Saga found it hard to concentrate on the book she was reading. Her mind was far too preoccupied with her latest dream.

It had been in a city she felt was familiar, though didn't recognise. Knights had gathered while the people had gone inside, and then the knights had ridden out to meet whatever danger lurked on the other side of the city's walls.

Since waking up, she hadn't stopped trying to figure out what city it had been, and she thought she had reached a conclusion. It was the ruined city before it was ruined. Possibly the knights had headed to the battle they would lose, which would lead to the ruined state in her other dreams.

The thought knotted her stomach. Danger neared, and it would culminate in the ruined city. She had not seen herself present there, apart from the dream with Kai, but she had seen Viggo. Riding on his horse, heading to battle.

Though she was angry with her husband, the thought of losing him still caused freezing dread. He had imprisoned her within their home, but she knew he cared for her. And without him, she would have still been with her father. No prison could be worse than that.

She tried to distract her fear by reading, but the words swam before her eyes.

What horrors would await in the ruined city? She had only seen small glimpses of battles, so what hid in the corners? Who would go there and who would return unharmed?

A clearing of the throat brought Saga out of her spirals. Looking up, she needed to blink a few times to ensure she saw correctly. There simply was something so jarring about seeing the muscular and battle-marked Viggo in a place like the library.

"Do you have a moment to talk?" he asked her in a much softer voice than he had spoken to her with as of recent. And Saga knew it would be about the ruined city. It was too much of a coincidence that he needed to talk after her dream for it to be about anything else.

Saga nodded. Viggo took a few steps closer to her, so he was by the table she sat at, but remained standing. Saga sent a glance to the side, to where a maid sat by the fireplace, to see if she could gain more details about what was to come from the woman's expression. But the maid looked at Viggo with confusion. So Saga's eyes returned to Viggo, who looked to hesitate.

With a deep breath, he said, "I've received words from the King. He wants all to be in the capital within one and a half moon cycles."

"Why?" Saga asked with a slight tremble.

"The attacks. They aren't random, but someone has opened a rift in the protection around Vander. The King is calling for us to discuss what to do next."

But Saga already knew what those discussions would lead to. They would gather, then go to the ruined city. A war would ensue.

"I want to come along," Saga blurted out.

Viggo's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I want to come to the capital, and then to wherever you're ordered to go."

Saga forced herself to keep her head high as Astrid had taught her. Took deep breaths to dispel the trembles from her body. For she needed to come. She could not be left behind, forced to wander the halls of the castle alone while worrying about their safety. But it was more than that. She had been dreaming about this for months. Fate had been telling her it was important. So she needed to be there.

She could even be of help if she went.

Of course, she wouldn't be able to fight, but with how she had dreamt of the place, it would not surprise her if she continued to do so. Perhaps she would dream of things which could help them win, help those she cared about to survive. If she remained behind and did so, it would be of no use. Then those dreams would be taunts, dangling the information in front of her while she was unable to get it to those who needed it.

No, she absolutely had to go to the ruined city.

"Have you lost your mind?" Viggo exclaimed. "You are absolutely not."

"Please, Viggo, I... I can't stay here. I'll be sick with worry," she pleaded, but Viggo's eyes burnt her with their stare.

"It will be no place for you. It will be dangerous. How foolish are you to even consider the idea of coming along?"

"I know it'll be dangerous. But I want..."

"No, Saga. The answer is no, and I will not change my mind." He turned to leave, but Saga rose from her chair.

"You are being unreasonable!" she shouted at him, fuelled by her desperate need to be allowed to come. The need burnt in her and made everything else irrelevant. As long as she managed to convince him, whatever method she had to use was worth it.

He spun back to face her. "I'm being unreasonable? You are the one suggesting something completely insane! This is nothing for you to bother yourself with. The only thing you need to worry about is staying here and keeping yourself safe."

"But I wasn't safe here! Sinkbek has been attacked twice already, so what difference does it make if I stay here or follow you?" she argued back, but it only caused Viggo's expression to twist with even more anger. Though before it did, Saga thought she saw something else in his eyes. Fear.

"Because it will be even more dangerous. There will probably be a war, Saga. And a war is not a place for you. That you are arguing against me on this just shows that you don't understand the dangers of this world, and there will be no further discussions on this topic."

He tried to leave again, but Saga wouldn't have it. All her anger toward him had built during the past few weeks. Anger and hurt which twisted through her veins. It burnt in her like her magic often did, begging for a release. But compared to her magic, she had no desire to suppress it.

"I want my husband back!" she yelled at him. "You're not him, and I want him back. He was kind and caring, not a tyrant who rules with an iron fist and cares nothing about what others say."

Viggo looked at her with a frozen expression, but then it eased as tears fell from her eyes.

He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I care, Saga. I'm only doing what is best for you."

"No! You're doing what you think is best for me, but did you ever stop to ask what I want?"

"Saga," he mumbled and moved closer to her. He stretched a hand out to wipe away her tears, most likely. But Saga moved away from him.

"Don't touch me! Don't comfort me! You can't do that anymore, anyway," she snapped at him before hurrying out of there. Running from him and all the hurt he had caused her. The piercing of her heart, which had shattered her.

What was the worst was that she had started to trust him. She had let herself believe he was only kind and would never do anything which could harm her. She had allowed him space within her heart, but he had destroyed it all.

In some ways, she felt as though what Viggo had done was worse than what her father had. Her father had destroyed her spirit, but Viggo had broken her heart.

She slammed the bedroom door shut, then did not know what to do with herself. Curl up on the bed and cry felt like a good idea to parts of her, but other parts were far too restless for it.

Before she had time to decide, the door to the bedroom opened once more. One of the maids, one of Saga's prison guards, entered.

"Lady Saga, do you need anything?" the maid asked and looked at Saga with concern.

"I need to be alone," Saga answered.

"You know the Lord..."

"I need to be alone!" Saga shouted. Her anger and hurt continued to burn, warming her body, making her tremble because the emotions were too vast to remain in her.

The maid was startled. Her eyes were round as she stared at Saga, maybe even a bit fearful considering how her lips quivered. Then she bowed her head. "I'll be outside, milady."

Left alone, Saga began pacing, the only thing she could think of to soothe her restless body. When she had calmed a bit, she sat by the window to think it all over.

Her mind was split in two. Viggo was unfair and unreasonable, she wanted as little to do with him as possible. But at the same time, she needed to find a way to come along to the capital and then to the ruined city. She needed to find the right words to convince him, for if she didn't, she feared he wouldn't ever return to Sinkbek.