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She was about to say something else when Sven called to her. She flashed an apologetic smile to Egon as she geed Shine on to catch up with her betrothed, assuming that he wanted her advice on which direction to take to her village. However, when she caught up with Sven, she found that his face was stern, as was his tone.

“Why are you speaking to him so much?” Sven asked.

Caoimhe was taken aback by the question. “I dinnae know what ye mean. We were just making conversation tae pass the time,” she said.

“I don’t like it, and I don’t much like him either. I don’t trust him, and you would be wise to be careful with him. I don’t understand why you would have welcomed him on this journey either. I thought it would be a good chance for us to be alone.”

“I didnae mean anything by it,” she said. “I thought it would increase the chances of finding Da. Besides, Egon haes done a lot tae help the people back in the village, and there are moments when I hae been rude tae him. I thought it would be kind, that’s all.”

Sven grunted. “I’m not sure he’s deserving of your kindness, but I suppose there’s nothing we can do about it now. Just be careful around him. I see the way he looks at you. Remember that he’s descended from the wild Vikings. I wouldn’t be surprised if his instincts try and make him do something drastic.”

Caoimhe knew what Sven meant by that, and she rolled her shoulders over to try and make herself appear smaller. She certainly didn’t think that Egon would be capable of such a thing, as he seemed to have a kind heart. He just didn’t have as smooth a tongue as Sven did. Did he really look at her in a certain way? Caoimhe turned her head slightly to gaze at Egon, who was currently looking up at the sky. She wondered if there was more to this promise than a Viking’s honor, and she wondered if there was more to her decision than simply making amends for an unkindness dealt to him.

Since Caoimhe didn’t want to displease her future husband any further so early into their journey, she rode in the middle of the Vikings. Sven didn’t need to take any direction to the village, and he was impressed at how well he knew the local terrain. It wasn’t long before they came to the village; Caoimhe gasped at the sight of the scorched earth and the broken buildings. Birds squawked and flew away in great flocks as they approached, the sound of the horses scaring them. It was impossible to hide the sound of thunderous hooves, and they also served to attract the attention of some survivors. Caoimhe leaped off her horse when she recognized one of them as Elise, who had a small child by her side. Caoimhe could barely believe her eyes. She raced toward the old woman and flung her arms around her. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she clung to her for dear life. She recognized the child, too, for it was the boy who had been bathed by his mother when the Vikings had first attacked.

“Oh, Caoimhe, what a miracle it is tae see ye here! I thought ye haed been taken by the Vikings,” Elise said, although then she peered behind Caoimhe and saw the two companions. Elise gave Caoimhe a quizzical look, and the boy hid behind Elise’s legs.

“They are nae the enemy, Elise. They are here tae help me look for Da.”

“Ye will nae find him here, lass. The Vikings took him away,” Elise said, although she continued to look at Sven and Egon, who were wise to keep their distance from the ruins of this village. “What happened tae ye?”

“I was out in the woods following a deer when I heard a commotion. By the time I returned, the Vikings were attacking. I wanted tae help, but there was nothing I could dae, so I fled,” Caoimhe said, averting her gaze in shame. “I ran tae Kylie’s village and warned them that they might be under attack as well. I’ve been trying tae get people tae help me find Da and perhaps rescue the others that hae been taken.”

“Ye are a brave lass,” Elise said.

“I dinnae feel that way. I should hae stayed here. I didnae realize there were any survivors.”

Elise had a dark look on her face, a haunted look. “Ye were right tae leave. If ye haed stayed, they would hae taken ye away. They took all the strong men and the young women. I’m lucky that my age saved me. I doubt any of them relished the thought of raping an old sow like me,” she said with deprecating humor. “But the women were nae sae lucky, including his mither,” she said, glancing at the boy beside her.

“Hae ye been able tae make any sense of what happened? Hae ye learned anything?”

Elise shook her head slowly, and Caoimhe’s heart sank. “It haes nae been easy. We are tae weak and old tae traipse through the woods in search of these Vikings, and we hae the children tae take care of. Every night, we live in fear that they’ll be back, and if it’s nae bad enough tae be in fear of the Vikings, there are wolves and other beasts that lurk around us. I swear they can tell that we’re weak. It took all our efforts tae bury the dead that were left behind, for the birds came and tried tae make a feast of them, but we laid them tae rest. We’re rebuilding, slowly, but I dinnae think we’re ever gaeing tae get tae the point where we were before. The Vikings ruined us.”

“I’ll come back. I’ll be back with Da and the others. Even if I dinnae find them, I’ll come back here now that I know ye are here. I’ll help ye rebuild.”

Elise wore a sweet smile on her face. “Ye just take care of yerself. Stay with yer sister for now. I’m sure the prospects are better there.”

Caoimhe nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. She looked around at her home, which was now just a shadow of its former self. Everywhere she looked, she could see fire and destruction even though now there was only ash and debris. The thing that struck her the most was how empty it felt. Before, there was always some kind of noise happening—there was life—but now there was nothing. Her gaze drifted toward her house, which was one of the ones that had been damaged almost beyond repair. The walls had been scorched, and the ground was covered in rubble. Sorrow welled inside her heart as tears flowed down her cheeks; she was reminded of what had happened to the place she called home. It was almost too much to bear, but it redoubled her resolve to find her father and the others and perhaps restore this place to a modicum of what it had once been.

She strode back to the two Vikings who had busied themselves with searching for tracks or any other kind of evidence. Caoimhe wiped the tears from her bloodshot eyes and sniffed back her sorrow, not wanting to appear weak in front of either of them, even though she knew it must have been obvious. Egon declared that he had found a long stretch of tracks that led away from the village and suggested they should begin in that direction. Sven seemed annoyed that Egon had found them rather than he, but he had not yet created a scene between them. Caoimhe said nothing as she mounted Shine and continued the search, knowing that every moment not spent looking was a moment wasted.