When the trees finally thinned, a ripple of excitement ran through me. My mysterious companion stopped a few feet in front of me, shifting from one foot to the other, his fingers tapping on his thigh as I came up to stand beside him.
He cleared his throat, breaking his silence. “The city awaits. We should be within the walls of Thyr by the time the sun sets, my lady.”
He extended his arm towards me, bowing extravagantly in my direction.
“Don’t call me that,” I muttered as I pushed past him to look at the winding road that climbed over rolling hills and valleys. On one side of the road was a long river, and on the other was yet another forest. If I squinted, I could see the very beginnings of what looked like an enormous wall far off in the distance, but I couldn’t be sure. “I’m not your lady.”
He raised a brow and huffed, crossing his arms. “Well, what should I call you?”
Pinching my lips together, I smoothed out an invisible wrinkle on my cloak. There was no way in the seven circles of hell I was going to tell him my real name. That he knew I was an elf was trouble enough. If he knew what the king would do to get his hands on me again…
I wouldn’t let that happen.
“You can call me Ana,” I told him after a moment.
“Ana.” He rolled my name around on his tongue, tasting it as though it were a fine wine. It must have pleased him, for he bowed again. “Thank you for allowing me to escort you, Lady Ana.”
Huffing at his mocking display of kindness, I narrowed my eyes. “And what shall I call you? Lord Snuck-Up-On-Me-In-The-Woods somehow just doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.”
He chuckled. The sound was low and deep and made my stomach twinge in a not-at-all unpleasant manner. “You can call me that if you want, Ana or you can simply refer to me as Xander. Either is fine.”
“Xander,” I murmured, testing his name on my tongue as his eyes twinkled in amusement.
His lips twitched as he said, “Since you didn’t know about the Accompaniment Law, Ana, am I to assume that you’ve never been to Thyr?”
For a moment, I considered lying to him, but then decided that the easiest path forward would be the truth.
“Yes.” I sighed, running my hands down my cloak for what felt like the hundredth time. “I’ve never been there before.”
I’ve never been anywhere,I added silently.
Xander nodded, his brows furrowed as he studied me. “Does what you’ve seen so far meet your expectations?”
Blinking, I returned my eyes to the scene before us. My gaze swept over the countryside. I stared at the winding road and the dots that I assumed were people heading into the city. From here, Thyr looked larger than life, but I knew from my very limited education that it was only the third-largest city in Ithenmyr. I took in the plethora of tall stone buildings dotting the horizon.
How could anything be bigger than this?
Not for the first time since escaping my tower, I regretted that I barely knew the country I called my home. I had lived in a cage for so long, and only now was I realizing that there was an entire world that was waiting to be explored.
People to meet. Things to see. Places to go.
I was beginning to realize that I’d had experiences stolen from me because of my secluded upbringing. That by keeping me locked in a tower, the king had done more than take away my freedom. He’d stolen my ability to choose. To learn. To grow. What good was life if one didn’t have these things?
Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get to Thyr and see what the city looked like from up close. I couldn’t wait to experience life.
The afternoon sun was warm as it bathed the hills in its rays. The storm clouds from earlier had cleared, leaving shimmering pools of water on the road. It was stunningly picturesque. I had no idea something so beautiful existed less than a day’s walk from my tower.
What else had been hidden from me?
My fingers twitched at my sides, and I wished for a piece of charcoal to memorialize the sight. Instead, I settled for locking the memory away in my mind.
Later, I promised myself.I’ll sketch it later.
If there was a later.
Therehadto be a later. Freedom tasted far too good. Now that I was out of the king’s clutches, I already knew. I would never go back. I was going to run as far away from here as possible and experienceeverything.
“To be honest, so far it’s more than I thought it would be,” I whispered. The words came out of my mouth unbidden, and immediately, I slammed my mouth shut. That was far more information than I had ever wanted to give to this male who had forced me into coming with him.