Page 6 of Queen of the Hollow Hills

I nodded. “Winter is upon us. I will ensure they are ready,” I said, my gaze going from Chieftain Brennan, who had been working hard to restore Mydils, to Venu, who sat beside Chieftain Andoc. Andoc looked decidedly uncertain about the Carvetti prince, but Venutiux was putting on a charm offensive.

“You have shown them both your terror and your mercy. You are a good queen, Cartimandua,” Corva told me.

“My grandfather Bellnorix would say my mercy was a mistake.”

“Did he not show mercy to Old Cam?” Corva replied.

“Whose people just rebelled,” I answered.

“But not Cam himself.” The tone in Corva’s voice told me she was also left with questions. There was also disquiet in my heart over the Setantii. Had Cam told me the entire truth?

I gave Corva a knowing look.

She merely nodded.

Sighing, I turned and grabbed a hot round of bread, slathering it with butter and honey. I considered the item for a moment, then added some apple butter. On further thought, a hunk of cheddar and a heap of roasted chicken seemed like perfect accompaniments.

As I chewed my delicious concoction, I realized Corva was giving me a questioning look.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Nothing, my queen,” she replied, her gaze drifting to Cormag, who had placed his hands behind his head and looked out at the room, smiling.

“It’s delicious. Want me to make you one?” I asked Corva.

She laughed. “Decidedly not.”

“Your loss,” I told her, then settled back in my seat again, wondering what I could eat next.

“All our gain, I suspect,” Corva mumbled with a wry grin but didn’t elaborate.

Ignoring her, I turned back to the table. Now, where had that Roman garum gone?

CHAPTER 3

It was very late in the night after all the chieftains had gone to rest, and Cormag drifted off to sleep, when I woke. I lay in my bedchamber, watching as the thin beams of moonlight moved across the room…and dreaming of chicken with apple butter, honey, cheese, and garum.

Finally rising, I slipped from the room only to surprise the guards stationed outside.

“My queen?” Brynaich, one of the guards, asked in alarm. “Is there?—”

“Hungry?” I asked them.

The men looked at one another.

“I am always hungry, my queen,” the redheaded guard, Mael Coluim, replied.

Chuckling, Brynaich shook his head. “I’ll stay with the king consort.”

With that, Mael Coluim and I quietly slipped down the back stairwells of the fort, arriving in the kitchens to find the attendant asleep beside the fireplace. However, to my surprise, I found Verbia and Nettle. The cat was sitting on the table beside the old woman, enjoying roasted chicken.

I pointed to the pots. “Take what you like,” I told Mael Coluim, then went and joined my ancient great-grandmother. “Where is your guard?” I asked her.

Verbia pointed to Nettle, who merely mewed at me.

Shaking my head, I patted the cat and sat beside Verbia. I then set about preparing the bread with the spreads and added the cheese and chicken thereon, pausing to give Nettle a few bites of the meat.

With a delighted sigh, I took a bite. And then another, and another, only stopping when I was done. When I sat back to clean my fingers, Verbia gave me a toothy grin.

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