A Fate Inked in Blood

Before Snorri and Freya can consummate their marriage, Ylva stops them, saying that she cannot bear for Snorri to have sex with another woman. Instead of binding Freya to them through a consummated marriage, she suggests using runic magic to create a binding oath. Preferring not to have sex with Snorri, Freya encourages this option, on the condition that he vows never to touch her. However, they must keep this arrangement a secret to prevent others from breaking the oath by killing its creator, Ylva. Freya and Snorri agree to pretend to consummate the marriage. Ylva tells Freya that if she ever betrays her and Snorri, Ylva will torture her family and make her watch, then bury her alive.

Ylva completes the binding ritual, using Snorri and Freya’s blood. Freya pledges her allegiance to Snorri and vows to protect him. Afterward, Freya decides to learn more about the prophecy by finding the seer who made it. As she walks through the village in the dark, looking for signs that a seer resides there, she runs into Bjorn. The two of them hear oars in the water and see drakkar—raiding ships—approaching.