viceroy crept back into his bed to get what sleep he could and dozed off fairly quickly after his long night, but it didn’t feel nearly long enough before he was disturbed by the sound of shuffling in the room. As usual, Otto and Rayner were awake bright and early and had begun putting their armor back on to continue on their way to Younis.

He groaned irritably and buried his head underneath his pillow, wishing they would be more considerate of those in the tiny space that didn’t want to jump out of bed at the first hint of sunlight. The only other person making a move to get up was Preston, and he suspected that was only because the servant was afraid of getting on the baron’s bad side by resting when he was expected to be working. Naida was still sprawled out on her mattress, still asleep and unfazed by the jostling of armor, while he and Percy merely stirred at the sound, both reluctant to leave the comfort of their soft, warm beds before they absolutely had to.

Meanwhile, Otto was merciless in his efforts to rouse them.

“Come on, you three,” he barked, causing Naida to jolt awake with the loudness of his voice. “We’re off to the border today. There’s no time to waste lying around.”

“Why are we rushing?” Crow griped into his pillow, obstinately drawing his knees in as he curled up on his mattress. “There isn’t an inn at the border. We’ve no reason to hurry there since we aren’t competing with anyone else for a room.”

“And you think it’s better to cross into enemy territory after dark?” Otto challenged, only to falter when Crow looked up at him with narrowed eyes. He seemed to realize belatedly that even though the former thief was inexperienced, he still outranked him. Clearing his throat, he stumbled to rectify the situation, “It is our duty to keep you safe, Collin. By crossing into Younis before dusk, we’re far less likely to come across as hostile to any nearby battalions. They’ll be able to see our uniforms as well and know that we aren’t part of Brerra’s armed forces, so our appearance will invite questioning rather than a blind ambush.”

Crow studied him contemplatively. It was a sensible enough explanation that he couldn’t see any reason not to trust his word, but Percival’s observation still stuck out in the back of his mind. He was going to start paying closer attention to the things that came out of Otto’s mouth, so he could question the man if something seemed suspicious. If the baron really was operating on something behind their backs, he wasn’t going to let him get away with it without any pushback.

For now, though, he was still half asleep and didn’t have the presence of mind to pick a fight. So, grumbling his reluctant submission, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to summon the strength to pull himself together. On the other side of the room, he could see that Percival wasn’t any better off. The knight seemed to have been motivated to get up by Otto’s theory about arriving in Younis before dark, but he looked a mess. His long hair was hopelessly tangled, and he had dark circles under his eyes that the viceroy guessed matched his own. Theroulde either didn’t notice his exhaustion or didn’t care, because as soon as he was on his feet, he turned around to give him an order.

“Granger, once your armor is on, go with Lockton’s attendant to gather the horses,” he instructed curtly.

“Yes sir,” Percy bobbed his head in a bow and bent down to gather the metal plates he’d left in a neat stack at the foot of the bed.

Watching the exchange, Crow waited for Otto to look away and then shot the knight a sympathetic look. It may have been Percival’s choice to accompany him in the middle of the night, but he still felt bad seeing the older man boss him around as soon as he crawled out of bed in the morning.

Percy took notice of his expression and shrugged silently as he layered his body with his gold-trimmed armor.
“It’s too early for this,” Naida whined as she slid off her mattress and picked up her armor that she’d stowed away more haphazardly than Percival’s. She was blinking against the light more than usual, looking a bit hungover after all the drinks she’d finished the evening before. “Are we going to be getting up at sunrise every day of this trip?”

“If all goes according to plan,” Otto replied in his usual no-nonsense manner.

Privately, Crow wondered why it mattered to him so much that they left early in the morning every day. To him, it was the same if they left early and arrived at their destination in the afternoon or slept in and arrived in the evening. This time, the baron had the necessity of not startling the Younisians on his side, but what about after? Once the knights on the other side of the border knew they were there, it seemed inconsequential if they left early or late. He couldn’t think of a reason why it was important unless it had anything to do with Percival’s guess that the baron was working on something else while they were traveling to the Younisian castle.

[i]Maybe he’s trying to orchestrate something to take credit for the success of this parley?[/i] He pondered as he put on his surcoat. He couldn’t think of a way that Otto could pull the metaphorical rug out from under his feet, but the baron was clearly more experienced than he was when it came to assignments like this one. If there was a way for him to come out of it looking like a hero, chances were that he, as a former peasant and criminal, wouldn’t instinctively know what it was.

Deciding there was no point in fretting over it for now—even if he tried to question the older man, he knew Otto would just deny all accusations—he got ready to leave and walked with Naida and the Therouldes out to the front of the building once they were finished putting on their armor and gathering any belongings they had brought into the room. Not long after, they were rejoined by Preston and Percival, who had prepared the horses and brought them over from the stables.

Crow took Baine from his attendant and climbed up onto the stallion’s back, where he waited for the others until they were all off the ground. As usual, Otto and Rayner walked their steeds over to the front of the group, while Percival took up the rear. The baron twisted at the waist to peer over his shoulder, checking that everyone was in place before he nodded to himself, “Right then. Let’s keep moving.”

Stifling a yawn, Crow drove Baine forward with a squeeze of his heels, trying not let the horse’s steady gait lull him back to sleep. It was going to be a long ride that day, and he hoped they reached the border quickly, so he could make up for the sleep he’d lost when he’d visited his old companions. Passing out on his stallion’s back and falling to the ground seemed like it would be unpleasant.

“You’re tired too?”

He stiffened and turned his head at the sound of Naida’s question. His half-sister was eyeing him with a knowing expression, marked by the beginnings of a smile that she was apparently too weary to pull. “I’m hungover. What’s your excuse?” she asked, guiding her horse to stride a little closer to his.

“I’m fine—” he attempted to lie, though his body chose to betray him in that moment by forcing the yawn he’d just been trying to suppress. Unable to fight it off a second time, he brought a hand to his mouth as he took in air and then swore under his breath as the princess snickered at his side.

“Wow, you’re [i]really[/i] tired,” she teased him between giggles. “Were you up late or something?”

“I just didn’t sleep as well as I could have,” he shrugged, trying to play it off in spite of the slight flush that crept over his skin. Usually he was a better liar, so he was chagrined that the oblivious princess had caught onto him so easily. “I’ll be fine. I just need to get better rest tonight.”

Naida studied him skeptically, “Are you sure? You look like—”

“Princess,” Percival suddenly called from behind them. “Why don’t you ride back here with me for a while? I’ll teach you about wild game trails you can spot from horseback.”

“Really?” Naida swiveled in her saddle. “Father never let me hunt before.” Swept up in the prospect of learning, she fell back to accompany the other knight, abandoning her interrogation of the viceroy for the time being.

Crow glanced back at Percy, who merely nodded at him wordlessly before he pointed out a small, worn path in the trees to the princess. Knowing that the taciturn man wasn’t the type to converse with someone so casually, the former thief appreciated his quickness to intervene. Out of everyone in the group, the other man was rapidly rising in the ranks of those he could trust. Currently, Preston was still at the top, since they’d had weeks to adjust to each other, and the servant had helped him before. However, he’d thought his sister would be the person he confided in after that. Contrary to his expectations, the royal was more concerned with keeping herself entertained on the journey, so Percival, the knight he knew far less, had turned into a more reliable confidante.

So, saved from having to explain himself to Naida for now, Crow focused on keeping himself awake for the ride and talked idly with Preston, doing his best to distract himself from his weariness while they rode onward to the border.