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Varrik looked at Fiona as she walked away, and he shook his head. The woman was impossible! Here he was doing everything she asked of him, trying to help out as best he could, and all he got for his thanks was to be scorned.

Varrik’s sword still dripped with the blood of the wolf as he strode after Fiona.

“Why are you walking away from me? What did I do that was so wrong? Should I just have stood by and let you be attacked?” he asked.

Fiona stopped and turned, glaring at him. But there was color to her cheeks, and he thought back to when they had dueled in the morning. Something had been conjured in his heart, and he could have sworn that a bright feeling had passed between them. She had managed to trick him earlier, but he had been impressed by the way she fought. She was tenacious and determined and far stronger than any other woman he had ever known. But she was stubborn in fighting and stubborn in life as well.

“Ye should hae let me defend myself! I’m nae some child that needs defending. I’m a warrior. Why cannae ye see that?”

“I know you’re a warrior. You had your sword at my throat yesterday morning,” Varrik said, raising his hand to run against his neck. The point had been mere inches away from his flesh.

“Exactly, sae why are ye pushing me away? Ye know I can handle myself.”

“Because I saw the wolf and wanted to protect you before it took a chunk out of your back. I would have done the same for anyone, woman or man,” he said. It was clear that Fiona didn’t quite believe his boast. Varrik sighed. “You can think that I’m taking pity on you all you want. I was just trying to do the right thing. That’s why you brought me out here, isn’t it? To prove myself? I want to show you that you can trust me and that I can be a worthy addition to your clan. I’m not your enemy, and you don’t have to treat me like it all the time.”

“Ye were my enemy. Ye were with Rune Dolph,” she said in a low voice, her eyes narrowed.

Varrik sighed and hung his head. He took a seat amid the tall grass and started to wipe the blood from his sword. “I know the wounds are still fresh, but I was hoping to escape that name…that man,” he said.

“Perhaps ye should hae thought of that before ye joined him.”

“I told you already, I had just lost my father. I was looking for guidance. Rune offered it to me.”

“But ye hae nae been a child for a long while now. Did part of ye never think it was wrong?” she asked.

Varrik tended to the blade as her question hung in the air. He wiped it carefully along the grass, watching the scarlet shade fading away while he thought about what to say. He could have lied to her. He could even have walked back to the village and have nothing more to do with her at all. After all, it was Laird Callan who had requested his presence. Varrik didn’t really need to win Fiona’s approval, and yet there was a part of him that sorely wanted it. If he could convince her to move from her staunch opinion, then he knew that he would be worthy of Valhalla. There would be no way the gods could deny him entry.

And the only way he could be worthy was to tell the truth.

“Of course I did,” he said.

“Then why didnae ye stop?”

“Because I was afraid. I was afraid of being alone. When I was young, I went with my father everywhere. He taught me to hunt, to fish, to sail. He taught me everything I knew about the world, and I believed he would always be there with me. I thought he was like the sun, the moon, and the tides. And then he died suddenly, and I was alone. I know I should have been tougher and listened to the lessons he taught me, but without him around, I didn’t know what to do. I was unsure of myself, and I felt as though I was letting him down.

“Then Rune Dolph found me, and he started teaching me too. He gave me a home and a weapon. He gave me a purpose. I didn’t want to lose that. When he was being cruel, he convinced us that the people deserved it, that we were performing the will of the gods. He said that the Highlands needed a Viking presence to teach the people in it how to be strong. I let myself believe him because I knew that going against him meant that I would be cast out. I suppose in a sense I wore a mask because I wanted to pretend I was someone else. I told myself I was doing what I needed to do in order to survive.

“There were others who spoke up against Rune Dolph. They were thrown out of the camp and told to fend for themselves. I told myself that I was waiting for the right time, that if I could just convince a few other people to join with me, we could fight against him and take control ourselves, but I dared not speak of such things in case anyone should go and tell Rune. He would have had my head. I was stuck in an impossible situation. You might think that to be an excuse, but it’s all I have to offer. I didn’t want to be left alone like I was when I was a child.”

His words were soft, and they rippled through the air like a summer’s breeze. While he was speaking, Fiona had joined him on the grass, curling her legs under her body. Her mood softened as he opened his heart to her.

“I know what it’s like tae be afraid. I felt the same when my ma died.”

“Was it Vikings that killed her?”

“Nay, it was an illness. It took my uncle tae and many other people in the village. I’ve always known what death is like. It’s always taken people before they’re ready. I’ve watched men gae out tae fight and never come back.”

“Is that why you taught yourself to fight?”

“I never wanted tae be helpless,” Fiona revealed. “When I was younger, I was afraid because I couldn’t dae anything tae help the people who were dying. The healers didnae know what was wrong, and I haed tae sit there and watch Ma die. I told myself that I wouldnae let that happen again. I wouldnae be reliant on anyone. I wanted tae be able tae defend myself and my clan. But women warriors are nae usual in the Highlands. Perhaps ye hae been in the Highlands tae long as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, ye are taken with Lotta. I suppose I can understand it…a wee bit, anyway. But I thought ye Vikings haed more of an appreciation for people who can fight.”

Varrik looked at her strangely. “What makes you think I have an interest in Lotta?” he asked.