Raven mulled all of this new information over for a long while, watching the landscape slowly change as they moved deeper and deeper into the woods. The world felt different, but familiar, and something was nagging at the back of her mind, trying to get her to pay attention. It wasn’t until the sun tilted to the west, and the trees started to turn into evergreens that she realized what she was missing.
Damian looked up from the map in the book, lifting an eyebrow. “What?”
“You’re a duke of the north.” Raven, unable to control a giggle, slammed her hand over her mouth.
“A duke of the north.” Raven shook her head, still fighting off the giggles that threatened to escape. “It’s the most obvious trope - you even have the eyebrows.” She leaned forward and pointed to the duchy marked on the map. “You live in the northernmost part of the country or empire, you have a standoffish personality-”
Damian made an annoyed noise, which Raven chose not to respond to.
“-you’re stupid rich, and go against the grain of the established society, and you have the eyebrows,” she repeated as she rubbed her fingertip over the razor-sharp arch in his eyebrows, ignoring his sharp glare. “And the glower.”
“I don’t glower.” He picked her hand off his face, but didn’t release it.
“You wear your emotions on your sleeve, and the only emotion you possess is irritation.”
“Irritation is not an emotion.” He huffed, and his hand tightened around hers. “And I have other emotions. I just don’t parade them around like Garfield does.”
Raven opened her mouth to say something, but the wheel of the carriage hit a rock and sent her careening into his lap. Heat raced up her neck as she was suddenly reminded of what happened that morning, and her heart skipped beats. She should not be thinking of the way he looked this morning, his lower lip caught between his teeth as he-
Raven slammed the door on those thoughts. Nope.
Nopenopenopenopenope. NOPE.
Those were private thoughts for later. When she was alone.
The carriage bounced again before a horrendous crack reverberated through the silence, and the carriage titled to the side. Raven sighed and ran a hand down her face, sitting up. Of course they were going to have to stop for the night in the middle of the woods. She gave Damian a flat look, heaving a sigh that rattled her bones.
“Bet you the axel’s broken.”
As if on cue, Jon threw open the door and frowned at them. “The axel is broken.”
Raven offered a humorless smile. “And are we going to have to camp here tonight?”
Jon blinked, surprised. “Uh… yeah.”
She made a vague motion with her hands. “And there are only two tents?”
“Actually, there’s only one tent.” Jon frowned, obviously worried about disappointing his duke. “But you two can share it. I’m sending the footman on ahead to the next town to get the supplies to fix it, but they won’t be back until the morning.”
Damian’s head fell into his hand. “Of course.”
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