Page 45 of Boudicca

“Yes and no.” He drew in a deep breath, and as he exhaled he said in a rush, “I thought they might help your daughters.”

“How so?” I asked.

“Because of how I found them. Because of what happened to their pack—their tribe.”

“Tell me.” As Maldwyn explained how he’d come to save the pups, I felt my gut tighten in anger.

“I know pups this young need constant care,” Maldwyn was saying. “And after I found them I had a sudden thought that Enfys and Ceri might be able to give them the care they need to heal and thrive. In doing so these pups might...” Maldwyn’s words faded as he shrugged and had a hard time meeting my gaze.

“And in healing them my daughters in turn might be healed, and also thrive again,” I finished for the horse master.

“Yes, my queen.” He shook his head. “Forgive me for the presumption.”

“You did not presume. All Iceni know my daughters are battered in body and spirit.” I paused and touched the pups again. This time they raised their heads and looked at me. I saw within their eyes a spark that I recognized and understood. They’d been broken and battered but they wanted to live. Had they not, they would have perished with their littermates. “I think you’re right. These pups could be very good for my daughters. Come with me, Horse Master, and tell Enfys and Ceri how you came to find them.”

The horse master and I walked through the village, and as we did so the Iceni paused in whatever they were doing and bowed to me. There were so many faces I didn’t recognize that I asked Maldwyn, “Have you a count of how many warriors have newly joined us?”

“For that you will have to ask Cadoc. I was away all morning scouting the best camping spots for what I believe will soon be an army that overflows Tasceni.” Maldwyn kept the pups tucked close against his chest and spoke softly, but his chin lifted proudly and his cornflower eyes swept the village and the new faces.

“I can feel them,” I said. “Their excitement and their purpose. Andraste was right. We will serve our vengeance to Rome.”

“Did you doubt it?” he asked so quietly that I barely heard him above the muted whines and grunts of the pups.

I stared at the lodge as we came to the front stair and the wide open doors. “Only a fool never doubts.”

I led Maldwyn into the lodge, which was buzzing with busy women and fragrant with newly baked bread. Briallen was one of the guards at the doors, but when I gave her a small gesture, she followedme within. My daughters were sitting at the trestle table before the large cooking fire. They each had a piece of beautifully dyed cloth that Wulffaed’s granddaughters were helping them embroider. They looked up and saw me, but their smiles of greeting dimmed as their gazes rested on the tall warrior beside me.

“Be close to the girls,” I said under my breath to Briallen, who nodded slightly and moved to stand between them. I halted a few strides from my daughters and touched Maldwyn’s arm so that he stopped at my side. “Enfys, Ceri, our horse master has brought you a gift.” I nodded to Maldwyn, and he lifted the pups and held them high so the girls could see them. They protested, whining and wriggling with strength that surprised me and gave me hope for their survival.

“Are—are they puppies?” Enfys asked.

“Wolf pups,” Maldwyn said. He did not approach the girls, though Ceri cringed as if he’d lifted his hand to strike her.

“They are very young,” said the Mother of Twenty as she wiped her hands on her apron and peered at the pups. “Looks like their eyes have just barely opened. They should be at a she-wolf’s teats.”

“Indeed they should,” said Maldwyn.

“Tell my daughters why the pups are here,” I said.

“I was scouting for campsites south of Tasceni and came upon their pack, slaughtered and skinned and left for the vultures. I found an arrow painted with stars on its shaft embedded in a tree nearby,” he said.

“Catuvellauni.” Wulffaed’s voice was filled with scorn and her mouth pursed as if she’d eaten something sour.

“Yes.” I watched my daughters. “The same traitors who led the Romans to us.”

“They killed the whole pack?” Wulffaed came closer and touched the pups. “Even a she-wolf who’d just whelped?”

“Yes,” said Maldwyn.

I spoke to my daughters. “This winter when your father signed the treaty with Rome, I noticed that theirmen”—I almost spat the word—“seemed overly fond of wearing wolf-skin cloaks. The Catuvellaunimust be determined to be sure they continue to swath themselves in the spoils of our land.”

“H-how did these pups live?” Ceri’s voice was hesitant, but she was looking at Maldwyn when she asked the question—and this was the first time she’d spoken to a man other than to scream in terror since the Romans had brutalized her.

Maldwyn replied with gentleness and honesty. “They survived by will. They refused to die with their pack and instead chose to keep breathing when their littermates chose death. These two little ones did not succumb. They did not give up. They reminded me of my queen’s daughters with their bravery, and so I brought them home to you.” He held the pups up again as they yipped complaints.

My daughters exchanged a long look, and then Enfys took Ceri’s hand in hers. They stood and together approached Maldwyn. I held my breath and the horse master did not move until they stood directly in front of him. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he bent and offered the pups to the girls.

Enfys moved first. She reached up and took one pup from Maldwyn. Ceri grasped the other. She even smiled shyly at the horse master before turning all her attention to the skinny, wriggling pup.