Page 90 of Boudicca

Adminius clapped his hands together. “More looting! The farms around Verulamium are ripe for the picking and burning.”

“I’m glad you mention that,” I said. “Addedomaros, make it clear to your warriors that they are free to loot and burn any farm outside Verulamium that belongs to a Roman, but they are to leave untouched the farms still owned by Britons.”

“What!” Adminius sputtered. “How are we even to know the difference?”

“The Roman farms will have shrines to their gods. Roman homes are made of stone. Ours are made of wood. It is not difficult to tell the difference if one is willing to look,” I said.

Adminius threw up his hands. “Those Britons you wish to spare are Catuvellauni scum. They stole the land from my father and his father. They are vermin we need to rid our lands of so we can reclaim what was ours.”

My anger roiled at his ignorance. I did not even attempt to keep the disgust from my voice. “When does it stop? Has what we have accomplished thus far taught you nothing? Together we can be better, stronger,unconquerable. Together the tribes of Britain can stop any outsider from invading us ever again. I want more for my daughters than an unending legacy of war and hatred. Don’t you?”

Adminius sneered. “So says the queen who burned a temple full of people, wiped out an entire centuria, and began a war for vengeance.”

I felt my three lead warriors stir and move to stand beside me, but my rage carried me forward so that I strode to face Adminius. I was so close to him that I smelled his rancid breath. He was half a head shorter than me, a slender version of his powerful father. I looked down my nose as I spat my words at him. “They are not Britons!They are usurpers who want to take away our land, our gods, our way of life. Had our tribes stood together when the first Romans stepped from their ships, we would have pushed them back into the sea forever. Think of the deaths that would have saved.

“So no, Adminius, you will not loot and burn the farms of your fellow Britons.” I stared into his eyes and wondered how they could look so much like Rhan’s when he was so very different from his wise, compassionate sister.

Addedomaros moved up and elbowed his son so that he had to take several steps back. “I hear what you say, Queen Boudicca. But using your own reasoning, creating strife and division among us will not help our cause.”

Instead of looking at Addedomaros, I held Adminius’s gaze. “Then rein in your son or send him home.”

Adminius sputtered as his face blazed crimson. His hand went to his dagger. Cadoc, Maldwyn, and Abertha were beside me in a breath.

Addedomaros raised his hand. “Enough, Adminius. The queen is not wrong. She is also our ally, and we do not raise weapons against our allies. Return to our camp and get ready to march.”

Adminius whirled and strode away.

Addedomaros sighed. “My son is young.”

“As am I,” I said. “Youth is not an excuse for foolishness.”

The Trinovantes chief’s thick brows lifted. “Are you calling my son a fool?”

“Yes.”

There was utter silence, in which I could feel the tension of my lead warriors. I could almost hear Cadoc’s mind whirring with possibilities.What do we do if the Trinovantes leave? Can we still take Londinium and Verulamium? More important, can we defeat the Fourteenth and Twentieth when they inevitably catch us?

But instead of blustering or raging or stalking away, Addedomaros threw back his head and laughed. “Aye,” he said. “Adminius can be a fool. May I live long enough to see him grow wise.”

“I hope Epona hears your prayer.” I hadn’t realized the tension that thrummed through my body until then. I felt lightheaded as Addedomaros continued to chuckle.

“I will be sure my warriors do not touch any farms except those owned by Romans.” He met my gaze. “What you said struck me true, Queen Boudicca. I do want more for my children than an unending legacy of war and hatred.” He bowed respectfully to me and then followed his son.

Cadoc let out a long breath. “That was close, my queen.”

“Aye, but if we are to lose their alliance it is best to know it now,” said Abertha.

Maldwyn ran a hand through his hair. “We must watch Adminius. No matter what Addedomaros says, it is clear he does little to control his son and we do not need him sowing discontent among the Trinovantes.”

“I agree,” I said. “And if Adminius becomes even more of a problem?”

Maldwyn shrugged. “Accidents happen easily during battle.”

Cadoc and Abertha muttered agreement, and I thought not for the first or last time how glad I was that I was their queen and not their enemy.

We broke camp shortly and continued our quick march. As always, I’d sent scouts ahead. As the sun sank toward the horizon before us, Briallen galloped to me with a scout on a horse flecked with foaming sweat. Cadoc, Abertha, and Maldwyn joined me as I motioned for Briallen to guide the warrior from the road. The army marched by while he bowed before me and reported, gasping beside his spent horse.

“My queen, I have news. Paulinus reached Londinium this day.”