Gwendolyn smiled and caressed her swollen belly. “It is near time. This child, I feel, is strong like its father.”
“Einion is fortunate to have you beside him, lady.” Lucius looked at the three women who stood beside Gwendolyn and bowed to them. They had all risked their lives that night, and he found it strange that they should look up to him so much, a seasoned warrior, when they, who had never fought before, had waded into the fray of their own accord. “Caja, Ebrel… Melwyn… It is good to see you all well.”
“Thank you, lord,” they said, almost in unison.
“I am no lord,” Lucius said his hands up.
Gwendolyn leaned in at that moment. “Please know…you are so much more to us and our people than a ‘lord’. You must remember that.”
Lucius nodded and Gwendolyn took his hand and led him throu
