A Curse Carved in Bone
by Danielle L. Jensen
Contents
Chapter 6: Freya
Overview
On the beach at Nordeland, Freya finds that Ylva’s blood oath prevents her from fighting for Harald, and she briefly considers fleeing before captured children force her to act. She saves them by invoking Hel and cursing the Islunder raiders to drown, revealing a devastating power that can decide battles instantly. The victory rescues the children, but it deepens Freya’s fear of what she is becoming and underscores Harald’s wavering leadership in a moment of crisis.
Summary
Freya and Tora stagger out of the surf onto an emptied beach while fighting continues in the village. Skade has been badly injured by an overturned drakkar, but she still tries to join the battle until Tora orders her to take cover. Freya feels the pull of combat, yet Ylva’s blood-bound oath stops her from fighting for Harald, because serving his cause would break the magic binding on her.
As Steinunn, Volund, and Skade move toward the trees, Freya arms herself and briefly considers escaping into Nordeland’s wilderness. She weighs freedom against the danger of being hunted, the loss of any chance to speak with Saga, and the need to understand Hel’s blood-gift. Freya decides to wait for a better opportunity, but that hesitation ends when Islunder warriors burst from the trees dragging captured children toward the ships.
Skade tries and fails to reach the children, and Freya realizes Harald ordered her to protect the village, not forbade her from defending the children on the beach. Calling on Hlin’s strength, Freya charges with shield and axe and cuts down several raiders. Even so, more Islunders emerge, and a skilled warrior in a bear-shaped helm keeps her occupied long enough for the others to throw the children into a drakkar and push off from shore.
Bjorn and Tora arrive too late to stop the launch. Harald watches the ship carrying his people’s children and asks Tora whether she can stop it, but when she warns that sinking it may kill the children, he cannot choose. Faced with the children’s abduction and her own failure to stop it by force, Freya turns to Hel despite Bjorn’s warning.
Freya curses every warrior aboard the ship, and Hel’s power answers immediately. Roots burst from the sea, drag the Islunder warriors under, and leave the children unharmed in the drifting boat. After Harald orders the children fetched back, Bjorn quietly tells Freya that she has just won a battle with a few words, forcing Freya to confront how terrifying her growing power is. She walks away from the battlefield and tries to grieve for what she has done, but no tears come.
Who Appears
- FreyaBound by Ylva’s oath, she defends kidnapped children and unleashes Hel’s deadly curse.
- HaraldNordeland’s king hesitates over stopping the fleeing ship, exposing his limits in crisis.
- BjornArrives too late to help and warns Freya about the terrifying scale of her power.
- ToraRushes to the village battle and later offers to stop the ship if Harald commands it.
- SkadeBadly injured but desperate to fight; she tries to reach the captured children.
- Bear HelmExperienced Islunder warrior who stalls Freya while the children are loaded onto the ship.
- SteinunnStays with the wounded on the beach and helps move Skade to safety.
- VolundAssists the injured Skade and remains on the beach as fighting continues.
- HelWhispers temptations to Freya and grants the curse that destroys the raiders.