Page 86 of Boudicca

Maldwyn’s sharp gaze caught mine. “There has been a battle at Ynys Môn?”

I drank from the mug of mead Wulffaed had placed before me, swallowing down the gravel that filled my throat at the thought of the death of the Druids. “The isle is no more.”

Cadoc’s broad shoulders jerked in shock. “Derwyn?”

I shook my head.

“Our high Druid is no more?” Addedomaros’s face had gone pale.

I could have lied. Perhaps I should have, but I had no stomach for it. If I could bear it, then so too could these men. I met the chief’s gaze and spoke truth. “The only Druids I know for sure are alive are the two we have with us. Your daughter, the Iceni seer, and Adara, our healer. All who were on the isle perished, including the sacred oaks.”

For several heartbeats no one spoke. Wulffaed and her daughters and granddaughters froze. My war council, Cadoc, Maldwyn,Abertha—who had been brought on a litter—Addedomaros, Mailcun, and Adminius, was silent.

Finally Adminius whispered, “Have the gods deserted us?”

“No!” My voice cut through their despair. “How can you even think such a thing after the victory we were given at Camulodunum? Last night as I returned to camp, Andraste rode at my side on the white stag of Brigantia. Addedomaros, did you not feel the presence of Epona with your cavalry?”

Addedomaros cleared his throat. He still looked stunned, but he nodded. “Aye, as always I felt the goddess near.”

“Our goddesses will remain near as long as we honor them,” I said. “I know the truth of this deep in my spirit. I have spoken with Andraste. The goddess will not desert the Iceni. To prove her fidelity she gave sign to Rhan at dawn. Three hares appeared, running in a row toward Londinium. Three—one each for Camulodunum, Londinium, and Verulamium. Andraste promises those cities to us. She has made that clear.”

“Then in five days we burn Londinium,” said Cadoc.

“And because our army will be well rested, immediately following the burning of Londinium we march directly to Verulamium and level that Roman municipium,” I added.

“I still think we should march sooner. Perhaps in three days,” insisted Adminius.

I met and held his gaze. “Then it is a good thing that I am in charge of this army and you are not.”

His face darkened and he looked as if he would say more, but Mailcun’s hand went to his shoulder, gripping it so tightly his knuckles whitened. Addedomaros stood and nodded to me.

“It will be as you say, Queen Boudicca. In five days our cavalry and Epona will enter Londinium with you and Andraste,” he said. “Come, Adminius. We have horses to tend.”

Adminius stood and stalked away without looking at me. Addedomaros nodded briefly and followed. Only Mailcun bowed to me with the proper respect.

***

At dusk the pyre was ready. It was an enormous mound of logs and brush and our dead. Like the pyre at Tasceni, it was laid out in a circular formation. Choice pieces of meat had been placed within the pyre, as well as mead, ale, honey, and milk. The bodies had been liberally anointed with oil. Rhan sent for me when all was ready, and as the sun set behind us and the burning city glowed before us, Cadoc lit my arrow as Mailcun lit Addedomaros’s, and together we let loose the burning brands. They lifted into the twilight sky, arched, and returned to earth, setting the pyre ablaze.

I was surprised that Adminius hadn’t joined his father at the lighting of the pyre. There was no doubt that he believed Tribe Trinovantes would be his at the death of Addedomaros. He should have been at his father’s side. Rhan had been correct. Adminius was the same spoiled favorite child he had been when I fostered with them, only now he wore a man’s skin. I glanced at my daughters, who stood not far from me, watching the pyre burn with their wolves beside them. I did not know which of the two would follow me as queen of the Iceni when I joined Andraste in Annwn, but I was grateful that both were maturing into honorable young women who cared deeply for their tribe.

That night the army was subdued. I moved from campfire to campfire, speaking with the warriors, telling them that they were to rest for four more days before we would march on Londinium. I promised them that they could loot the warehouses that lined the Thames before firing the wooden buildings, and that any merchandise they could carry from the city would be theirs. My words were met with pleasure. There had been almost no looting at Camulodunum. I’d been eager to defeat the Romans billeted there and fulfill the curse. But Londinium was different. In the southernmost point of traitorous Catuvellauni land, it had been swallowed whole by Rome decades before and was a major trading center. I’d traveled there several times every year since I married Prasutagus and knew it well.It was a city filled with merchants with almost no defenses, especially once the wooden bridge over the Thames was breached. Unlike Camulodunum, the city had few Roman buildings, which meant the wooden roundhouses and warehouses would burn hot and fast—and my army was welcome to anything they could pillage before it was no more.

I was weary and returned to my tent, where I soaked in a hot bath as Phaedra combed out my hair. While I bathed, Briallen reported that Enfys and Ceri had fallen asleep almost immediately upon returning from the pyre, and that before they’d slept they had told the warrior that they would be fine without her now.

“The bairns are curled in a pile with those wolves and I cannot tell which one of them snores the loudest,” she said with a wistful smile.

I understood the wistfulness of her smile. “They’re growing up.”

“Aye, well, it was bound to happen.”

“You’ve cared for them well,” I said. “And you’ll continue to. Someday you will be Queen’s Guard to one of them.”

Briallen’s brows lifted. “Och, well, do not make that day come too soon, my queen.”

I grinned at her. “I won’t.”

Briallen bowed and left as Maldwyn entered. His eyes crinkled at the corners when he saw that I was naked in my tub, but he bowed formally to me and said, “Queen Boudicca, I came to report that the herd is recovering quickly, though I am glad you’re giving them time to rest. It will serve us well when we drive them to Londinium and Verulamium.”