Chapter 22They were coming.
Rumour had reached Lavinia from the countryside. The shepherds had sighted a war fleet surging up the River Tiber, black ships rowing to the city of the Latins. Folks said a man in armour stood at the head of the fleet, his shoulders broad, his bright sword drawn as he led the way. The princess’s stomach tightened, for she knew the truth of what he was. Lavinia had been glad of the warning, for it had given her time to prepare.
She lurked behind the king’s throne while he conversed with Amata, toying with the golden sceptre in his hands. The three of them stood on a raised dais before the assembled Latins. Nobles and commoners alike had dropped what they were doing when they heard their king’s summons to gather here in the temple of the two-faced god. Wooden s
