Chapter 27. Hard Kiss

AURELIA

Drenched in Claudius’ blood, I wailed bitterly, cradling his body in my arms. The thought of him coming back alive any minute from now crossed my mind as I held onto futile hope while he grew colder, drifting further into the unseen realms of immortality.

Several minutes passed, and I still could not get myself off the ground, where I sat with my friend’s lifeless body. He warned me to run, but even that I could not do. I had lost Felix not very long ago, and this loss seemed to reawaken all the grief left in me.

Claudius did not deserve this. Such cruel betrayal? No. Although in Viking land, he was considered an enemy, famed to be a ruthless conqueror of some sort, he was a different kind of villain. Hating him was loving him. It was hard to explain. He was the balance. And the fact that peace still reigned in the territory was because of him.

The truth was that as a Swede, I should have celebrated his death like a great victory—a huge blow to Rome.