Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Without warning, I gathered the wedding gown in my hands and began to run. The Vigrids were shifting into wolven form and had started attacking my people.

I ran so fast, so hard. I didn't care about a single person in the hall. I was only looking for Siggy, who was somewhere around. She was the only person I cared for here. Thankfully, she rushed toward me, breathing heavily.

I saw a wolven leap onto the wall of the hall, its claws digging into the stone.

"Go!" I tugged Siggy forward, and we ran out of the hall.

"The stables," Siggy said. "That's the last place they would look for us."

The stables—where we kept goats, pigs, and other domestic animals for feeding.

The howl from behind shattered my brain. I couldn't believe that the people of Vigrid had been wolven all this time. Or perhaps Rollo and his men were the wolven who fought and claimed the Chief title.

There was more than one wolven following us, and I tried to run as fast as I could. If only Father had listened to my words and not agreed to a peace marriage. If only he hadn't allowed the people of Vigrid into our land. They attacked us when we least expected it, and they were stronger because they were monsters.

If I missed a step for even a moment, the wolven behind us would attack and shred me apart.

We continued running, and when we arrived at the stables, there was not a single person in sight. The place was quiet and empty. I sighed, catching my breath.

Siggy approached the doors, and just before she could reach for them, they opened by themselves, revealing two broad men. My eyes widened.

"Run!" she yelled, turning around.

As I turned to flee, I slipped and fell into the pigs' filth, my body getting stuck. I groaned, trying to pull myself out, but I was really stuck. It didn't take long before two hands wrapped around my body and yanked me out.

My wedding gown and part of my face were covered in mud. I struggled to break free from his grasp, but he held me down. It wasn't long before the other guard reached Siggy and grabbed her as well.

The man hoisted me over his shoulders, and I screamed, kicking and thrashing to break free. The men carried us back to the hall, and upon reaching it, my eyes widened at the sight of blood everywhere. Warriors lay dead on the ground. They had killed so many of our people, and the ones left were being held down by the Vigrids.

My eyes held not a single ounce of pity for them. I saw my mother and sister on their knees in front of the altar.

Rollo descended the altar stairs, a cruel smile on his lips. His gaze fell on me, lingering on the filth covering my body.

"You run like a deer, but you are no more than a pig," he sneered.

Laughter echoed in the hall at his words, and his men stared at me. Their clothes were torn and tattered from shifting.

I clenched my jaw, trying to look away.

"You know, your father made this easy for me," he said, turning to the men, women, and children kneeling before him. "He called for a settlement, thinking a peace marriage would protect you all. That I would honour his words. But the truth is, I never intended to marry his daughter."

He chuckled, raising his gaze to my father, who still hung high on the ceiling.

"Old fool," he cursed.

"Why would I need a wife when I already own her land, her people, and her life?"

Rollo paced, stepping over the priestess's body lying dead on the altar. He had slit her throat, and the dagger he used was still in his hand. He toyed with it between his fingers.

"The former Chief of my land was as foolish as your father," he said. "Weak men like them do not deserve to rule. My men and I took pleasure in slaughtering him and his family. We burned his hall and ended his bloodline."

He turned abruptly to his men.

"I have no use for these old men and women. We have enough slaves at home. Kill them all and leave only the strong. They'll work and serve me."

Screams tore through the hall as the people tried to get up and flee. But Rollo's men grabbed them by the hair. One by one, they slit their throats. Blood splattered across the cold floor. I didn't flinch as the bodies fell, one after the other.

When the men got to Ingrid, she cried so hard.

"No! Please! Don't kill her. Kill me instead!" Mother cried. "Please, I beg of you—"

Rollo chuckled. "I heard she was to be the next ruler of Kattegat."

"Yes," one of the men nodded.

"Kill her," Rollo said, walking toward the end of the hall. He grabbed the statue of our gods and hurled it to the ground. Then he took a horn of ale and poured it over the fallen idols.

"Coward gods!" he cursed.

The man holding Ingrid tightened his grip on her neck.

"Please... Please don't do this!"

"Beg and pray all you want," Rollo said as he drank from the horn.

I stared at my mother, my heart rising and falling as she continued to plead. Of course, she would beg for Ingrid—the favourite daughter.

Ingrid's cries were silenced as a dagger tore through her throat. Her eyes widened, and blood spilled from her mouth. The guard cut deep until Ingrid was choking on her own blood, then he let her body fall to the floor.

My mother clenched her fists and sobbed hard. The guard yanked her hair, ran the blade across her neck, and killed her.

"Oh, dear gods, save me," one of the captured women began to pray. "Hold me," she recited a prayer for the gods. It was a common prayer, especially among prisoners before their deaths.

Siggy joined her. I should have joined them too—to ask the gods to ease my death—but I didn't want to die. Not like this.

"Wash our souls and let us pass through the gates," the woman continued, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Let us feel no pain..."

A sob broke from my lips as I heard Siggy's voice, and I turned my head to Rollo.

"Please," I muttered. "Spare our lives."

Rollo smiled. "I will not kill you," he murmured. "You will watch. You will see what happens to your people. When there is nothing left—when I have killed every single one of them—then, and only then, will I decide what to do with you."

More tears slipped from my eyes.

"Let us feel no pain," the woman continued.

"Let us—" Her words died in her throat as they severed her head, and she fell lifeless to the floor.

The slaughter continued. They killed every single person in the hall. But when they reached Siggy, something stirred inside me.

No. I would not let them kill her. I was not ready to die. And I was not ready to lose my only friend.

All of a sudden, something surged deep inside me. When I raised my hand, the men groaned. Their daggers fell from their hands. Bones cracked. Slowly, I stood up, stepping toward them. Blood began to flow from their eyes and mouths. I heard bones shifting and snapping within their bodies.

A gasp left Siggy's lips.

I stared hard at the men as they screamed and begged me to stop. I didn't try to suppress my power. I let it out. I let it consume them entirely.

But I didn't notice the slight movement at my side—until I felt something pierce my skin. A shocking pain exploded through my back. When I looked down, I saw Rollo's dagger buried deep in my flesh.

Through my blurred vision, I saw the men grab Siggy. They slit her throat, killing her.

Pain.

That was the last pain I felt before darkness swallowed me whole.