Freya spots the charred specter walking along the beach and decides to follow it into the forest, hoping it will provide answers about her future. Despite its slow pace, she cannot close the distance until she calls out, at which point it stops and turns, revealing a horrifically burned face with vivid green eyes. The specter gestures for Freya to look into a shallow ravine below, where she observes a cloaked figure carving runes into a tree before disappearing. The specter then vanishes.

Freya descends to examine the tree and finds runes arranged in a circle with an eye at the center. When she touches the eye, a vision of Snorri's speech about abandoning Halsar and attacking Grindill plays before her. She concludes that someone who witnessed the speech left this magical message to betray their plans, and suspects Ylva, who has both the runic sorcery skills and the motive—wanting to eliminate Bjorn so her son Leif can inherit.

Bjorn appears, having followed Freya into the forest to protect her. She explains what the specter showed her, but when they return to the tree, the runes have burned away, destroying the evidence. Frustrated, Freya argues that Ylva is the traitor, but Bjorn doubts his stepmother would risk her people just to be rid of him. He advises letting Snorri draw his own conclusions. Freya insists on reporting alone to avoid being seen with Bjorn.

Before she can leave, Bjorn confronts her about avoiding him. Freya tearfully admits that what happened between them at Fjalltindr meant something to her—that she wanted him. Bjorn responds by kissing her passionately against the ravine wall, confessing he has wanted her since the moment they met. A noise in the forest breaks the moment, and Freya, regaining composure, tells Bjorn they must stay apart. She warns that if Snorri discovers them, he will harm her family and punish Bjorn, while she—too valuable to kill—would live with the guilt. She asks him not to look at her, speak to her, or touch her, then walks away.

Back at camp, Freya reports the specter and the runic message to Snorri, Bodil, Ylva, and Steinunn. Snorri becomes emotional and reveals his belief that the specter is Saga—Bjorn's mother—who burned alive and was identifiable only by her jewelry. When Bjorn arrives and hears this, he shows no outward reaction but tension fills his eyes. Freya draws the runes she saw in the mud, and Ylva touches the eye rune, confirming Freya's account but also demonstrating anyone could have made the message. Ylva publicly declares her innocence and submits to Bodil's truth-detecting magic, which confirms she did not betray them. Snorri dismisses the hunt for a traitor, instead interpreting the specter's message as a warning that their plans are known, and declares they will attack Grindill immediately—not by sea or mountain pass, but over the mountains.