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Thorn bowed his head. “We thank you for your offer, but we really must be going if we’re to reach Mirum before nightfall.”
The mayor nodded. “Then we wish you and your bride the best.”
We made our way through the crowd and to the awaiting carriage. Raines waited atop the box as we climbed in, but the moment the door shut the vehicle was off. The crowd waved goodbye to us and children ran alongside for as long as the road remained wide. We drove back into the trees, leaving the kids and the town behind us.
I leaned against the seat and smiled. “That turned out pretty well.”
“And with very little trouble on our part,” Thorn mused as he flexed one hand.
“You’ve had worse trouble?” I guessed.
He nodded. “The army I told you about, for one, but there are often other creatures that are less willing to leave, such as ogres and trolls. There was even an invasion of mice once on the eastern border where the grain fields stand. I had to do battle with their overgrown king and scorch half their company before they would leave.”
I winced. “None of that sounds fun, so why do you do it? I mean, why have a kingdom at all?”
A great sigh escaped him. “Permanence. When one lives as long as my kind one seeks out something that will, in hope, last just as long, even if the people and the lands themselves change.”
“How long have you had your kingdom?” I asked him.
“The better part of five centuries.” He cast his eyes to the window and the trees that we passed. “I left the home of my friends in Mirum and set out to build the territory you see now out of what was then a wilderness.”
I set a hand on his arm and he turned to face me. That’s when I offered him a smile. “You’ve created a very wonderful place. I don’t think I’ve seen more beautiful scenery or met more grateful people.”
A smile brightened Thorn’s face. “Thank you. Your words mean a great deal to me.”
“Because I’m your bride?” I guessed.
He set a hand over mine. “Because you’re words are sincere.”
A slight blush accented my cheeks and I shrugged. “I say it because it’s true.” I drew my hand out from under his. “Anyway, how much farther until we reach Mirum?”
“The better part of four hours, provided we find no other trouble on this side of the mountains,” he told me.
“And if we find some on the other side?”
“It would be best to contact the local city guards about the issue,” he revealed as he leaned back in his seat. “While they don’t mind a neighbor helping them, they do prefer to handle the responsibility themselves.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “So the city is just on the other side of the mountains?”
Thorn shook his head. “Not quite. The city merely controls a great deal of land around itself for its own protection, and it also acts as a protectorate over other neighboring towns and villages.”
“Sounds complicated,” I mused.
He chuckled. “Only for the scribe who must write down all the terms of the treaties, and those are enshrined in one of its many libraries. The city also boasts a great many theaters, restaurants, and some ancient ruins built by the kings of old before they overthrew them in favor of a representative government.”
I leaned out my window again and watched the world fly by. “With all that up ahead, I can’t wait until we get there.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
But waitI had to as the miles of road rolled on. I watched the shadows lengthen over the boulders and stocky trees that surrounded us. The road led upward and plateaued over the peak where Thorn rapped his knuckle against the roof of the carriage.
The vehicle slowed and he smiled at me. “Do you care to see the view of the Sano District from the peaks of the Durum Mountains?”
“Sounds like a treat.”
He opened the door and climbed out. I followed and accepted his offered hand. It was a good thing, too, because I was distracted by the sight.
A vast valley of fields stretched out in front of us as far as the eye could see. Fields of emerald, gold, white, and even blue colors sparkled in the coming twilight. They came in all shapes and sizes, from the typical rectangular to circles and those that ran along the many creeks that descended from the Durum Mountains on which we stood. Small rolling hills dotted the landscape and I could see grazing animals atop their green peeks.
