The journey to Thornwick took four days by carriage, longer than either of us wanted given the pressing demands of governance we'd temporarily delegated to Aldric and the council, but travel at a pace that wouldn't announce an empress's approach to a village unprepared for imperial attention.
"We should travel simply," I'd told Darius, planning the trip. "No formal escort beyond what's necessary for basic security. If Aria's family still lives there, I don't want our arrival to feel like an inspection."
"It'll feel like one regardless," Darius had said, "the moment anyone recognizes either of us. But I understand the instinct."
We settled on a compromise—six guards traveling in plain clothes, Ethan personally overseeing security without the visible trappings of imperial ceremony, Elian left in the capital with Aldric despite his considerable protests about being excluded from what he clearly sensed was an important journey.
