‘I shall make him governor of the province,’ I told her on the morning of my departure.
She was unimpressed. ‘Someone of greater status should be the governor of a province. Someone like Domitus.’
‘Domitus would hate being away from Dura. In any case I need him with the army for the campaign against Mithridates.’
‘What about Kronos, then? He might like being nearer to Pontus, his homeland.’
I buckled my sword belt. ‘Gordyene is around four hundred miles from Pontus. Besides, I also need him to command the Exiles. You will just have to accept that Surena has exceeded all expectations. He deserves to rule the land that he has liberated.’
‘He will rule it in your name,’ she corrected me.
I picked up my helmet and inspected its white goose feather crest.
‘A governor should also have his wife beside him,’ I said casually.
She spun round. ‘Viper?’
‘Yes, they have been apart for far too long and now it is only right that she should travel with me to be at her husband’s side.’
Her eyes narrowed as she regarded me. Gallia protected her Amazons fiercely and resented any interference in their affairs. However, now Surena was going to be a governor Viper was going to be a governor’s wife and could no longer be part of the queen’s bodyguard.
‘She is not yours to command,’ she snapped.
‘She cannot remain in your bodyguard while her husband is a governor, or satrap, of a province of the empire. It is a high position that I am bestowing on him and, de facto, his wife,’ I shot back.
‘She should be consulted at least.’
I saw no reason why I, a king, should consult a mere girl in my queen’s bodyguard. But I could tell that Gallia’s temper was starting to arouse itself and as I had no desire to part from her on bad terms I agreed that Viper should be consulted. And so we walked to the throne room while Gallia summoned Viper from the palace barracks. We had to say our farewells to Orodes and Axsen anyway so I suppose it made sense to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.
Orodes and Axsen were already sitting on their thrones upon the dais as a steady stream of people entered the throne room to begin the morning’s proceedings. Mardonius, dignified as ever, took his place to the right of the dais though Axsen ordered a chair to be brought for him to save his aged knees. My father, mother and Adeleh came to pay their respects and to bid the newlyweds farewell, as did Gafarn and Diana who would be travelling back to Hatra with my mother, my sister and their two boys. Next to appear were Nergal and Praxima and then Atrax and Aliyeh, the latter looking contemptuously upon the king and queen of Mesene. It was difficult for a former pampered princess of Hatra to accept that a woman who had been a slave could wear a crown like herself. I had to laugh at such a notion; crowns were nothing but pieces of metal. It was the swords and bows behind a crown that were more important.
Finally Viper appeared dressed in her mail shirt, leggings and boots. Her short-cropped hair and girlish face making her seem as though she had stolen her clothes from an adult. But she was no child and knew how to use the sword that hung from her hip. She bowed to Axsen, Orodes, Gallia and me and ignored everyone else.
‘We welcome you, Viper,’ said a smiling Axsen.
Viper smiled back. Axsen was a friend of Gallia’s, which made her a friend of every Amazon, and my wife’s warriors also liked Orodes who had fought by their side for many years.
‘Before I take my leave of your majesties,’ I said to Axsen and Orodes, ‘I have something to say to Viper.’
My father sighed irritably. He thought the idea of the Amazons complete nonsense and was also clearly impatient to be away. My mother froze him with a stare.
‘Of course,’ said Orodes politely, ‘we are all interested in the affairs of the Amazons.’
Aliyeh rolled her eyes but Atrax was most intrigued.
‘You will have heard,’ I said to Viper, ‘that Surena has liberated the kingdom of Gordyene.’
‘Yes, majesty,’ she replied with pride.
‘I intend to make your husband the governor of the kingdom, Viper.’
My father suddenly became very interested in what I was saying.
‘And I would like you to accompany me north so you can be a governor’s wife.’
Viper looked at Gallia who nodded.
‘Yes, majesty,’ beamed Viper.
‘This is most excellent,’ said Axsen as Viper hugged Gallia, Diana, and Praxima and then bowed to Axsen and Orodes before scampering away to prepare for the journey.
‘So Gordyene becomes a part of the Kingdom of Dura,’ said my father.
‘For the moment, father.’
‘Gordyene will need a king, Pacorus,’ said Orodes. ‘It was a self-governing kingdom and should be again.’
‘I quite agree, lord king,’ I replied. ‘But until a suitable candidate is found I think it is safe under Surena’s governorship.’
We left two hours later, a long column of my father’s bodyguard, Atrax’s two hundred horse archers and my own hundred horsemen. Thankfully my father’s bodyguard also rode as horse archers and left their camels and squires behind and so we covered around nearly thirty miles a day to arrive at Gordyene’s southern border, the Shahar Chay River, ten days after we had left Babylon. Messages had been sent ahead to announce our visit and thus at the frontier we were greeted by Silaces and a thousand horse archers. There was a stiff northerly breeze behind him that showed the banner of the four-pointed star, the flag of Elymais, to full effect and I thought I saw my father nod approvingly when he saw it.
We walked our horses across the shallow river and entered Gordyene, the land of tree-covered mountains, mountain steppes and lakes, and lush, deep valleys and fast-flowing rivers. The kingdom of great forests of beech, oak, pine and peach; home to bears, deer, wild bore and wildcats. Higher on the rocky slopes were mountain leopards and white panthers. It was also an ancient land where wheat had been first been cultivated twelve thousand years ago, and where Alexander of Macedon had discovered the apricot and had sent it back to Greece. And now it was Parthian once more.
Silaces’ men lined the far riverbank and he bowed his head to us as we exited the water.
‘Greetings, majesties.’
‘It is good to see you again, Silaces,’ I said to him.
‘And you, majesty. Surena waits for you at Vanadzor.’
The new governor would undoubtedly have met us at the border had he known that his wife was with us, though it took us only two more days to reach Vanadzor, the brooding city built in the valley of the Pambak River. When we arrived on the morning of the second day Surena was waiting for us. Rank upon rank of white-clad horse archers paraded in front of the city gates and he himself was mounted upon a magnificent grey horse with the lion banner fluttering behind him. Lion banners also hung from the walls and towers of the city, the battlements lined with spearmen and archers. I turned to Viper as we neared Surena and his officers.
‘Go to your husband, Viper.’