Page 2 of Boudicca

Arianell nodded slowly. Unlike mine, my mother’s hair was always tamed—and even this early hour it flowed neatly down her back as Dafina’s long strokes made it crackle and glisten in the wan firelight. “Truffles would please Derwyn, but the predawn light makes digging for truffles”—she paused and smiled knowingly at me—“impossible.”

I blew out a long, frustrated breath. “I woke thinking of the forest and the imminent arrival of the Druids, which brought to mind truffles. I decided I must go in search of them for him.”

“We have women aplenty who would be honored to forage for Derwyn,” croaked Dafina.

“Yes, I know, and yet I was compelled to go into the forest. Today. Now.”

Arianell’s expression shifted instantly. She lifted her hand and Dafina stopped combing her hair. My mother leaned forward, staring through the predawn gloom of the lodge. “A compulsion to enter the forest awakened you?”

I recognized the sharpness in my mother’s voice and my stomach tightened. “It did. Actually, all I remember of my dream is how it ended. That I was commanded to go into the forest.”

“Perhaps... perhaps...” The wan light of the hearthfire reflected in Arianell’s distinctive sky-colored eyes so that they seemed bottomless, as if they contained secrets from many lifetimes. Holding my gaze, she raised her voice only a little. “Dafina, bring me the hart pendant. The one with the emerald eye.”

The old servant stood stiffly and then disappeared behind the heavy pelt curtain that was the entrance to Arianell’s bedchamber. She returned in moments to give the piece of jewelry to her mistress.

“Come, bend down to me, daughter.”

I approached my mother, who lifted a delicate chain. From it dangled a hart that had been exquisitely crafted from silver swirls and interlocking knots. The stag’s head was in profile, so only one eye showed—and that eye was a perfect shining emerald, the exact color of my own eyes.

Arianell spoke formally. “I give this to you freely, my daughter, my queen, and my heart, to keep as your own, or to leave as an offering in Annwn, the Otherworld.”

Wordless, I bowed my head. Mother slipped the silver chain on me so that it slid, cold and heavy, just beneath the torque that was a symbol of my rank as queen of the Iceni. The beautiful hart fell between my breasts, where the single emerald played with the firelight.

I touched it gently, reverently. “But Father gave it to you. I could not leave it as an offering.”

“Its worth is exactly why it makes the perfect offering. Though as I said, that is your choice to make, should you be fortunate enough to step beyond the veil that parts the worlds.”

My fingers stroked the smooth pendant and I blew out a long breath. “I am not sure I want to visit Annwn. What if it’s like the legends and I return to find the world has gone on without me and everyone beloved by me has left this life?”

Arianell’s smile turned into a savage baring of her white teeth. “The queen of the Iceni should not fear her destiny.”

Mother’s words sent a shiver down my spine as foreboding as real as the silver chain around my neck lifted the small, fair hairs on my forearms. “I will always do my best to make my people proud.”

Arianell’s expression softened. “I know that as surely as Prasutagus did when he named you his heir. The Iceni and the Druids knew that when they chose their queen three months ago. Though I do wish your father could have lived to see you wear the torque of a queen.”

My fingers found the precious pendant again. “Mother, if youbelieve I should take an offering with me, let me choose something else—something valuable but not as precious as this.”

Arianell patted my hand. “There are other gifts your father gave me that I treasure more than that pendant. You, my dearest, are the greatest of those gifts. He also gave us the gift of choosing your husband wisely. I freely admit I disagreed with him at first. Prasutagus was a mighty chief, but he seemed far too old for you.”

I’d heard this tale many times and still it made me smile. “Because I was eighteen, and Prasutagus was already showing gray in his beard.”

“Indeed.” Arianell nodded. “But then I saw the way the Iceni chief looked at you—as if you held his world in your green eyes. That warmed my heart, but when Prasutagus made it clear that he valued your mind and respected your opinions—thatwas when I knew you and he would be well matched.”

My stomach tightened again, this time in grief, and my voice was barely above a whisper. “He loved me and I him.”

Arianell nodded. “Prasutagus won my motherly love when he sent for me after your father was entombed.”

“He knew I would need you for the birth of our first child. I was so heavy with Enfys that I could not even travel to see Father’s pyre lit.”

Arianell nodded. “Indeed, I traveled here for the birthing of my beloved first grandchild and never left.” My mother paused and her expression darkened. “I still believe your father had a premonition about what would befall his beloved Brigantes. That woman Cartimandua. That horrible woman who betrayed the tribe to ally with the Romans...” Her words faded and her shoulders bowed with grief.

This time I patted my mother’s hand reassuringly. “Do not let your thoughts dwell on Cartimandua.”

“That bitch. May her teats dry and her womb fail,” Dafina muttered.

The ancient servant’s words caused Arianell to share a smile with me, and I hastily returned the conversation to our topic. “Prasutagus cherished me from the moment we met. He saw how very much his wife needed you. That is why he made a place of honor for you here.”

“Dearest, you were doing well without me.”