“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.

Odin gives Rey her mission: She has one week to find Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir. He implies Laufey’s life depends on her success. Rey must destroy anyone in her way, especially the Erikson family, and make them suffer. Odin knows Aric Erikson possesses the hammer because his deceased parents hid it. He gives Rey a cold kiss on the forehead, calling her his most worthy child.

They drive from Bellevue toward Endir University in Everett, Washington. Rey reflects on her trauma-bonded friendship with Rowen and her brief, past betrothal to Aric. At Endir, Odin reminds her of her Aethercall—an involuntary glamour that makes people adore her and allows her to manipulate emotions. He insists she address him as Odinfather, to her displeasure.

At Endir’s entrance, Rey sees a campus sculpture of Sigurd Erikson with his grandsons, Aric and Reeve. She reflects on the brothers’ contrasting personalities: Reeve is talkative; Aric is quietly intense. Odin warns her to find the hammer or not come back, then shares that he erased memories after the war between Gods and Giants. Families like the Eriksons, who are Giants, do not understand their true nature and believe the feud is merely business.

Odin gives Rey a blue rucksack containing mission materials, then offers a performative hug for onlookers before returning to the car. Rey and Rowen exchange a cryptic goodbye referencing the other side, or life after death, where there is no war. Rowen performs an ancient offering gesture and begins to call Rey “daughter of—,” (29) but she stops him, wanting no reminders of her connection to Odin. She reflects on Rowen’s mysterious scars and the precious thing stripped from him for a past failure, which he never reveals.

Aric Erikson watches from his second-floor dorm window, waiting for Rey Stjerne to arrive. He reflects on an event two years ago when he showed Rey kindness on a beach; one week later, his parents died, and he blames her and her father. Aric notes that his powerful grandfather and the founder of Endir, Sigurd, must have allowed Rey’s enrollment.

When Rey exits the car, Aric observes her transformation—sleek, cold, and controlled—and decides this new version will be easy to hate. He recalls her voice as a dangerous contradiction, soft yet sharp. His father once warned him not to stare at storms wearing human faces. Aric despises Rey’s family for what they did to his. Though he does not think she sees him at the window, he steps back. He resolves to keep his distance, but his racing pulse suggests the difficulty ahead.

Rey walks onto Endir’s campus, noting the ancient black stone buildings that feel mythical. She trips on a cobblestone etched with the Thurisaz rune. A male student bumps into her and is briefly charmed by her Aethercall.

Reeve Erikson appears as a student helper, taunting Rey and accusing her father of buying her admission. He lists campus warnings: avoid the lake at night, do not enter the Hall of Ormir without invitation, and never drink the toxic lake water. Rey tests him by asking if Ormir is another name for the Giant Ymir, but he shows no recognition, seemingly confirming Odin’s memory wipe worked. Reeve startles her by calling her “daughter of Odin,” (40) then clarifies he means her father is a notorious mob boss. His demeanor shifts as he leans in, telling her she is tainted by her father’s violence. He gives a final warning: Stay far away from Aric.

Reeve uses his key card to let Rey into the dorm’s inner foyer. Rey notices the Algiz rune carved above the electronic lock. Reeve reveals he is her RA. As the elevator opens, Rey walks directly into Aric Erikson. She notes his imposing presence and distinctive scent. He recognizes her but remains cold and impassive. Rey recalls that their broken betrothal two years ago made local news. Aric leans down and sneers, asking if she is lost or looking to get burned again.

Rey maintains her composure despite Aric’s hostility. Reeve casually tells Aric that Rey is with him. Aric shoulders past her without another word. Rey offers a bright, sarcastic farewell; Aric rasps that only one of them is pleased to see the other. The cold sting of his words sharpens her resolve: His cruelty will make her mission easier. On the elevator, Reeve informs her that her room, 209, is right next door to Aric’s.

The second-floor hallway walls display Norse mythology posters, including a prominent image of Odin. Rey realizes her father funded this display as a warning. She corrects Reeve on details, noting Thor had red hair. Reeve muses darkly that if he knew all the world’s secrets, he would let it burn. He gives Rey her welcome packet. When she asks why Aric seems so angry, Reeve describes Aric’s quiet anger as predatory, warning he is waiting to snap. Rey enters her double room, which she has to herself, and contemplates the difficulty of her mission.

Agitated by Rey’s scent and proximity, Aric returns to his room and takes medication. He notes the walls are thin, and their beds press against the same shared wall. Reeve enters to discuss Rey’s arrival. Aric sees frost forming between his windowpanes, though Reeve says the weather is not cold. Hearing noise from Rey’s room, Aric instinctively moves toward the wall. He and Reeve head out for food, but Aric forgets his wallet and returns alone. Back in his room, he senses something is wrong inside himself, as if a part of him is waking up.

Rey unfolds Laufey’s note, which contains five runes: Raido, Dagaz, Hagalaz, Othala, and Thurisaz. She connects Thurisaz to the rune she saw on the cobblestone. Hearing Aric next door, she tests the wall’s echo and confirms the rooms are not soundproof. She quickly conceals the note when someone knocks. Ziva Morales, a tall girl with blue-tipped hair, enters with a welcome basket. She introduces herself as the floor’s greeter and mentions the campus whisper network knew a “mafia princess” (59) was arriving. She provides gossip about Aric and Reeve: “[Aric is] sadly untouchable. Though if you’re feeling frisky, go ahead and tap the younger brother. Everyone else has” (59). Rey subtly tests her Aethercall on Ziva, but Ziva is completely unaffected—a refreshing change. Ziva declares they will be best friends.

Rey opens the notebook her father gave her, which contains a drawing of Mjölnir. She tucks Laufey’s rune note into the dossier for safekeeping and hypothesizes that runes scattered around campus may be wards suppressing Mjölnir’s power and protecting Endir. The notebook includes photos of a younger, happier Aric and a clipping about him being struck by lightning. Rey realizes the dossier omits any information about Mjölnir’s location. She thinks Aric is the key, but Odin wiped his memory. Her true mission is not just to steal the hammer but to awaken Aric’s memories to find it. In a flashback to the beach two years ago, she told him he did not have to be like his father; when they touched, frost spread across the sand, his eyes flashed white, and he suddenly dismissed her coldly. Rey now understands her father orchestrated the betrothal, using her to “crack” (67) Aric.

Rey resolves to confront Aric directly and knocks aggressively on his door. When he tries to close it, she blocks it with her foot. Aric pulls her into his room and shoves her against the wall, threatening her and stating his hatred for her family. He mentions his parents’ deaths. Rey retorts that his parents were also ruthless and reminds him of his words on the beach. His eyes go lifeless. Aric pushes her out and leaves. Rey decides to break into his room but is stopped by Reeve, who mentions a maintenance crew is coming to fix the flickering lights. With her lock-picking plan foiled, Rey chooses another approach: She changes into black tactical gear and prepares to climb along the exterior ledge to Aric’s window.

Ignoring her fear of heights, Rey edges along a narrow ledge to Aric’s window. She jimmies the latch with a blade and slips inside. His room smells of cedar and rain. She notes his bookshelf, a sea poster, and his closet, pocketing one of his T-shirts. When Aric and Reeve unexpectedly return, Rey hides under the bed. Aric enters, complains about Reeve, closes the window Rey left open, and leaves. After confirming he is gone, she searches his bathroom and finds three bottles of pills, which she photographs. Finding nothing else useful, she exits through his door. In the dining hall, she uses her Aethercall to keep people away and realizes the Eriksons are likely immune to her power. Aric enters alone and walks toward her table.

Aric stands across from Rey, saying he wants to understand his enemy. Rey uses details from his room, like his interest in hiking, to try to engage him. He speaks mysteriously, using metaphors about books and temptation, asking if she has ever been ruined by a story. Ziva walks by, playfully insults Aric, who calls her “Z,” and gives Rey a supportive wink. Aric challenges Rey, demanding to know why she is really at Endir. He vows not to let her poison his family’s legacy. As he leaves, he reduces her to a pretty plaything with teeth.

Aric senses Rey following him throughout the day. That evening, he and Reeve watch freshmen participate in a candle ritual at an ancient basalt arch carved with runes. If the candle stays lit, the Gods remember and favor you. Aric reflects on his arranged betrothal to Rey; he had intended to reject the deal to save her from being used, but he was tempted, and he believes Odin killed his parents in retaliation. Thinking about Rey causes frost to form on his skin, which he quickly hides. Reeve comments on the sudden cold. Reeve explains the archway tradition to Rey, who corrects his terminology from “Viking” to “Norse,” (85) impressing Aric. Reeve dares Rey to walk through, and Aric taunts her when she hesitates. They walk through together with lit candles. Rey’s flame extinguishes, but Aric’s candle becomes encased in ice. He quickly drops and stomps it to destroy the evidence. Later, both are restless and shout at each other through the shared wall every time the other stirs. Around midnight, Rey intercepts Aric in the hall, where he seems distressed and mutters about nightmares before stalking away.

Rey wakes from a dream in which her father says the Gods and Giants are sleeping because they have no choice. She reflects on the archway ritual, convinced it holds ancient power, and remembers Aric’s distress in the hallway. In another birthday flashback, Odin gave her a queen chess piece, signaling she was no longer a pawn. Rey runs into Reeve, who confronts her with his belief that her father killed his parents. Upset, she heads into the forest, knowing from the dossier that Aric meditates there. She finds him by a spring as he is removing his shirt. Aric reveals he saw her hiding and tauntingly invites her to join him skinny-dipping.

Rey accepts Aric’s challenge and begins stripping down to her underwear, daring him to teach her. He backs into the warm spring, maintaining eye contact. Rey overcomes her fear of water and follows him in. Aric warns her to be quiet or something might eat them. When she flicks water at him, he reacts instantly, pinning her against the muddy wall. They trade flirtatious barbs about temptation. After she flicks more water, he grazes her neck with his lips, drags his mouth to her jaw, and bites lightly. In a taunting reversal, he smears mud on her cheek. Rey shoves him completely underwater; he surfaces, amused. He cages her against the wall again, tells her she will not last long, and pushes away.

Aric heads back to the dorms, buzzing from his encounter with Rey. As he walks under the archway, he leaves icy footprints on the grass that quickly disappear. Back in his room, he feels nauseous and hallucinates blood on his face in the mirror. He receives a video call from his grandfather, Sigurd, whose office is filled with Norse artifacts. Sigurd emphasizes that control is vital and confirms Aric is awakening. Aric asks if Reeve is also like him, but Sigurd says Reeve’s powers are still dormant, or “sleeping” (104). Sigurd ends the call when a professor arrives. Aric brushes past Rey and shuts himself in the bathroom. In the shower, he struggles with his loss of control and conflicted feelings about Rey. He forms a plan: He will let her get close to uncover her father’s true motives.

Ziva sees Aric slam the door on Rey and offers support, revealing she and Aric were childhood best friends until Sigurd ended their friendship. Ziva warns that Aric’s kind of power does not come free. Alone, Rey recommits to her mission to free Laufey, who will die if she fails. She reflects on Laufey’s purposeful nature and healing power. Looking at the dossier, Rey reads that Mjölnir can communicate. She texts her father, who confirms Mjölnir and Thor were inseparable, like family, and they share a brief, ritualistic mourning for Thor. Rey realizes Mjölnir must be grieving and resolves to bring it home. She prepares for orientation, determined to use Aric’s attraction to get answers.

Aric and Reeve lead a sunset campus tour for freshmen. Rey joins the group and walks beside Aric. He is irritated when she laughs with Reeve. The tour heads to the Hall of Ormir, an ancient Norse temple built over a deep pool. Reeve warns students not to enter the roped-off pool. As Aric and Rey approach, the air grows colder; Aric feels frost form on his hands, which he hides in his pockets. He sees Rey’s breath also fogging and concludes it must be from the actual temperature, which reassures him. Inside, Rey notices burn marks on the walls. Aric recounts lore of human sacrifices made to summon imprisoned Gods. They approach a large obsidian mirror reflecting the black pool below; one must use a mirror to see the Gods because humans are not worthy of direct sight. Rey leans in to examine a rune etched on the mirror. The main door slams, wind surges, and the mirror flips, striking Rey in the head. Aric is cut trying to stop it from striking her again. He catches Rey as she falls. When he touches her face, the pool ripples violently, his hands freeze to her skin, and his back ignites in pain.

Frost covers Rey’s face where Aric touches it. He jerks back, and the disoriented Rey falls again. He helps her out of the building, noting an inscription above the door: “Where water remembers and blood mourns” (122). His back still burns from the incident. Back at the dorm, Rey says the bleeding stopped. Aric examines her head and finds fresh blood but no wound; his own hand has also healed. He lies, concealing the rapid healing and suggesting the cut must be in her hairline. In his room, Aric paces, knowing something is deeply wrong. He removes his shirt and discovers a black Raido rune branded on his back below his neck.

Running late for class, Rey is still shaken from the Hall of Ormir incident. She cannot find any wound on her head. She recalls a cooling sensation when Aric touched her, similar to Laufey’s healing, but dismisses it. She remembers the rune on the mirror—Raido—was one of the five in Laufey’s note. Reeve appears to walk with her to the opening ceremony. Rey sends him ahead, then goes to Aric’s door to eavesdrop. Aric yanks it open, and she falls into him. He pins her against the wall, demanding to know what she is doing. In the tense, close-quarters confrontation, Rey touches his chest; he grabs her hand and holds it. The contact triggers a vivid, fever-dream-like vision: They are pressed against a wall of ice, ripping at each other’s clothes. The vision ends, and a dizzy Rey jerks her hand away and flees.