Chapter 26

Devnum

Ky waited on the temple steps, his mind racing. The battle of Mare Britannicum had been the most one-sided anyone had ever heard of. The Britannians had lost three men, two accidents on the Scandi boat when men fell overboard and one on a lucky shot by a panicked archer when a Carthaginian ship tried to make it to the cliffside. The Carthaginians, on the other hand, had lost tens of thousands. Two boats looked like they got away, although even with Sophus’s replay, it was hard to tell in the chaos.

They’d used a lot of their gunpowder in the process, but the cannons had worked beautifully, and word of their new wonder weapons was already spreading through the legions and beyond. The attack on Lucilla proved that there were still Carthaginian, or at least Caesius, sympathizers in their midst, which meant the rumors would get back to the Carthaginians eventually. If some boats did escape, a smart man would put two and two together and they’d be able to figure out what he’d done to their fleet. That was going to happen, eventually.

Lucilla was recovering much more slowly since she refused to go back to bed, even after she concluded the negotiations with the Ulaid. Still, it was good to have her back up and moving again. Although they hadn’t gotten the deal signed-off, she’d done an excellent job leading Conchobar through the process, and his agreeing to join the alliance was now a foregone conclusion. Ky wondered at a rebuilt British Empire thousands of years before it happened in his time, and if their joining as one political unit was inevitable. Of course, the Britannic Empire wasn’t the same as the historical British Empire, with a different makeup of people without the Vikings or Normans, but it was something to think about.

It wasn’t complete, either. In addition to needing a finalized agreement between the Empire and the Ulaid, Velius still had to deal with the Ériunian kingdoms that had sided with the Carthaginians, but it seemed inevitable at this point. They also had the Isle of Man, or as the Romans called it Insula Manavia, and its Carthaginian garrison to deal with, but that should be doable. That was the last of the low-hanging fruit. Afterwards, they would need to decide how to take the fight to the Carthaginians so they didn’t continue to send fleets and armies to retake the islands. There were a lot of options, but none of them were good.

That was tomorrow’s worry, however. Today was set aside for the celebration of their victory both on Ériunia and on the seas, and Lucilla had already decided how to kick off that celebration.

As if his thoughts had manifested her, Lucilla arrived at the bottom of the steps to the temple carried in a chariot, stepping down carefully in her ceremonial robes. Ky had been forced to wear a ceremonial toga of his own, but it was at least more functional than the miles of fabric that seemed to wrap themselves around her body.

She didn’t even seem to notice as she mounted the stairs and made her way toward him. The dignity and elegance she seemed to bring with her every step was just another reason he loved her. He hadn’t considered marriage beyond assigned pairings when he’d been in his time, but now, looking at her, he couldn’t imagine not marrying Lucilla. She was practically radiant as she passed the last step, standing beside him and looking down at all the people gathered to wish them well.

“Let’s go make you mine,” she said, a twinkle in her eye as she took his arm and led him into the temple of Zeus.