Chapter 25Day twenty-nine. The sea winds cut like razors. Winter couldn’t be far away. Aeneas and Beroe were rowing a shallow-bottomed boat in an estuary, with Mnestheos and Eumela sitting opposite them. Mnestheos had started rowing, but the grinding pain in his joints got the better of him. Beroe insisted that she take over. The pair traded places, all but capsizing them in the process.
The little vessel was a parting gift from Lady Andromakhe, a light skiff like those he had seen in the harbour of Bouthroton. Not much, maybe, but it fit on the deck of Chimera. With a single pair of oars, the boat was a blessing, much better than a coracle for missions like this. The Trojan ships remained in the estuary, ready to cut cables at a moment’s notice. After the debacle of the Strophades, every
