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Brenda groaned as she pulled herself to her feet. Colby’s body lay prostrate behind Douglas, and he loomed large in his vision. He opened his palms to her, and he had a desperate look on his face, but she dared not take her eyes off him. Her entire body trembled with fear after what she had just heard. This was the man she had let into her heart, the man she had been willing to take to her bed. How could she have misjudged him so terribly?

“Is what he said true?” she asked.

“Brenda, please, just let me explain,” he began, but she didn’t want explanations. She wanted the truth.

“Was he telling the truth?!” she repeated; this time, her voice was a higher pitch, and her glare was fixed on him. She moved around behind a table, using it as a shield in case he attacked her. At that moment, she had no idea what he was truly capable of.

His shoulders slumped, and he looked again as though the weight of the world was upon his shoulders. “Aye, it’s true,” he said.

Brenda tilted her head and gasped. “How could you do this to us? To me?”

“How could yer cousin hae left me in Norway?” Douglas asked.

“But that’s not how it happened. Erik saved as many as he could. You know that. He would have rescued you if he knew you were still alive. You saw how he welcomed you with open arms, how much he’s missed you. How could you swear revenge on him? How could you use me like this? Is that all I was to you, just some pawn that would get you closer to Erik?”

A mixture of emotions flickered across Douglas’s face. It was difficult to try and keep track of them all.

“Of course nae, at least nae after I got tae know ye. Brenda, this is what I wanted tae tell ye. I…I know I am nae an honorable man, but if ye haed been through what I hae been through, ye would understand.”

Brenda looked at him with a cold fire in her eyes.

“I’m not sure I can ever understand. How could you turn your back on your people? How could you plot against them? How could you tell me you love me knowing that you have sworn revenge against my cousin?”

Douglas clenched his hands and paced around. “It’s because of that I wanted tae tell ye. Ye dinnae know how hard it’s been for me. Brenda, I dae love ye, and I want…something with ye. I’m trying tae be honest with ye here. The quarrel I hae is with Erik, nae ye. I know I hae done wrong. I dinnae want the clan tae suffer.”

“And Erik?”

Douglas paused for a few moments before he answered. “Erik and I will hae tae settle matters ourselves. I dinnae want this land tae be ravaged. Gorm will nae stop until he haes set everything on fire. We need tae get back tae Erik.”

“How can I possibly go with you after knowing what you’ve done?”

“Because ye hae no choice. Only I know what Gorm is planning. They will nae start with Erik’s village either. They want tae take everything, Brenda, and they’ll start with yer village.”

“Nay!” she gasped, the color draining from her face. She thought of her father, her sister, everyone she had left behind in blissful peace. They had no idea what was coming.

“Aye, and if we get back swiftly, we can help prepare them for the attack. But we hae tae leave now,” he said.

Conflict raged in Brenda’s heart. There was so much that she wanted to ask him, so much that she wanted to yell at him. Even now, she wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth. Had everything he told her been a lie? Had it all been a sham from the very beginning? Even if it was, she wasn’t sure she could risk not heeding his warning. If the Vikings came to her village and she was unable to warn them, she would never be able to live with herself.

She gave a firm nod and followed him out of the house. He grabbed Colby’s body as he left and dragged him away, skulking through corridors so that nobody saw him. They made their way to his father’s house.

“What hae ye done?” Seamus gasped when he saw Douglas sneaking toward him.

Dougal came out to see what the commotion was about and peered at the dead body with squinting eyes.

“He’s a Viking spy. I haed tae get rid of him, but I did nae want the clan tae worry. Can ye keep this quiet for a wee while until I return?” Douglas asked.

Seamus looked troubled, but Dougal was nodding vehemently. He poked Colby’s body with the end of his cane and cursed at him. “I knew that Vikings were never tae be trusted,” he said.

But Brenda knew it wasn’t just Vikings that were liars. She saw the hard lines on Douglas’s face. He wasn’t yet ready to admit to his father that he was the traitor here, that he was the one who had betrayed his own people all for petty revenge. Brenda had thought him better than this, had pitied him for all he had been through, and now she realized they were wasted emotions. But before she left, she caught a worried look on Seamus’s face and remembered what he had told her, about how Douglas seemed different from what he remembered. She wondered how much Douglas was talking and how much were the Vikings.

They left Seamus with directions to tell Lucas what had happened and that they had to leave without any warning. As they walked toward the horses, Brenda kept as much distance between them as possible and walked half a step behind because she had no idea what he was capable of.

“What’s going to happen now? How are you going to persuade the Vikings to stop their attack, or are you going to join with them and betray me again?” she asked, her words sharp with bitterness.

Douglas hesitated as he was about to mount his horse. There was a reluctant sigh to his voice, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at her because of the shame he was feeling.

“I never wanted tae betray ye, lass. I wanted tae tell ye the truth. I just… I’m gaeing tae surrender myself. I’ll gae back with them. I dinnae want any harm tae come tae ye or yer people. There is no need for ye tae suffer for Erik’s crimes.”

Brenda kept her mouth tightly closed. She still wasn’t convinced that Erik was entirely to blame, but she wasn’t about to argue the point again now. They rode away at breakneck speed, galloping through the forest. The thunder of hooves crashed around them, and branches whipped their arms and faces as they made their way to the coast to try and reach the island before the Vikings. Brenda hoped with all her heart that she could return in time to help prepare defenses. All she ever wanted was to keep her people safe, but now she felt that she had betrayed them, and all because she wanted to go on an adventure with this man. She was beginning to believe that romance had no place in her life, for it only served as a distraction. If she hadn’t been so taken with Douglas, then surely she would have seen that he was hiding something.

She tried to push these thoughts from her mind as they made their way to a small boat and traveled across the gentle waves to the small, peaceful island that meant no harm to anyone.