Kaja arrives carrying a red glass bead, confirming that Skaland’s fleet is gathering and that Snorri’s attack is imminent. Freya abandons hope of crossing the strait in secret to kill Snorri without wider bloodshed and orders Harald to ready Nordeland’s forces. When Freya and Bjorn are left alone, Bjorn admits he could try to use their oath to seize control of Freya’s will and block Snorri, but he refuses because it would repeat the manipulation he once used against her. Freya sees the refusal as selfish betrayal, and Harald later warns that Bjorn’s will has been the hidden force helping Freya resist Snorri all along.

As they travel swiftly down the Rimstrom toward the coast, Freya effectively directs the campaign through Harald and reflects on how raids are driven by leaders’ hunger for power, not only by greed. At a riverside village, Harald reassures frightened civilians while Skade grimly predicts the wider cost of war. Freya and Steinunn finally reconcile; Steinunn explains that Harald’s care for her after Snorri destroyed her family has made him a more protective king, and Freya apologizes for her earlier cruelty. Harald tells Freya he hopes defeating Snorri could open a path to true peace between Nordeland and Skaland, and Freya commits to a plan centered on killing only Snorri with Hel’s magic.

Near the coast, Harald gathers his loyal jarls, and Guthrum reports through Kaja that Snorri has sailed with a united Skalander fleet after convincing them Harald kidnapped both Freya and Bjorn. Guthrum also learns Ylva remained behind in Skaland, so Bjorn urges Harald to seize her while the fleet is away, hoping to break Snorri’s hold over Freya. Freya agrees that Ylva should be taken but not harmed unless necessary. Bjorn continues pressing harsher alternatives, arguing that Ylva should be killed or that they should negotiate only to stall for an assassination, but Freya refuses to abandon the path laid out by prophecy and insists that she must be the one to kill Snorri.

Saga arrives in battle dress and declares she will sail with them because her fate is bound to Freya’s. Her presence sparks a furious argument with Bjorn, who denounces the plan as irrational and accuses the gods of treating them like pieces in a game, while Saga defends the Allfather’s guidance and says Freya must kill Snorri. Harald reluctantly accepts Saga’s insistence and, to avoid influencing Freya’s choices, changes the arrangement: Harald sails on another ship with Skade and the wolves, while Freya’s vessel carries Bjorn, Tora, Saga, Guthrum, and Harald’s Nameless rowers. Freya orders an immediate departure, and the fleet sails into the strait with Kaja guiding them.

After a tense passage across open water, Saga spots Skaland’s fleet on the horizon, and Bjorn notes that Nordeland is outnumbered if battle comes. Freya orders Guthrum to find Snorri’s ship, and Kaja identifies a vessel beneath Snorri’s black-and-green banner. Freya’s ship rows ahead while the rest of Harald’s fleet hangs back, and Freya stands in clear view with her shield ready, hoping Snorri has forbidden his warriors to harm her. Seeing a helmed man she believes is Snorri, Freya calls down Hel’s curse, but nothing happens. As fear rises and Bjorn orders retreat, the real Snorri reveals himself from an unmarked nearby vessel, having used a false target to lure Freya closer. When Snorri shouts for Freya to stand down, his command hits her at once, and her entire plan collapses.