Sometimes, Zoya's surprised by how well Nikolai knows her. She knows she's a mystery who often refuses to hint about the tales she's keeping to herself, but she has felt that little spark of fluttery surprise in her gut when he calls out a thought she's kept to herself and is presently having. This is one of them.

Pressing her lips together, she tries to maintain an unreadable expression and fails.

"I wasn't thinking about that," she says, looking away from him (a tell) even though it's as clear as day that she was entertaining the thought. It's not a lie, per se—she hadn't been thinking about travelling to one of the other regions right this instant!