Freya breaks free from her attacker only to discover it is Bjorn, who had left the hall to speak with someone and returned to find her missing. She tells him that Ylva is conspiring with Harald to kill him so Snorri will name Leif as heir. Bjorn questions her certainty since she didn't actually see Ylva's face, but before they can debate further, they spot Harald's warriors systematically searching the crowd for Freya. With no weapons and no escape route, Bjorn proposes they hide in plain sight.

Bjorn kisses Freya as a ruse, and she responds with genuine desire that escalates rapidly. Their encounter becomes intensely physical as they press against a tree, both genuinely aroused despite the danger. When two of Harald's warriors demand to see her face, Freya brazenly exposes herself while keeping her mask on, distracting them. Bjorn then reveals his own face, and the warriors leave—reasoning that Bjorn would never cuckold his own father by being with Freya. Bjorn dismisses the encounter as a "convincing performance," deeply hurting Freya, who had believed the passion was mutual. He hints at his own feelings obliquely, telling her it isn't she who has cause to be jealous.

Returning to Snorri, Freya finds Ylva already present. Before Freya can accuse her, Bjorn warns that without proof Snorri won't believe her. When Snorri demands to know where Ylva was, Jarl Bodil—a famous female warrior and child of the god Forseti who can detect lies—arrives and claims Ylva was meeting with her to discuss an alliance. Bodil pledges allegiance to Freya as shield maiden, not to Snorri, which angers him but he accepts the much-needed alliance. Freya begins to doubt her assumption that Ylva was Harald's conspirator, since she never actually saw the person's face.

Bjorn then arrives and explains he consulted a seer, who warned cryptically about an unwatched hearth and untended hall—a possible threat to Halsar. Ylva panics, demanding they return immediately to protect the women and children left undefended. Snorri frames the warning as a test of faith, urging his warriors to stay and ambush Harald at the mountain's base. Freya intervenes, declaring they should return to protect Halsar and grow stronger before seeking vengeance. The warriors cheer her decision, and Snorri, though visibly angered at being overruled, pivots to embrace the plan as his own. The party prepares to march down the mountain before dawn, with Bodil and her maidens now accompanying them.

As they depart Fjalltindr, Freya wants to ask Bjorn about what happened between them but is too afraid. She asks instead about the seer's warning. Bjorn reveals the seer didn't actually answer his question about Halsar, leaving uncertainty about what truly awaits them.