52 pages • 1 hour read
A Curse Carved in Bone
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Background
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, death, and gender discrimination.
Series Context: Saga of the Unfated
A Fate Inked in Blood (2024) is book one in Danielle L. Jensen’s Saga of the Unfated duology. It establishes the storyline, conflicts, character arcs, and themes that are continued and resolved in the second half of the series, A Curse Carved in Bone (2025). Freya, the protagonist, inhabits a fictional world inspired by medieval Scandinavia and Norse mythology. She is one of the rare children of the gods, humans endowed with a drop of immortal blood by one of the deities of Norse cosmology and imbued with magical abilities. Freya’s divine parentage by the goddess Hlin is a secret Freya has kept for her own safety. The inciting incident occurs when Freya’s protective magic is revealed and she’s identified as the prophesied shield maiden, destined to unite the people of Skaland under the one who controls her fate.
Snorri is a local ruler—called a jarl—who’s been looking for the shield maiden for 20 years. He believes he can be the one to control Freya’s fate and so become king of Skaland. He forces Freya to divorce her husband and become his second wife. To further cement Freya’s loyalty, Snorri binds her with a blood oath performed by his first wife, Ylva, an adept at runic magic.
