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Varrik inhaled deeply. “I have thought of that day a lot since it happened. The truth is that your ma has always been willful. She used to tease me and say that you took after me when you misbehaved, but I think she knew that she and you had more in common than you thought. You did not make her chase after ye. She chose to do that. It was unfortunate that an archer chose that moment to let loose an arrow.”

“Sae ye are nae angry with me?”

“Of course not,” Varrik said, as though she had never had any reason to be upset in the first place.

“I thought ye would hae blamed me for what happened.”

Varrik stopped walking and turned to face her. He took her hands and looked directly into her eyes, placing a hand under her chin to tilt her face up.

“I would never do that, Hilda. You are my daughter, and you didn’t do anything wrong. You have always had a strong mind, but you have worked hard to bring the ones responsible to justice. Your mother would have been proud.”

As he said this, she burst into tears. “But the last thing she knew was that I was angry with her,” Hilda admitted. It was the first time she had confessed this to anyone, even though the thought had been lurking in the back of her mind ever since Fiona had died.

Varrik bowed his head. “You and your mother always had your differences, but she knew you loved her. All she wanted was for you to be happy. She was never angry with the choices you made. She only ever had love in her heart for you. We both do. You don’t have to be upset. I’m just glad that she wasn’t alone when she died. I’m glad that she could look into your eyes. It must have brought her a tremendous amount of peace.”

Hilda nodded and then flung her arms around her father’s shoulders, weeping fretfully.

“I thought ye hated me, Da. I thought ye were angry with me and ye were never gaeing tae speak tae me again.”

“And I thought you needed time to process what had happened. I’m sorry for not coming to you sooner. I think for a short time, I grieved too much as a husband and not a father. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, Hilda.”

Hilda forgave her father because, in her eyes, he had done nothing wrong. It struck her that the harshest punishments were bestowed upon them by themselves. Hilda had seen it in Maxwell, and she knew the same was true of herself as well. She started to realize that it was acceptable to grieve without punishing herself as well, and for a long time, she let herself be held by her father as she allowed the sorrow to flow through her. A flood of tears swept through her, and even her father cried as well. It was the first time she had ever seen him cry like this.

By the time they had let everything out, their eyes were glistening. Varrik held her by the shoulders and kissed her on the cheeks. To change the subject, Hilda told him everything that happened with the enemy, including Angus’s betrayal.

“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. There was a time when I didn’t think I would ever have a family or a home like this. Your mother showed me that more was possible. I was shown mercy when I could have been punished, and it allowed me to build a good life for myself.”

“So you think I did the right thing?” she asked.

“Aye. I hope that Angus and the others think about what they have been doing and adjust their behavior accordingly. Hopefully, there is a new beginning out there for them, just as there was for me.”

Hilda nodded. Either way, she would never know, and she was glad for it.

“I just wish Ma were here tae meet Maxwell and see me get married.”

“I wish for the same. But your mother had a warrior spirit, and I have no doubt that she’s in Valhalla as we speak, watching down on us. She’ll be there, even if we cannot see her.”

Varrik’s words brought her great comfort, and she was only sorry it had taken her this long to speak with him. Maxwell’s words were proven right again; people should never wait to say the things that truly mattered.

After spending time with her father, Hilda emerged into the village and called out for Maxwell. Her voice was loud, and everyone turned to look at her, but she had eyes for nobody other than Maxwell. It wasn’t difficult to see him through the crowd. Just as he turned, she leaped on him, wrapping herself around him like some clinging vines.

“I love ye,” she said, and just as he was repeating the words back to her, she pressed her lips against his, finding them through his tufted beard, and she let the love flow freely through her, letting it fill her up from the tips of her toes to the dizzying, hazy sensations at the top of her mind.