Freya realizes her plan is failing because Steinunn's song has left everyone inside Grindill motionless even as the fire spreads. When Guthrum understands that Steinunn has revealed Harald as Skaland's curse, Freya immediately changes priorities and orders Geir and the draugr to break open the gates, rescue the trapped people, and search for Harald while she goes to find Bjorn.

The draugr climb the walls, force the gates open, and, once Steinunn's song ends, begin driving the panicked citizens toward safety instead of attacking them. Freya places Skoll and Hati at the gates to detect Harald if he tries to flee, then pushes through the smoke-filled fortress toward the square, calling for Bjorn and fearing she has come too late.

In the empty square, Freya finds Bjorn still bound between the posts and barely alive. She frees him, and the two share a brief, emotional reunion before the worsening fire cuts off their route out. Forced to improvise, they retreat into the great hall, and Freya leads Bjorn into the drain tunnel that runs toward the river, hoping they can hide there until the fire dies down.

As they wait in the tunnel, Freya tries to believe the battle is won, but her instincts tell her something is wrong. Before she can act, Bjorn slips beneath the water and is seized by the current. Freya dives after him, catches him just as they are swept over the falls, shields them with magic during the plunge, and drags them out of the deadly churn at the base until they can reach the bank.

On shore, Freya notices that the man beside her is behaving unlike Bjorn: he feels unnaturally cold, speaks sharply, and looks at her with cruelty. When Freya tells him to light a fire and reaches for a sword she has lost in the river, he smiles with a stranger's malice. The chapter ends with the figure speaking in Harald's voice, revealing that Freya's rescue has not brought her safely back to Bjorn after all.