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They had been rowing for a while, so they allowed themselves a rest as the current carried them along the coast of Norway. Sigrid still looked behind her, checking for pursuers, but there were none to be found. Her heart had been in her mouth when she had seen Ivar’s ship. She had been convinced that it would lurch around and come inexorably towards them, but in the end, it had continued to sail along to Elof’s village, and Ivar would be enraged.

“I wish I was there to see the look on Ivar’s face when the door is opened and we’re not there,” Sigrid said.

Erik smirked. “I just hope he’s not too hard on Elof.”

“You would still pity the man after what he did to us?”

“He didn’t do it because he’s an evil man. He did it because he was scared. I wish there had been a way for him to see that there’s another way.”

“He has sealed his fate by acting like this. He could have trusted us. He could have fought alongside us. Instead, he chose the coward’s route, and he will suffer for it.”

“But he shouldn’t have to,” Erik said.

Sigrid was intrigued by the way he spoke. There seemed to be something on his mind, and she wondered exactly what it was.

“It is the way things are. But perhaps it was I who expected too much of him. I thought that he would have been willing to fight against Ivar. Perhaps Ivar is too strong…”

“No. I can’t believe that. I won’t believe that,” Erik said.

“What do you care? You do not live in Norway. These clans mean nothing to you.”

“That’s not true. I know you don’t think of me as a true Viking, but the blood of my ancestors still runs through me, and I never thought things would be like this. I don’t think my father or uncle did either. We never would have expected someone like Ivar to come and strike fear into everyone. I value my life, but I can’t help but think if my father would have stayed here. Perhaps the Hoffstads should never have left Norway in the first place.”

Sigrid was struck by the weight of emotion in his voice, as though it was he who was responsible for Ivar’s terror. She felt foolish for ever having doubted his intentions in the first place. If there was a truly good man in the world, then Erik was the closest thing to him that Sigrid had ever met. He would never have betrayed her, and it was wrong of her to think that. Without him, she wouldn’t be here, and as difficult as it was for her to admit that, it also stirred something inside as well, something that frightened and excited her at the same time.

“You can’t hold yourself responsible. You have done all you can here,” she said.

“I feel I can do more, though.”

“You made it so we could escape. I could not have done that on my own. I…I need, I want, to thank you for what you did. And I’m sorry for thinking that you had betrayed me.”

Erik nodded. “I understand that it’s hard for you to trust people, but you can trust me. I’m not going to hurt you, Sigrid,” he said. His voice was low, and they sat close to each other on the boat. Out there, it felt as though it was just the two of them in the world.

The boat swayed gently to the undulating rhythm of the water. The sunlight glistened upon the waves, and the sea stretched out around them. It was such a beautiful sight, but in that moment, Sigrid didn’t care about anything other than him. He was a strong man, tall and broad, but he was more than that. He was kind and compassionate. He was not a warrior in the traditional sense, but the more Sigrid got to know him, the more she appreciated the depth of his character. Out there in the middle of the sea, she felt free, as though the rules and restrictions she placed on herself did not apply.

She caught his gaze and smiled. He smiled too. For a moment, she wondered what it would be like to actually be his wife, to feel his hands upon her, to feel the heat of him up close. Suddenly, there was an overwhelming wave of emotion inside that shook her to her very core. It felt as though she was being possessed by some otherworldly force, and for the first time in a long time, she actually wondered if the gods did exist.

Then, as if by magic, they were kissing. One moment blended into the next, and she wasn’t sure when it had begun, but his tender lips were upon her, his hand rested on her shoulder. Their lips brushed together, and their breath mingled. It felt as though she was in a dream as they sat there in their boat, alone, with nothing but the sea to witness this act of intimacy, and the gods, if they were watching.

It had been a while since the kiss. Neither of them spoke about it. Sigrid wasn’t sure if it meant anything at all, but the burst of warmth still lingered upon her lips, and when she looked at Erik, she felt as though she wanted to do it again. However, they still had far to travel and needed to row, lest Ivar should somehow find them.

“Where are we going?” Sigrid asked.

Erik could have been mean and curt like she had been when they first escaped Ivar’s village, but he wasn’t. “To an old friend of my family’s: Gunnar Ammundsen.”

“Can he be trusted?”

“In truth, I do not know. Many years have passed since my family had a presence in Norway. At the moment, I am unsure of anything, but we cannot hope to row back to the Highlands in this small vessel, and I cannot think of anything else to do. We have tried going to an enemy of Ivar’s; now I think it is time to try going to an ally. I just hope that he remembers my family fondly.”

“If they are anything like the way you describe them, then I’m sure they will be remembered fondly. They sound like good people,” she said.

Erik smiled and nodded. “They are. They’re the best. I don’t know what I would have been like without them. The challenges they’ve faced and the things they’ve done…I just hope I can live up to them.”

“What kind of challenges?”

“Well, my father had to deal with a mutiny when he decided that he wanted to build a home on the Highlands. My uncle got lost in a shipwreck, and my father thought he was dead; that’s why I am named after my uncle.”