The text opens with a flash-forward from one week after the main story begins. On a university campus on the verge of war, Rey Stjerne, daughter of Odin, asks Aric, a Frost Giant, if he will run away with her, certain the world will burn. His breath fogs in the cold air. Aric hesitates, saying he cannot promise anything until they finish their mission. Disappointed, Rey realizes she wanted proof he would take the risk for her. As snow begins to fall, Aric says he still needs her warmth, but Rey knows it is no longer enough. She thinks that one of them will die, and in her soul, she knows it will be her.

“One week earlier,” on her 18th birthday, Rey Stjerne holds a crumpled note from her stepmother, Laufey, a Frost Giant (15). For the first time, Rey witnesses Laufey crying as she begs Rey not to undertake the dangerous mission her father has assigned. Rey’s father—Odin, identifiable by his white hair, eye patch, and cane concealing an Asgardian sword—remains unmoved and orders his bodyguard, Rowen, to remove the sobbing Laufey from the room.