Freya awakens bound on a drakkar, surrounded by Harald's god-blooded warriors and thralls at the oars. Harald informs her they are crossing the strait to Nordeland. Freya threatens to curse him, but Harald calmly observes that she is horrified by her own power—by the fact that she cursed innocent warriors' souls to Helheim rather than Valhalla—and would not willingly use Hel's magic again. He also points out that he is the only person who has never lied to her, unsettling Freya further.

Freya spots Bjorn sitting slumped on a bench and lunges at him in rage, screaming that he is a traitor. Tora restrains her violently, and when Bjorn moves to intervene, Skade levels an arrow at his face. Freya realizes the drakkar carries only god-blooded individuals because Hel's curse cannot kill those with magic, which explains why they survived. She notices that her curse never even targeted Harald, though she cannot explain why.

Harald assures Bjorn that Freya will not be harmed and tells Freya she will be free in Nordeland, not a prisoner. Freya rejects his promises, convinced he intends to use her destructive power to wage war against Skaland. Determined to escape, she leaps overboard into the cold sea despite her bound wrists. She struggles toward the distant shore, fighting exhaustion from Steinunn's drug and the difficulty of swimming with tied hands. She nearly drowns before Bjorn catches her in the water.

In the sea, Bjorn begs Freya to understand that he acted to protect his family. He reveals a stunning truth: Snorri, manipulated by Ylva, tried to murder Saga and infant Bjorn in a fire so that Leif could inherit. Saga survived, fled with Bjorn to Nordeland, and is alive and well there under Harald's protection. The specter Freya believed was Saga's ghost was actually Saga herself, whom Bjorn spoke to in Fjalltindr and who convinced Harald that Freya could change her fate. Bjorn pleads with Freya to come to Nordeland and hear Saga's story before passing judgment.

Though furious and heartbroken, Freya does not resist when she is pulled back aboard the drakkar. She watches Skaland disappear behind them and the harsh coast of Nordeland approach, resolving that while she will seek answers there, she will also begin to take control of her own fate.