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Sigrid was taken to another place in the village, a dark room in a dark house. She screamed and demanded answers and cried betrayal, but the guards did not reveal anything to her. Her eyes were dark, and her throat was raw from all of the cursing. She was certain that Erik had had something to do with this. She should never have trusted him! All this time, he was plotting against her, using her. She had been so desperate to get revenge against Ivar that she had been blind to the threat that Erik posed. She should never have trusted this stranger. She knew nothing of him. She had been weak, foolish, too much like a woman and not enough like a warrior. Well, it would be the last time she made this mistake. Perhaps this is what her blind friend meant when she said that revenge never led to anything positive. Erik had found a way to turn Elof against her. What had he promised him? The help of the Highland Vikings? He must have convinced Elof that having the daughter of Ivar was valuable. She cringed with fear as she realized that she would likely be ransomed back to Ivar, and then Ivar would know the truth. He would know that she had left to betray him, and he would punish her for it. She could already feel her skin being ripped apart from flogging and welts rising over her flesh. She could see all the people looking in terror at the example he would make of her and how none of them would dare come to help for fear of suffering the same fate themselves.

And all because she had trusted a man.

In the end, she stopped struggling because it was wasted energy. She let Elof’s guards drag her away. They threw her in this room and began to bind her to a chair. She was already fuming, and now she was annoyed that she was being kept in this dark place. A shaft of light broke through as the door was opened, but other than that, it was pitch black. The guards worked quickly, pulling her arms behind the chair and wrapping them in thick rope. The knotted cord bit into her flesh, quickly becoming a constant source of pain. She gasped and groaned as the guards left. She spat at them as they closed the door, plunging her into darkness.

But she was soon to learn that she was not alone.

“Sigrid?” a voice called out from the darkness. It was Erik…but how? Why?

“What are you doing here? Is this another one of your tricks?” she asked.

“Tricks? What are you talking about?” Erik asked.

“Don’t try to twist my mind again. I know what you’ve done. You’ve betrayed me. You went to Elof and convinced him to capture me to send me back to Ivar! I don’t know what part of the plan this serves, however, perhaps you just want to see me imprisoned.”

Erik let out a choking laugh. “I don’t know how you can believe that. I thought you had started to trust me.”

“Trust you? I cannot trust anyone. Not when you act like this. I should have known that you would have done this to me. And just when I was starting to—” She stopped herself before she said anything else, pressing her lips firmly together. Erik got the sense that she was about to say something she would later regret.

“Starting to what?” he asked.

Sigrid scowled and muttered a curse under her breath. “Why should I believe you? You took my sword again,” she said, trying to move the conversation along as she certainly didn’t want to tell Erik the kinds of thoughts that had been swirling through her mind before she slept. She put them down to the weakness brought on by fatigue.

“I took it to maintain the illusion. I wanted to see what progress Elof’s men were making. I thought that you could use the rest. But when I went to see him, he took me into his tent, and there were guards there.”

Sigrid stiffened at this. It was difficult to trust Erik after she had been so ready to believe that he had betrayed her, but it certainly seemed as though he was telling the truth. After all, why would he go to the trouble of getting himself tied up here? She didn’t think he would go to those lengths just to see her squirm, not that he could see her anyway because of the low level of light.

“Did he say anything to you?”

“No. He just apologized and then got me taken here. It seems he’s not as trustworthy as you thought.”

“No,” Sigrid said, annoyed that her lack of judgment had gotten them into this situation. “I was sure that he had no affection for Ivar, though. I do not understand this. I don’t know what he wants.”

“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” Erik said.

As they waited in darkness, Sigrid was not sure how much time had passed. She tried to wrest herself free of the knots, but the rope was tied too tightly. She rocked the chair back and forth out of frustration, but it did no good. She glared at the door, almost daring someone to come in to challenge her. Eventually, it did open, and there was a moment where her heart pitched in fear. A thought flashed through her mind that perhaps Ivar wouldn’t want to make an example of her at all. Perhaps she had been so much trouble that he just wanted to be rid of her, and what better way to do that than to come in, slit her throat, and leave her to choke on her own blood in Elof’s village.

But it wasn’t Ivar at all. It was Elof. Light poured in through the door, framing his stocky build. He was flanked with guards again, and he had a regretful look on his face.

“What are you doing here? Why have you done this?” Sigrid yelled. The same questions followed from Erik’s lips as well.

Elof sighed. “I know that you want answers, and you must feel as though I have betrayed you.”

“You have!” Sigrid spat. She was tired of carrying on the pretense of being a docile wife. Elof was surprised at her outburst and the force with which she spoke towards him. He still directed his words at Erik.

“Why have you done this? We trusted you. We had a plan. For how long have you been allied with Ivar?” Erik asked.

“I am not allied with a brute like that,” Elof said sharply, offended by the idea.

“Then why take us prisoner?” Erik asked.

Sigrid simply glared at Elof. If looks could kill, then he would have fallen to the floor.

“I did not intend to betray you. But I cannot begin a war with Ivar. I will not send my warriors into a battle they cannot win. Only a fool would toss away life so carelessly. Ivar is too powerful. I have to think of my own clan. I’m sorry,” Elof said.

“But I told you that I can bring aid from the Highlands. All we need is a ship. Ivar would never know,” Erik protested, and by now, Sigrid was convinced that this wasn’t a ruse.