“What happened next?” Cassia asks.
My sisters look from each other to me, and their lips curve up into a huge grin. “Nothing major happened,” Liv says, emphasizing the word major.
I cut my gaze over to her and she’s biting the corner of her bottom lip as she watches me. “She peed behind the ruins, so she followed Mom’s orders on that. Then, Dad was her lookout for snakes, so that was all good.”
“What happened?” I grind out.
Sybilla shakes her head, her shoulders moving up and down as she attempts to control herself. “She,” she breathes. “She peed all over herself. She missed completely and just ended up desecrating her damn self. Mom had to dig through the back of the car for her luggage and change her right there on the side of the road.”
“Whatever,” I mumble. “That story is dumb. What’s the point of even telling it?” I ask.
Birdie hums. “The point is, pee on the grains, not yourself.”
Lifting my hand, I flip all of my sisters off, moving my hand in a semicircle so that they get the full view of my finger. Once we’ve all settled down, I look over to Laurentia and Petronia who are still holding the grains in their hands. They dip their chins as if it’s time to get the show on the road.
Cassia is laughing softly and she only shakes her head as she stands, she lifts her hand and Laurentia and Petronia follow behind her. Then my feet become unstuck and I get in line, my sisters deciding they need to watch this whole thing go down as well.
“So, we’ll know in a couple of days?” I ask as I watch Laurentia and Petronia dig two small holes with their hands in the dirt. They place the seeds inside before they look up at me expectantly.
Looking around, I try to think of any excuse I can to not do this in front of six other women, but I can’t find anyone walking around, and my skirt is long enough that it will cover whatever needs covering, though literally every person watching has seen it all.
Biting the bullet, I do it.
Gathering my skirt in my hands, I hike it up and squat over the first hole. Pinching my eyes closed, I pee. Then I do it again over the second hole. My face is hot and no doubt beet red, but it doesn’t matter, it’s done.
Standing, I turn around and watch as Laurentia and Petronia cover my pee holes with dirt, then just when I’m going to ask them how they’ll remember which is which, I watch as they each place a small painted rock right above the area.
“These will be the markers. Now, we wait,” Cassia murmurs.
I stare at the two small mounds of dirt. I don’t know what I feel. Before I thought I couldn’t have children, the idea of being pregnant at all terrified me. Then when Aelania and Decima told me that I wouldn’t be able to have children, I didn’t want anything more.
Now that it’s a possibility, I’m a complete mix of emotions, fear, nervousness, excitement, and more fear. So much fear.
But then I think about Tiberius and how happy he would be. He said that he’s okay with only having me and no children, but I don’t believe him. He would be okay with it, solely because he wouldn’t have a choice, but at the end of the day, he wants children, badly.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
TIBERIUS
We decide at dinner to tell our wives about our agreement. There is no better place to make such an announcement. Dinner with our families and the perfect time for a small celebration. Once the dinner has been served, I stand to my feet and call out for everyone’s attention.
Instead of the normal large dining party, I decided tonight would be more intimate, family only. Brutus is at the end with his mulier, Marcellus, and Cassia join us as well along with Drucilla’s sisters and their husbands, but nobody else.
“Men,” I call out. Elias, Aaric, and Colt all stand at my gentle command. The women look between one another in confusion and I grin, knowing that they will truly enjoy what is to come next. “We have an announcement to make,” I say before I dip my chin toward Elias.
Elias smiles, then he looks around the room, taking them all in. “Emperor Tiberius has come up with a wonderful idea and we’re all in agreement,” he says, then shifts his attention toward Aaric.
“We have all come to the conclusion that we would like to join our countries, to rule together instead of separately.”
Colton is the last to speak. He clears his throat and jerks his chin. “We will rule as one, develop a contract that will benefit all people. We will convene once a year in a celebration, that way everyone can see one another and the children can get to know their cousins, aunts, and uncles. Their families.”
It is my turn to finish, so I hold up my glass a little higher. “This is the start of a new generation. Our children will in turn only know this way. They will learn to love their family, to rule beside them, and above all else, love and trust their people.”
We all cheer and take a drink from our goblets, but the women are staring up at us in what I assume is shock.
Turning to Drucilla, I frown. “Are you unwell?” I ask.
Tears gather in her eyes and I watch as they fall down her cheeks leaving a purple trail in their wake. I reach out to her, but she wipes them away, then stands next to me, inhaling a deep breath as she lifts her own goblet.
“To a new beginning, a united world with my sisters and their lovely warriors,” she says, her voice
