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I don’t like this look. It’s not the awe I was hoping to inspire in her for having read her favorite book. She seems like she’s looking inside me, like she sees something behind my smugness at having surprised her.

“Did you like it?” she asks.

“No.” The answer leaves my mouth too fast.

Ava bursts into laughter. “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

“It would have been better if she’d ended up with Henry. Edmund is weak. Dull. He doesn’t love her. And the ending was muddled.”

Ava crosses her arms, raising a brow. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that you like Henry Crawford.”

I scoff, turning to look out the window at the clouds that stretch endlessly below us. “I don’t like him either. He’s also weak. Impulsive. But Fanny deserved someone who really loved her.” My lips curve into a slow smile. “Fanny reminds me of you.”

She makes a gagging sound, and I jerk my head in her direction. “You don’t like that comparison?”

She lets out a long sigh. “I do love her character, but I’m alone there. This is not a favorite Jane Austen book for most people.”

“I can see why. It was a bit of a slog.”

She reaches out and hits me across the shoulder. “Damian Cross, stop shitting on my favorite book.”

I grin, because I know she actually likes that I’m shitting on her favorite book. This girl doesn’t want empty flattery. She wants someone of strong character. Someone steadfast, unwavering. And while she probably doesn’t know it, she also wants to be adored and admired—not despite the parts of herself that others might find too prim or rigid, but because of them.

I fix my gaze on her little doll face. “If I were one of those men, I would have been all about Fanny Price.”

Ava looks like she wants to roll her eyes. “Oh, really?”

“Of course.” I lean toward her. “Except I wouldn’t have taken no for an answer if she turned down my proposal.”

She raises her brows. “That sounds like the Damian I know. Would you have threatened her?’’

“Yes.” I reach out and trail the backs of my fingers slowly along her jaw, down to the curve of her throat. Her breath hitches. My thumb ghosts over the delicate skin beneath her chin, coaxing her gaze back to mine. “But I would have been such a good husband to her that she wouldn’t have regretted it.”

I’m startled when she sets her hand on my face. “Damian, I’m worried for you.”

I frown. “Why?”

She looks up sharply. “You beat up Kane. You threw him in a trunk. How can his dad just let that go?”

I huff out a laugh. “His dad has much more important things to care about.”

She nods slowly, but I get the sense that my words weren’t reassuring. Perhaps even more troubling.

“I want you to know…” She looks up at me with wide eyes. “You don’t have to worry about me sharing anything with your mom and dad. Or Kane’s dad.”

“Precious girl.” I let my tongue caress the words, savoring them. “You don’t have to worry.”

“But you’ve told me things about your organization. You told me you killed Ben.”

“I know, but…” My throat grows tight. I cough to clear it away. “You have to understand… They think you’re going to be killed. Well…not my dad, but Gabriel probably does. Not everyone knows that virgins aren’t sacrificed anymore. My family found out because of a damn DNA test. But even my dad thinks you’re going to be taken away by the Sacred Light after the bedding. Neither of them see you as a threat in any way.”

She nods slowly. Strangely, she doesn’t seem worried, and it makes my heart grow light and airy.

Is it because she trusts me? Because she knows I won’t let anyone take her from me?

“Rest,” I say. “When we start to descend, I’ll explain what to expect during the dinner.”

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