Raven follows Damien through the dense forest, their steps muffled by the soft earth beneath them. The tension from their kiss still lingers between them, thick and heavy, but Damien’s grip on her hand is steady and grounding. They walk in silence for a few more minutes until the trees thin out, revealing a rocky hillside covered in thick underbrush.
Damien stops in front of what appears to be a dead end, then reaches down, shoving aside a cluster of vines. Beneath them, a dark opening yawns—a tunnel, its entrance barely visible in the shadows of the terrain.
“This,” Damien says, his voice low and serious, “is your way out if you ever need it.”
Raven looks at the tunnel, then back at him, her pulse quickening. “A secret exit?”
He nods. “No one knows about it but me… and now you.”
The
