Page 92 of Boudicca

I touched his cheek and shook my head. “Not tonight, though it is not because of a lack of desire.”

He smiled and kissed my palm. “Aye. Perhaps after Verulamium.”

“Perhaps.”

I watched his broad shoulders as he guided the chariot toward the enclosure of rope and lines that held our mighty herd. He’d saved my life that night. From a dim alley a Roman had hurled a spear at me. I hadn’t seen it coming, but Maldwyn had turned the chariot abruptly to the side, so that the spear that would have hit me in the center of my chest passed harmlessly by us.

I whispered a prayer to my goddess. “Thank you, Andraste, for the loyalty and love of Maldwyn. Protect him as you would me.”

Wulffaed had my tub unloaded from the caravan. Her daughters had begun filling it as soon as the camp halted. As I approached the crude tent, she bowed.

“Queen Boudicca, my daughters have buckets of clean water warmed to pour over you before you settle in your bath. Food and drink are ready as well.”

I nodded my thanks and, with the help of Phaedra, stripped out of my shin and forearm guards and the blood-spattered clothes thatreeked of war. The night was frigid, but I ignored it and stood naked before our fire as they poured buckets of water over me. I’d killed men that night, and the memory of their dying screams haunted me as I sank into the warm bathwater, ate my dinner, drank a pitcher of mead, and wrapped myself in heavy pelts to settle in to rest for what was left of the night.

I could not sleep. I needed... something. Maldwyn’s body would have been a distraction, though I knew passion wasn’t the answer I sought. Finally, sometime after Wulffaed had banked the cook fire and Phaedra snored softly on her pallet at the foot of my bed, I gave up on sleep.

Quietly, I pulled on my leather boots, wrapped my fur-lined cloak around my shoulders, and began walking through camp. My intention was to go to the horses, find Tân, and let her warm, solid presence soothe my restlessness, but my feet took me in the opposite direction, deeper into the soggy woods. The chill of the night was relentless, but my compulsion to keep moving would not leave me.

Compulsion...

I stopped and shook myself as if coming in from the rain.I’m being compelled into the forest.With new purpose, I strode forward. My goddess was calling.

The longer I walked, the thicker the woods became. The leaves of the trees made a carpet of rust and brown, saffron and orange, that swallowed the sound of my footsteps. The moon was a fat yellow sickle that cast just enough light through the naked trees for me to see. When I came to a wide creek, I followed it to a waterfall that cascaded down, disappearing into watery mist and the night so that it appeared to pour into a great, dark mouth. Willows that still held on to their leaves formed an arch before the waterfall. I drew a deep breath and strode through the arch. The night shifted.

Moonlight sharpened, changing from wan yellow to brilliant white. The white light illuminated the waterfall, turning the mist to billowing clouds that roiled up, forming shapes. I moved closer to the edge of the cascading water and stared down, mesmerized by the images of charging boars, soaring ravens, and hares, long earstwitching as they played in the mist. I knew Andraste’s hand was in this. She must have been sending me sign, but all I saw were creatures frolicking within the spray. All I heard was the thundering of water hitting hidden rocks below.

“By the balls of Priapus, I hate this fucking barbaric land!”

I startled at the sound of the deep voice coming from my side of the creek and moved quickly away from the edge of the waterfall and into the concealing shadows of the willows, peering through the arch they formed.

“General, are we to camp here for the night?”

“Not unless you want to chance waking to one hundred thousand screaming Brittani. Keep the line moving, but have my guard hold where they are. I need time to think.”

“Yes, sir.”

I knew that Roman’s voice even before he strode into sight, pulled off his helmet, and threw it to the ground, where it bumped and rolled in my direction. His brown hair was plastered to his head and his face was slick with sweat.

“Fucking barbarians! Fucking Decianus! He started all of this and left the mess for me to clean up.” Gaius Suetonius Paulinus followed his helmet and kicked it so that it flew even closer to where I hid.

I did not move. It wasn’t possible that I had walked far enough to catch up with Paulinus and his cavalry, but there he was, just on the other side of the entrance to Annwn.

“My fucking legions are exhausted. Their heads have been muddled by Druids and they languish on the other side of this gods-forsaken country, terrified by what they witnessed on that gods-forsaken isle, licking their wounds and utterly useless! Oh, Rome, how I miss you.”

Even in death our Druids protect us as they haunt the minds of their murderers.

Paulinus wiped a hand across his damp face and sighed. Grumbling more curses under his breath, he walked to where he’d kicked his helmet, bent to pick it up, and as he stood his gaze lifted and he looked directly at me.

I did not move.

He straightened. His lips formed a slow smile that did not reach the mean glint in his eyes. “Well now, what have we here?”

My cloak had slipped down from my shoulders and I pulled it more tightly around me. I knew what I must look like with my sheer nightdress and my freshly washed hair falling around my waist. I did not speak but took one step back, wishing that I had ridden Tân into the forest.

Paulinus took a step toward me, raising one hand, palm out. “Easy there. It seems the gods have given me a gift, as you are exactly what I need to put my head right tonight.” He crooked a finger and gestured for me to come to him. “You wouldn’t want to anger the gods, would you?”

My lip curled. “You and your gods have no rights here.”