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“What had happened to him?”

“He washed up ashore an island and helped defend the village from bloodthirsty Vikings, people who were like Ivar. They killed for nothing but amusement. There was no honor or glory in what they did.” An ashen look came upon Erik’s face. “And now I have to try and continue their legacy. I don’t want to let someone like Ivar corrupt what being a Viking means. But I never thought that I would be out here in Norway like this.”

“Where did you see yourself?”

“Taking over from Mother and Father, ruling the clan. It has always been my destiny.”

“Is that something you’ve wanted?”

Erik nodded. “I enjoy it. I like listening to people’s problems and helping them, and deciding how to best share resources to benefit everyone.” He laughed a little. “I am the opposite to my brother. I think you would like him better than me. He never had much time for people either. But even he learned to soften his heart.” As he said this, he glanced at Sigrid, and she shifted uncomfortably on her seat.

“I was never taught how to have a soft heart,” Sigrid said sharply, feeling familiar defenses rising again.

“I suppose not. I don’t believe that Ivar would have been able to teach you much at all,” Erik said.

“He taught me to survive,” she said softly.

“There is more to life than surviving. What about living?”

Sigrid smiled ruefully. “That has never been something I’ve been good at. My sisters have been able to. But I have never been able to think of anything other than revenge for my parents.”

“And what lies after revenge?”

It was such a simple question, but one that was so complicated to answer. Sigrid found her gaze wandering to the horizon. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I have been unable to look past it for so long. I made a promise to my parents when I found my father backstabbed with an ax that I would avenge them, even if it takes me a lifetime.”

“You found your father like this? And what about your mother?” Erik asked.

“I’ve never learned what happened to her, but according to the gossip, she got killed also.” Her throat ran dry as she thought about the past again. The memories of that fateful day never strayed far from her mind. “I heard the sounds of battle from afar. When I returned, it was already late. My parents had been killed, and there was a man standing in front of me, telling me that I would be looked after. He had no regret at all. He didn’t care that they were my parents. He walked away, laughing, as though he didn’t understand that he had just taken my life away. It was as though he had killed me there and then. And then he took me away with the other children. He started calling me his daughter, but he has never been a father to me. Never.” She choked on the last word, letting out a small sob. She closed her mouth and turned away, not wanting Erik to see her like this, even though it was clear that she was in distress.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that,” Erik said. “It’s not fair that your parents should have been taken from you. Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if they hadn’t been killed?”

Sigrid nodded. “All the time. I’m sure that I would have been like any other woman. I could be like Kari, my sister. She is getting married. Ivar always talked of getting married, so I have never wanted it. I wanted to be a warrior, to go out there and fight. I’ve always thought that at that moment, Ivar didn’t just kill my parents. He killed the person I could have been as well. I suppose it’s foolish to mourn a person that will never be.”

“I don’t think so. After being out here, I’ve started to wonder what kind of person I would have been like had I been raised in Norway. Would I have turned out to be as bloodthirsty as Ivar?”

“I don’t think so. I think you would have been a good person no matter who you were,” Sigrid said.

Erik turned and smiled at her. They continued rowing in silence. Sigrid could feel herself being vulnerable, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. But somehow, with Erik, it was different. He wasn’t like the other men she knew. He wasn’t going to ridicule her or tell her that she couldn’t do the things she wanted to do on account of her being a woman. Nor was he going to chastise her for talking about her past life. For the first time in a long time, she felt safe and free, and the only surprising thing to her was that there was another person involved. She had always believed she would only be at peace when she was alone, but now she was starting to wonder if she had been mistaken in this.

Even so, she told herself not to get carried away with her emotions. The kiss had been a product of the moment and nothing more. Erik’s life was in the Highlands, while she was a proud Viking warrior, and nothing would change that. She wasn’t cut out to be a wife—not the kind of wife that Erik deserved, anyway. Perhaps in another life, if her parents had been allowed to raise her, but the chance for that was long past.

The boat slipped through the water, and she was glad when Erik told her to start veering toward the coast as her arms were beginning to scream in agony. Bursting out of the water near the coast were four sharp, jagged rocks that apparently signaled the Ammundsen clan. They rowed toward shore, and Sigrid hoped that this time their efforts to recruit help would be more successful than the last. And when she stepped out onto the sand, she looked longingly out to the sea, feeling as though she had lost something precious. Out there, it had seemed as though anything was possible, but she took the memories of the kiss with her, unsure if she would ever feel anything like that ever again.