In Saga’s cabin, Freya asks for the truth, and Saga begins by explaining the burden of her gift. Saga says she has long seen fixed futures for others and hates the pain of knowing deaths she cannot prevent. She recounts how both Snorri and Harald sought her out in her youth, one for his own future and the other for the futures of others, and how she took both men as lovers, worsening the rivalry between them.

Saga then reveals that Bjorn was conceived with Snorri, with Tyr’s blood present in him, though Saga did not understand that at the time. When Saga became pregnant, Snorri demanded that she end things with Harald even though he offered Saga no public place in his life. Fearing for her child, Saga obeyed and broke with Harald, though she loved him, and she admits that she also loved Snorri despite his selfishness and power over her.

After Bjorn was born, Saga saw a terrible future for him: flame, burning, and screaming. Years later, during an argument with Snorri, Saga was seized by a vision of a shield maiden who would unite Skaland beneath whoever controlled her fate. Saga saw Freya’s face but not Snorri’s, yet Snorri assumed the prophecy referred to him and became obsessed with finding a child born under the blood moon. Saga says Snorri’s power has indeed grown through controlling Freya, which makes her fear that the future she saw may still be unfolding.

Saga next tells Freya how Snorri’s obsession turned violent. When Snorri came to her cabin demanding answers she could not give, Saga hid young Bjorn, but Bjorn tried to protect her, called his magic for the first time, and set the cabin ablaze, suffering the burns Saga had foreseen. Saga escaped with Bjorn by striking Snorri and fleeing to Harald, the man she says never betrayed her.

In Nordeland, Saga received another vision: Freya standing over thousands of dead with Skjoldfjell beyond. Convinced Freya’s power would destroy Harald’s kingdom, Saga decided to use Snorri to locate Freya and then have Freya killed before the prophecy came to pass. Bjorn’s role was to be rescued by Snorri, gain Freya’s trust, and kill her when the chance came, but Saga says Bjorn failed because he truly became himself with Freya and tried to protect her instead. When Freya angrily focuses on Bjorn’s lies, Saga tells her that Bjorn had no harmless choice and accuses Freya of thinking only of her own hurt. Shaken by the accusation and by the revelation that her existence endangers thousands, Freya is left deeply uncertain. When Bjorn returns with a rabbit for supper, Freya hides her turmoil and claims she is fine, even though Saga’s truth has only made her feel worse.