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“What are ye daeing here?” Douglas asked, scowling. Brenda held her body rigid, ready to leap into action at the slightest indication of conflict.

“I thought I’d come to check on you and make sure that you were performing your duties as agreed,” Colby said. Brenda tried to parse his words, for it seemed as though he was intending more without speaking anything extra.

“Of course I am,” Douglas’s scowl deepened, and a shadow appeared across his face.

“Really? Because it doesn’t seem that way to me. What is this important matter that you have to tell Brenda? What is so crucial that it has to be whispered in this grand hall?” Colby asked, stretching his arms out wide as if to encompass the entire chamber. Brenda’s gaze flitted between the two men, wondering what she was missing here. As far as she knew, Colby was someone who had helped Douglas escape, but she could feel the tension that existed between them, and it wasn’t congenial at all. In fact, if she didn’t know better, she would have guessed that they were enemies.

But she and Colby did have something in common, though; they both looked at Douglas expectantly.

“It does nae matter,” Douglas said in a forlorn voice, turning his head away.

At this, Colby barked a laugh and slapped his palm upon the table. He swung his leg away and paced around, throwing his head back in a witch’s cackle. Brenda ignored him, though, giving Douglas an imploring look, trying to understand what had been so important and why it couldn’t be shared in front of Colby.

The laughter soon faded into something bitter and angry. Colby turned around and flashed a furious gaze at Douglas. His words were as sharp as knives, and they flew through the air at the speed of a flung arrow.

“You are weak, Douglas. A traitor. I knew we shouldn’t have trusted you. You’re just as weak as any other Highlander. Did you really think you could be as strong as a Viking? You’re nothing. We should have killed you when we had the chance. You would have been more use to us dead than you are alive, and your betrayal has just sealed your doom.” There was no ignoring the threat in his words, but Brenda was dumbfounded at what she was hearing.

Douglas rose abruptly and slammed his palms down on the table, making it shake. “I hae nae told her anything!” he roared.

“Told me what? Douglas? What’s going on here?” Brenda asked.

A thin smile spread across Colby’s features once again, finding this entire thing amusing. “Perhaps I should tell her the truth,” Colby said. “It’s no less than she deserves, after all, especially as she has been a vital part of our plan.” He turned to Brenda, the words slipping out of his mouth quickly, like flies swarming around her, barely giving her a chance to breathe. “You might think you know Douglas, but there are always shadows within a man’s heart. What Douglas really wants is to take revenge on Erik Hoffstad and his clan for leaving him to rot in Norway, and you’ve been so helpful in accommodating our plan. My leader, Gorm, will be pleased to see how things are proceeding. In truth, we expected this. You can never trust a Highlander. Oh, and here’s another thing, Brenda... Douglas wanted to abduct you, but I suppose that task will have to fall to me now.” As he said this, he whipped out his sword and held it to Brenda’s throat while dragging her up from the table. He was surprisingly strong, but what stopped Brenda from fighting back was the blade against her throat. The cold metal bit into her skin, promising more if she dared to move, and she could almost feel the warm flowing blood pouring out of her.

Douglas glared at Colby. “Let her gae!” he cried.

Colby laughed. It echoed around her ear, and she could feel his warm breath tickling the back of her throat. Her stomach churned as he dragged her away. If she didn’t move with him, then the blade would slice clean through, and she wasn’t ready to give up on life yet despite what she had just learned. Her heart was hollow when she looked at Douglas. How could he have deceived her like this? How could he have lied to her and used her as a pawn in this plan? There were so many questions, and she wasn’t sure if she was going to get any answers, but when she looked at Douglas, he was not the man she thought he was. Strength left her body, and she found herself unable to resist Colby’s grip.

Colby dragged her across the room to the doorway. He whispered in her ear, telling her not to move and that he wouldn’t hesitate in cutting her throat if she made things difficult for him. Brenda had absolutely no reason to disbelieve him. But Douglas wasn’t done with them yet.

“Let her gae!” he roared again, lunging over the table.

Colby cackled with laughter. “You see how little he cares about you? He’s willing me to slice your throat just so you won’t tell anyone about his little secret. Do you understand what kind of coward he is now? Do you understand that he’s not even a man at all?”

His laughter was incessant, and all Brenda wanted was for him to be silenced. She didn’t want to believe that he was being honest, yet it seemed to make sense given the way Douglas had acted around her and all his questions about Erik. She hated the way she felt in this moment and wished that she had some clarity, but it appeared as though Douglas was not ready to heed Colby’s words.

Douglas was bursting with rage. He had twisted and turned all night, wrestling with his conscience, ultimately deciding that he could no longer deceive Brenda. He didn’t care if she marched him back to Erik and told him the truth; at least he would be free of this guilt. The Vikings had done so much to make him forget about his home, to feed his hatred, but now that he was back, he realized that things weren’t as they seemed. Erik had welcomed him back with open arms. He had expressed regret and sorrow rather than ridiculing him, and Douglas was reminded of the times in the past when he and Erik had shared jokes and good favor. He hated how his mind had been twisted by the Bjork clan, hated the man he had become, a man that was incapable of loving. But just before he had been able to tell Brenda the truth, Colby had come in and ruined it for him.

Douglas’s flesh was scarlet, and his eyes bulged with anger. It was bad enough that Colby had exposed him in the worst possible way, but now he was dragging Brenda out of the room as well. The blade gleamed against her throat. If anything happened to her, Douglas would never have been able to live with himself, so he had to act quickly. He leaped over the table as Colby taunted him and then grabbed the nearest thing that came to hand—a two-pronged fork. Douglas raised it and flung it through the air. It rushed past Brenda’s face and embedded itself in Colby’s cheek. He howled in pain, and for a moment, his grip on the sword was loosened. Brenda kicked his knee and stumbled away. Colby yanked the fork from his face, and blood came gushing out from the two holes left in his cheek just under his eye. It looked as though he was weeping blood. He was ready to glare at Douglas, but Douglas was already upon him, clamping a hand around Colby’s wrist to stop him from swinging the sword. Colby had always prided himself on his shrewd nature, but his cunning was not going to help him escape when Douglas was this angry. Douglas used all his strength to snap Colby’s wrist. There was another cry of pain as Colby sank to the floor, the sword clattering beside him.

“You’ll never get away with this!” Colby exclaimed. “You’re all going to burn! You and your precious Highlands. Gorm is going to come, and he’s going to take everything away. Your land, your women, they’re all his!” He spat blood as he spoke, but Douglas was tired of listening to him.

Douglas picked up the sword, and in one swift movement, he plunged it into Colby’s chest. Douglas struck him with such force that the other end of the sword emerged from Colby’s back. Colby’s face was frozen in a look of shock as he teetered over and fell to his side. Douglas was panting as he checked that Colby was indeed dead, and then he turned to face Brenda. He walked over to her and reached out. Relief flooded his heart when he saw that she was unharmed, but it quickly fled as he realized that the look of horror on her face wasn’t because of the violent act she had just witnessed, but because of him.

“Get away from me!” she cried. “You liar! Stay away!”

Douglas almost wept then, for it broke his heart to see her scramble away as though he was a monster. Perhaps that was all he was, though. Perhaps that was all he could ever be now.