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When Sigrid said this, Yrsa sighed and hung her head. She stirred the cauldron and breathed deeply.

“I always feared this day would come. Do you understand what is going to happen now? You should think about this, Sigrid, because you do not know what is to come. You cannot face him alone.”

“I will not be alone. I have an ally,” she said.

Yrsa tilted her head and peered at Sigrid with those cloudy eyes. “The prisoner,” Yrsa said.

Sigrid was once again amazed and annoyed at how much insight Yrsa could glean. “Yes, the prisoner.”

“You saved him from Ivar’s wrath.”

“Ivar was going to kill him when he was bound and exhausted. There was no honor in that. The prisoner has a grudge to bear against Ivar, and I shall use that to my advantage.”

“I see,” Yrsa said, and chuckled to herself.

Sigrid furrowed her brow as she helped herself to another helping of the stew.

“What are you laughing about? Do you not believe that I’m going through with it this time? I know I’ve declared this before, but I’m serious.”

“Oh, I can sense that,” Yrsa admitted. “I’m laughing about something else.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t think you’re going to find it as funny as me,” Yrsa said, chuckling again, “but it’s this prisoner. I have a feeling that you’re going to fall in love with him.”

Sigrid was so shocked by the words that she almost dropped the bowl of stew. She stared at Yrsa, mouth agape.

“You really are blind,” she said.

“In many ways, yes, but sometimes I see things that aren’t apparent to others. I have been accused of being wrong many times, but people always come back to me and say that Yrsa was right all along.”

“Well, this time, you’re wrong. There’s no way I could love a man like him. He’s not a true Viking at all. He managed to get himself captured. He just happens to be a convenient weapon for me to wield. At the end of this, I might show him mercy and spare his life, but that is all I am willing to allow.”

“If you say so, my dear,” Yrsa said. She moved around the cauldron and walked with slow, shuffling footsteps toward Sigrid. She took Sigrid’s hands in her pale, ghostly fingers and looked directly at Sigrid, even though she could not see Sigrid through her eyes.

“I know that this won’t make any difference at all, but I must say it anyway. Please do not go through with this plan of revenge. It is like a poison settling in your heart. You will never be free of it until you let it go. Even if you do manage to kill Ivar, it won’t bring your parents back. It won’t bring you happiness. And you are putting yourself at risk.”

“It may not bring my parents back, but it will stop Ivar from spreading misery around. I’m not going to back away from this now, Yrsa. I’ve spent a lifetime waiting for this moment, and it’s time I face my destiny. I just wanted to come and say goodbye and say thank you for being my friend. You are the only one who has shown me true kindness, the only one who has made this place feel anything like home.”

“Thank you, child. I am glad to have known you as well. I hope that we meet again in this realm and that I do not have to wait until our souls have passed on to see you again. Please keep yourself safe and remember what I said. Try and keep your heart open to love and all the good things in the world because there is more to life than war and revenge and all these things that warriors crave.”

Sigrid finished up her food and then set the bowl down. She hugged Yrsa and walked away, unsure if she could obey the promise that Yrsa wanted her to keep. But she had other things to worry about now, like the fact that it would soon be time to escape. She didn’t want to spend a minute longer in this place than she had to.

The day had been long. The pain made it feel longer. Erik dreaded whenever a guard came near because he was sure that Ivar wanted to humiliate him again. The other prisoners looked sullen and despondent, as though they had already given up any kind of hope that they might be freed. Erik wondered what it was like to live with such little spirit in their hearts. He wished he could say something that would galvanize them, but he found that his words were lacking, given their current situation. He kept his eyes locked on the village, waiting for the sign that Sigrid said she was going to give. It was a risk to trust her because she might well be plotting against him. There was much he didn’t know about this place, but if she was feigning her hatred for Ivar, then she was doing a good job. He had to hope that she was genuine in what she promised and that this would be the opportunity for him to leave and defend himself against Ivar.

It was nighttime. He was struggling to keep himself awake because his aching body craved sleep, but he was jolted up when he heard a commotion, and he knew that this was the signal he had been waiting for. He pushed himself to his feet when he heard a guard shout “Fire!” and hoped this wasn’t a trap to seal his doom.