Aric touches the Hagalaz rune carved in the tree, but nothing happens. Rey explains its meaning: awakening, awareness, transformation—a point of no return. When Aric questions whether he or Rey could wield Mjölnir, she hesitates to answer. They agree to a formal truce: work together to find Mjölnir, then return to their respective sides. Aric reveals his intention to kill Odin to avenge his parents once their alliance ends.

They seal the truce with blood. Aric cuts his palm with his knife and presses it to the rune. Rey takes the knife, cuts her own hand, and joins hers beside his. The Hagalaz rune flares with blinding white light, and searing pain rakes down Aric’s back as the third rune burns itself into his skin.

Aric cries out as the third rune sears into his back. A branch snaps nearby; a figure in black sprints away before they can react. Rey notes they have a stalker, adding another person to her mental list of enemies. Aric heals the cut on Rey’s palm with a touch.

Walking back to campus, Rey questions whether she should actually give Mjölnir to Odin. She reveals that others like them exist on campus but are powerless because the Bifrost is broken. Aric confirms he already knew this and suggests that having tasted true power makes losing it more painful. Rey counters that she possesses something Odin does not: a heart.

Since the third rune appeared, Rey feels a persistent ache in her chest and deep loneliness. She reflects on her lack of romantic love, having only experienced disappointing hookups that left her crying and wondering if she would feel loved. She worries constantly about Laufey, whose healing power is slowly killing her as she uses it to manage Odin’s tantrums and nightmares.

Rereading her father’s dossier on Mjölnir, Rey learns that earlier, unstable versions of the hammer were forged. She realizes the runes respond to her and Aric’s combined blood and wonders if she is somehow exacerbating the storm inside Aric. While Aric has a clear destiny mapped on his back and a path to the ultimate weapon, Rey feels she has only ever been chosen for death. She wonders if this is Aric’s chance to choose life.

Rey knocks on Aric’s door in the middle of the night, barefoot and sleepwalking. She enters, chugs water from her cat mug, then crawls into his bed, pinning him against the wall. A sudden calm overwhelms Aric, silencing the storm in his blood—the same effect as her kiss. He falls asleep and dreams of a frozen, mountainous homeland smelling of iron, snow, and pine smoke.

His alarm wakes them both. Rey, now conscious, screams and punches him, having no memory of arriving. Reeve enters to find Rey wearing only Aric’s sweatshirt. After she storms out with Reeve’s coffee, Aric lies to his brother, claiming closeness to Rey is strategic—a long game to gain trust and reach Odin.

Reeve examines the runes on Aric’s back and grows pale, calling them an interesting mix. He warns Aric never to forget the Stjernes killed their parents and that Odin is powerful. Making a verbal slip about Odin controlling more than just his city of Bellevue, Reeve corrects by mentioning the university’s Endir’s gates. Aric begins suspecting Reeve may not be protecting him but rather setting him up.

The next morning, Ziva teases Rey about sleepwalking into Aric’s room. Aric walks past with Reeve, completely ignoring her. On the elevator, Eira mentions Rowen was moaning in his sleep. Walking to class, Rowen confesses he has been having recurring nightmares about his own death and fears Odin will see them as weakness and make him disappear.

Rey decides not to tell Rowen about the runes to protect her truce with Aric. When she asks where Thor kept Mjölnir, Rowen replies it is sentient and would have stayed next to Thor’s heart. Rey accidentally touches Rowen’s scarred arm, and her emotion-sensing power, the Aethercall, reverses, flooding her with immense heat and hatred from him. The intensity startles her. Eira summons Rowen away, but he offers Rey final encouragement before leaving.

Aric receives texts from Reeve warning him to be wary of Rey, reminding him that Sigurd sees everything. After class, Aric drives Rey to an abandoned, warded property owned by Sigurd. Rey blushes when Aric teases that this could be her first date; she admits she has had hookups but never received flowers or genuine attention.

Aric leads her through rune-warded gates. Rey discovers the white stones lining the path are actually bones of fallen Giants, a place called Hollowood. Aric warns that one day Odin will pay for his crimes, and if Rey stands with him, she will too.

By the lake, Aric explains the Giants’ power over water and ice was what the Gods feared, because water is life. He confesses the place feels like home, but the word “lie” slams into him. He instinctively takes Rey’s hand, and heat floods them both.

Rey realizes their connection caused a new rune to appear, though it is not one from Laufey’s note. She teases Aric about his powers being limited. He responds by pulling her close and using his ice to frost her lips before warming them with his thumb. When she asks him to demonstrate more, he makes snow fall around them. She marvels at the falling snow and wishes for a moment that she could stay here with Aric.

Cracking branches send Aric into instinctive protection mode—he creates a cave of ice around them. Two deer emerge, and Rey sees his eyes glowing white. Aric warns he may lose control as more runes unlock. Rey confesses she feels meant more for a monster than a man. She initiates a passionate kiss.

Aric kisses Rey back desperately. Ice crystals spin from him, catching in her hair and on her lashes. While kissing her neck, his teeth accidentally scrape her skin, and he tastes her blood. The taste awakens a ravenous hunger within him. A voice that is not his own whispers from his throat about the blood of Odin. Aric fears the monster inside him is either waking or has already taken over.

Aric struggles to control the possessive urge from tasting Rey’s blood. They discuss the night of their broken engagement. Rey admits feeling like an unworthy sacrifice, embarrassed by her appearance. Aric reveals he only refused because she was not Odin’s property to bargain with. He says she was “perfect.” Moved to tears, Rey asks for one more minute of their truce. They kiss passionately.

Afterward, both retreat behind emotional shields. Aric melts the ice walls. Rey identifies the fourth rune as Othala, the rune of bloodline and inheritance. Aric confirms it is on a statue of Audhumla, the cosmic cow, in Sigurd’s office. He suggests waiting until the end-of-orientation party at Sigurd’s house to activate it, buying them a few more days together.

Reeve waits in Aric’s room, furious that Aric used his powers at the lake. He calls it the “riverbed of tombs,” a sacred place carrying souls of the fallen into the lake until Ragnarök (259). Reeve warns that Rey was sent to kill Aric. After apologizing for his anger, they hug, and Reeve leaves with a final warning.

Aric falls asleep and has a vision of voices arguing about destroying something and the consequences of being trapped. He jolts awake to find snow falling inside his room. Looking in the mirror, he sees his true Frost Giant form: silvery-white eyes, frost-covered braided hair, and a crown of branches shaped like elk horns.

Ziva tells Rey someone wrote “Die, Odin” on her whiteboard. She mentions Rowen has been training intensely at the gym with Eira constantly nearby, which unsettles Rey. Reeve confronts Rey in the hall, acting hostile.

Rowen is waiting in Rey’s room. He accuses her of being reckless with Aric and warns he must report her actions to Odin. Rowen reveals Odin is losing his grip on reality and desperately needs Mjölnir to restore his power. He explains that once Aric is fully awakened, he will be compelled to give Mjölnir to Rey because her blood sings to it. Rowen has traces of Odin’s blood but does not elaborate or confirm that he could wield Mjölnir.

After he leaves, Rey calls Laufey. Sensing they are monitored, she asks for a bedtime story. Laufey tells of a small wolf pup who survived by being patient while larger hunters destroyed one another. Rey understands the message about survival and vows to be the one who howls.

Rey appears at Aric’s door again that night, seemingly sleepwalking. She again fills her cat mug at his sink, chugs the water, and crawls into his bed. Aric gives in to his feelings, pulling her close and admitting to himself that she means everything. When Rey touches the runes on his back, the burning sensation quiets, allowing him to rest deeply.

This becomes their nightly routine for the next two nights. He leaves his door open for her. During the day, they pretend their nights together mean nothing, but Aric knows they are falling for each other despite the pretense.

The morning of the party, Rey and Aric share a domestic moment brushing teeth together in his bathroom. Aric reflects on how her presence calms him and allows him to sleep. When water on his hand turns to ice, Rey abruptly becomes cold and distant, reminding him of their end game. Her sudden shift hurts Aric, and they remind each other that they are on different sides.

After Rey leaves, Aric tells himself it is for the best and that he was foolish to hope for more. In the hallway, he sees a mural of Odin, Loki, and Thor triumphing over the first Giant, Ymir, as the Giant realm of Jötunheim burns. He feels silly for thinking he could have a place in Rey’s world.

Aric is in a foul mood all day. Rowen confronts him outside the dining hall, warning him to stay away from Rey at the party. Aric taunts that Rey wants him. Rowen punches Aric, smashing him into a glass trophy case, calling him an “abomination” (275) who does not deserve the runes protecting him. Aric taunts back about Rowen’s parents.

Reeve intervenes as students gather, handling campus security and blaming the incident on Rowen. In the dining hall, Reeve forces Aric to drink tea to calm down and act normal. Aric resolves to stop fighting his fate and let the storm in.

The car ride to the party is tense. Rey is angry with Rowen for fighting Aric and feels guilty for pushing Aric away that morning. Odin texts, alerted by Rowen that Rey is withholding information. Rey replies that Mjölnir is as good as hers. Odin sends a video of a tied-up Laufey, whom he strikes with his cane. The video solidifies Rey’s resolve: She has no choice but to succeed.

At Sigurd’s house, Rowen apologizes for the fight. In a moment of protective rage, Rey snaps that Aric is hers to hunt and kill, startling Rowen with the look in her eyes. They reaffirm their friendship, with Rowen promising he is on her side until the grave.

Aric opens the door, and he and Rey share a charged, flirtatious exchange. Aric warns her the house staff are spies for Sigurd. Standing extremely close with a staff member watching, they continue their banter. Reeve interrupts their intense moment. Ziva distracts him by shouting about his pet snake, Jory, allowing Aric and Rey to laugh together naturally.

Aric follows Rey toward the bathroom. In the hallway, Rey sees three paintings depicting Thor, a beautiful woman, and Odin breaking them apart—a depiction of the Nightfrost legend. She says it would be nice if such love stories were real; Aric dismisses the notion. Alone in the bathroom, Rey admits to herself she has always been drawn to Aric, recalling their beach encounter.

Rey joins a beer pong game and teams up with Reeve to defeat Aric and Rowen. Reeve then initiates an Endir tradition: drinking from Ymir’s helmet. Though Reeve whispers that it is actually just an artifact dug up in Asia, Rey hears a battle cry: “My hands close on the helmet’s cold edges, and sorrow punches into my chest so hard I stagger. Justice. Rage. Loss. It’s screaming. Can’t they hear it?” (292). Aric toasts Rey before she drinks the foul-tasting liquid.

Rey feigns illness as an excuse to go inside with Aric, using her Aethercall to divert the crowd’s attention. Inside, Aric pulls Rey into his lap and declares he is done fighting his feelings for her. They engage in a heated exchange while this kiss each other fervently. Aric touches her intimately, asking for consent, and she clearly agrees.

Aric leads Rey to his sparse bedroom. When he expresses his fear that he is a monster, Rey reassures him that ice can be life-giving, not just destructive. They have passionate sex. As they climax, a power surge causes the lights and music throughout the house to go out. It storms outside, and they hear the partygoers return to the house.

Rey goes to the connected bathroom and game room but does not return. Aric follows and finds the statue of Audhumla sitting in his game room, though he does not know how it got there. Rey tells him to bite her wrist for blood to activate the rune. Aric bites her, and the taste awakens the monster within him. Rey presses her bloody wrist to the Othala rune. Aric slices his own palm with his teeth and slams his hand over hers. The rune flares, plunging Aric into a vision of an ancient battle where a massive Giant wields a hammer against Odin’s forces.

Aric’s eyes flash white, and he collapses, roaring in agony. Shimmering silver blood—not red—runs down his back as the Othala rune carves itself into his skin. Lost in the vision, he mutters about Odinfather and frost. Rey helps him to bed and gets dressed.

Aric wakes enough to grab her hand, healing her wrist with his touch. Their playful banter turns passionate, and he performs oral sex on her. After she climaxes, Rey pushes Aric onto his back and climbs on top of him to continue their lovemaking.