Chapter Forty Three

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the dusty road.  The carriage rattled on, the rhythmic clatter a lullaby against the backdrop of chirping crickets and the melancholic hooting of an owl.  Hours had melted away since they had departed the castle, and both Ryan and Suzy felt the fatigue settling in.

"We should find an inn for the night," Ryan announced, his voice slightly raspy from the dry air.  "We won't make it to the palace before nightfall."

Suzy, who had been lost in a book – a borrowed romance novel that had her cheeks flushed with a mixture of amusement and scandal – looked up with a start.  "An inn?" she echoed, surprised.  "But won't that delay our arrival?

"Only by a day," Ryan replied.  "It wouldn't be wise to travel in the dark, especially on these roads."