“I ha’ already sworn my fealty to ye, but allow me to remind ye. Ye ha’ my sword under your command. My heart is yours, as well as my soul, for all eternity. I love ye. More than all the stars in the sky.”
Out of all of his words, it’s only three that piece me back together.
“I love you too.”
He leans towards me, taking my face in his hands and pressing his lips against mine. Electricity travels across my skin, raising goosebumps in its wake. Cheers erupt behind him and he laughs, pulling away.
“Let’s get ye to your party.”
He stands, pulling me up with him.
“Party?” I ask, cocking my head to the side.
“Aye, every war needs a feast beforehand.”
Striding into the dining hall, we find the celebration is already in full swing.
Cynane, Boudicca, Agatha, Artemisia, and even Joan are at tables close by with members of their districts. A startling slam against the table draws my attention as Leif hammers a pitcher of mead against its wooden top.
“Long live the queen!”
The room erupts in agreement. “Long live the queen!”
The feast is magnificent. It’s exactly what we needed to boost morale and prepare for the upcoming mission. My chest is light as happiness pours from me. A simmering current of warmth slides through my veins as I survey the dining hall from beside Boudicca and Leif. Such smiles on everyone’s faces.
Torin and Agatha are seated at the quiet end of the dining hall, their heads bent in conversation. They must have so much to catch up on. Leif begins shouting, the mead in his hand the fourth I’ve seen him drink, or maybe the fifth. But his words about battles in the human realm have my attention swinging back to him fully.
“I led a revolt once,” Boudicca says.
Her eyes shine and I’m not sure if it’s from the wine or the memory of her past. Her life is legendary, one of my favorite history lessons my parents taught me.
“That was more than a revolt if I remember correctly,” Leif chimes in, and I nod enthusiastically.
“I would agree.” I smile and take another sip of my wine, savoring the fruity bitterness.
Boudicca turns her shocked eyes towards me. “You know of my history?”
I splutter with excitement and the wine in my goblet sloshes over the side. “Of course, everyone knows about you.”
“They still speak of me?” Her words are said on a gasp and she clutches the neckline of her long linen gown.
I laugh before I realize she’s being serious and share a look with Leif. He seems just as surprised as I am. “Y-yes. Your history is well documented. Your daughters were assaulted by the Romans.” I lower my voice. “Your husband’s will ignored.” Her eyes darken as a shadow crosses her face at the mention of old ghosts. “Because of this, you led the Iceni tribe into a revolution. You destroyed Roman strongholds that no one could have ever dreamt of destroying. Londinium, and...”
My mind goes blank. The wine is having a greater effect on me than the heat in my veins. I snap my fingers repeatedly, trying to pry the name from the recesses of my memory. “Camulodunum!”
“And Verulamium,” she whispers.
My victory of remembrance is set aside as I take in the heroine in front of me, the life she must have lived, the pain she must have felt.
“You beat the Romans so badly that Nero almost withdrew all of his forces from Briton,” I say with incredulity. “You’re one of Britain’s most famous heroines.”
Her bottom lip quivers and tears begin glimmering in her eyes. “But I lost.”
I shake my head, trying to clear it further. I need her to know, to understand that she belongs to history’s list of most infamous women.
“You might have lost that war. But there is no longer a Roman Empire. And there are statues of you all over Britain andWales. When women were fighting for the right to vote, they used images of you.”
Boudicca reels back. “Women had to fight for the right to vote?”
