Laena spotted soldiers patrolling not far from the area where she and her husband had been hiding as she made her way back to the small house they had been staying in. The moment she saw the armored men moving through the village, her blood ran cold.

Without hesitation, she darted off the road before any of them could notice her and slipped behind the crumbling remains of an abandoned stone wall, crouching low among the tangled weeds that had grown around it. There, she remained perfectly still, scarcely daring to breathe as the king’s soldiers passed nearby. Every creak of leather and clink of armor seemed deafening in the silence.

She did not emerge until the patrol had disappeared from sight and enough time had passed for her to feel reasonably certain they were gone. Even then, her heart continued hammering violently against her ribs. Months had passed since she and Halric had fled the capital and gone into hiding as fugitives of the crown. Seeing soldiers this close after all that time filled her with dread.

The moment she deemed it safe, she hurried back to the small house she shared with Halric. The modest dwelling was a far cry from the luxury they had once enjoyed before their crimes had been exposed and they had been forced to flee to escape Ragnar’s wrath.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she told Halric everything she had seen.

Halric was just as disturbed by the news as she was.

He immediately began pacing back and forth across the cramped room, his movements restless and agitated. His mind raced as he struggled to rein in his visceral reaction long enough to think clearly. Every possibility that entered his mind seemed worse than the last.

"How?" he muttered. "How would they know to come here?"

Laena had no answer to his question.

As he continued pacing, they discussed every possibility they could think of. Neither believed the soldiers’ presence could simply be a coincidence. The village was small and isolated. There was no reason for the king’s men to be searching this area unless they had been given a reason to do so.

Someone had told Ragnar where they were.

The longer they discussed the matter, the more convinced they became that there was only one possible explanation.

Elka.

Their daughter was the only person who knew where they were hiding.

"It had to be her," Halric growled.

No matter how many alternatives they considered, their thoughts always returned to the same conclusion. In their minds, Elka had betrayed them. She had revealed their location to Ragnar and condemned them to capture.

Fear soon gave way to anger.

By the time they finished discussing the situation, both of them were burning with fury and thoughts of revenge. They no longer cared about securing Elka’s help.

Her actions were unforgivable, giving her own parents up to the wolves and for that, they needed to rid themselves of her permanently. She needed to die.

***

Elka was lying awake in bed when the first heavy kick slammed into the front door of her cottage. The violent impact shattered the illusion of peace she had secured for herself that night.

She shot upright instantly, her heart lurching into her throat.

Another loud kick followed. Then another.

The blows came hard and fast, savage enough to make the entire structure tremble.

Whoever stood outside was throwing their full body weight against the door, trying to force their way inside.

Elka knew immediately who it was.

The pounding had begun as a distant thud, but it quickly escalated into something far worse. Each thunderous impact rattled the frame and sent vibrations through the walls. Her heart hammered so violently against her ribs that she could hear the frantic rhythm echoing in her ears.

Slowly, she rose from the bed.

The knife she had kept nearby was already in her hand.

For several agonizing moments, she remained frozen in place, uncertain whether to stay barricaded in her room or step out and confront whoever waited beyond the shattered silence.

The front door was bolted shut. But she knew it would not hold forever. And when her father finally forced his way into the cottage, the bedroom door would offer even less protection.

The kicking grew increasingly violent.

Her father was throwing his full weight into every strike now, grunting with effort between blows. The wood groaned and splintered beneath the relentless assault. Every impact sent a shockwave through Elka’s body.

She could picture him standing there, wild with rage. Face twisted with the same hatred she remembered from childhood.

The same expression he had worn before every beating. This time, however, he had not come to threaten her.

He had come to seriously harm her, she could feel it deep in her bones.

The front door finally broke with a deafening crack. Wood exploded inward as the frame shattered beneath the assault. Splinters scattered across the floor.

Her father burst through the wreckage, breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot. He didn’t say anything as he charged inside.

His heavy footfalls echoed through the house as he stormed forward like a man possessed.

Elka silently offered a prayer to the gods as she braced herself for whatever came next.

The gods had never done much to shield her from a lifetime of suffering. There had been many occasions when she had wondered whether they were deaf to her prayers altogether. She had not sought their aid in a long time, not since she had been forcibly married to Hairan.

But now she was more desperate than she had ever been. She needed their protection. Because she knew there was no one else left to help her. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

She still had not received a reply from Ragnar. With each passing day, she had begun to fear that he had washed his hands of her plight and abandoned her in her moment of need.

Mara was in the cottage with her, but Elka could not bring herself to send the kindhearted woman to face a brute like her father. The very thought filled her with guilt.

Mara had shown her nothing but kindness and compassion since the day they met.

Elka would rather face her father’s wrath herself than risk allowing him to lay a hand on Mara.

So she tightened her grip on the knife and stood her ground, trembling despite her determination, as the sound of her father’s approaching footsteps drew ever closer.

Elka knew that this was a battle she would have to fight alone, and she decided that all of this, every moment of torment she endured in her family’s hand, would end tonight. No longer would her parents hold power over her once this was done. Either they would kill her here, or she would kill them. They were long past the point where any peaceful compromise was possible.

She could still hear her father’s heavy footsteps echoing through the cottage as he searched for her. No doubt he was tearing through each room in a blind rage, looking for any sign of her. It would not be long before he reached her bedroom.

Sucking in a fortifying breath, she tightened her grip on the knife and opened her bedroom door. The hinges creaked softly as she stepped out into the open. Her heart hammered against her ribs, but she forced herself forward. More than anything, she hoped Mara remained hidden where it was safe.

Her father spotted her not long after. A furious growl ripped from his throat as he charged toward her with all the rage of a huffing bull.