At dawn, Steinunn confronts Freya about following her the night before and finally explains the grief behind her betrayal. Steinunn says Snorri led the raid that killed her husband, Jarl Dag, and her young son while pursuing Bjorn back to Skaland, and that Harald later gave her a reason to live by letting her aid his plan for revenge. Freya understands Steinunn better but refuses to excuse her, accusing the skald of cowardice for singing other people’s suffering while avoiding her own. After Harald confirms Steinunn knew Bjorn’s goal but Bjorn did not know Steinunn’s true loyalties, Freya turns her attention to the approach to Hrafnheim.

As the drakkar reaches Harald’s island fortress, Freya sees the scale of Nordeland’s power in its rune-covered stone walls, guarded harbor, and heavy defenses. Harald boasts of what he built and reveals more of his ruthlessness when he explains that his silent hooded thralls are captured Islunders whose tongues have been magically branded so they cannot speak. The display horrifies Freya and deepens her sense that she is entering a place built on conquest, magic, and control. Watching Bjorn stare at Hrafnheim, Freya realizes this place is not merely where he was kept but a home he still loves.

On the quay, Harald publicly announces that he has brought back the shield maiden, naming Freya as the daughter of both Hlin and Hel, and then presents Bjorn as his returned son and heir. Pressured to demonstrate her power, Freya deliberately calls on Hlin’s light instead of Hel’s death magic. Inside the fortress, Tora shows her the many wards protecting Hrafnheim, and Skade reappears with veiled threats and the king’s wolves, Skoll and Hati. In the great hall, Freya learns that Saga is Harald’s wife and Bjorn’s mother, living in isolation because her visions burden her, and Freya demands to see her at once. Harald refuses to go himself and insists that Bjorn will travel to Saga at dawn, forcing Freya to choose between going with Bjorn or waiting.

When Guthrum reports no pursuit and leaves to scout Snorri’s movements through Kaja, Harald warns that Snorri will soon learn Freya is in Nordeland. That fear brings the room’s tensions to the surface. Steinunn argues that Saga foresaw Freya’s death as necessary to save Nordeland from darkness, and Skade backs her, both urging Harald to kill Freya before Snorri attacks to reclaim her. Bjorn immediately steps in front of Freya with his axe, and when Steinunn accuses him of betraying everyone for a woman who hates him, Bjorn lashes back that Steinunn had years to kill Snorri herself but lacked the courage. Steinunn lunges with her seax, but Harald moves fast enough to stop her before blood is spilled.

Harald then offers a new reading of Saga’s prophecy: perhaps Snorri must only lose control of Freya, not necessarily through her death. He admits that hope is partly driven by Bjorn’s love for Freya, but he swears that Saga will decide the matter—if Saga says Freya must die, Harald will kill her; if Saga sees another path, Harald will protect her from anyone else. The promise temporarily settles Steinunn, but Bjorn makes the conflict sharper by declaring that Harald will have to kill him first if Saga demands Freya’s death. Determined not to wait, Bjorn proposes they leave for Saga immediately, and Freya agrees on the condition that she rides her own horse.