A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L Jensen

Here is a summary with spoilers for A Fate Inked in Blood

In a Norse-inspired fantasy world, 20-year-old Freya lives a life she despises. Her days are spent gutting fish caught by her husband, Vragi, a man she abhors. Her parents arranged the marriage due to Vragi’s wealth and his status as a child of the gods—one of the rare individuals infused with divine blood at conception, granting him magical abilities.

On the fjord’s beach, Freya meets Bjorn, a handsome warrior and the son of Snorri, the local jarl (Skaland’s term for a chieftain). Bjorn, a child of Tyr, the god of war, wields a magical fire axe in battle. After a brief encounter, Bjorn departs, and Freya runs into her brother, Geir, a warrior in Jarl Snorri’s raiding bands.

Freya secretly dreams of becoming a warrior herself, but she must hide her divine heritage. As a child of the goddess Hlin, Freya possesses a magic shield that renders her invulnerable. To protect her from power-hungry men, her parents forbade her from using her powers.

Vragi, however, discovers her secret and betrays her to Jarl Snorri, who has been searching for the prophesied shield maiden for two decades. Snorri forces Vragi to divorce Freya so he can marry her himself. A prophecy foretells that the shield maiden will unite Skaland under the rule of the one who controls her fate. Snorri threatens Geir’s life to secure Freya’s compliance.

When Vragi makes his own threat, Freya kills him with Bjorn’s fire axe, burning her hand in the process. Snorri takes her to his stronghold at Halsar, where Freya meets Ylva, Snorri’s first wife and Bjorn’s stepmother. Ylva, a powerful witch, performs a ceremony marking Freya as Hlin’s child with a blood tattoo. Snorri marries Freya the following day, but Ylva prevents the marriage from being consummated, binding Freya to Snorri with a blood oath instead.

Halsar is soon attacked by a neighboring jarl, Gnut, who aims to kill Freya and prevent Snorri from using her powers to become king. Freya defies orders to stay hidden and fights alongside Bjorn, helping repel Gnut’s forces. During the battle, she develops dangerous feelings for Bjorn, feelings she cannot afford to reveal.

After the battle, Freya begins training with Bjorn, learning that he was abducted as a child by King Harald of Nordeland and held captive for years. Bjorn’s absence has made Ylva believe her own son, Leif, should be Snorri’s heir. Snorri, fearing an imminent attack from King Harald, leads his party to the temple in Fjalltindr to seek alliances.

The journey to Fjalltindr is fraught with danger. Freya faces an attack by Jarl Torvin’s army and a battle against cursed undead draug in the mountain’s tunnels. During the fight, she discovers an unknown power, cursing the draug to Helheim. A spectral figure warns her that she must make a sacrifice at Fjalltindr or risk undoing the prophecy and cutting her life short.

When Freya makes the sacrifice, the gods acknowledge her, and she learns that King Harald is also at the temple. Though fighting is forbidden there, Freya spies on Harald and overhears what she suspects is Ylva plotting with him. Bjorn cautions her against making accusations without proof.

A seer’s vision foretells the destruction of Halsar, prompting Snorri’s party to race home, only to find it razed by Gnut. Seeking revenge, they prepare to attack Gnut’s fortress in Grindill.

On the journey, Freya nearly succumbs to frostbite, but her relationship with Bjorn deepens, culminating in an affair. Bjorn urges her to recover, but Freya insists on fighting. In the siege of Grindill, Freya’s shield protects her comrades until she drops it, leading to her friend Bodil’s death. Consumed by rage, Freya destroys the fortress gates, slaughters Gnut’s soldiers, and kills Gnut himself. Horrified by her own brutality, she begins questioning the darker side of her divine heritage.

Freya’s fears deepen when her family arrives at Grindill. Knowing Snorri could use them against her, she considers fleeing with Bjorn, who urges her to escape. However, Freya refuses to abandon her family and seeks answers about Hlin, the goddess whose power fuels her rage.

Freya’s mother, Kelda, reveals that another goddess was involved in Freya’s conception before Hlin claimed her as a vessel. Kelda suspects Loki’s influence. After chastising Freya for her affair with Bjorn, Kelda is killed by one of Harald’s warriors. Freya blames Ylva for revealing their location and races to kill her but is stopped by Bjorn.

Harald’s army arrives at Grindill, demanding Freya’s surrender. She protects the fortress with her shield but cannot save the civilians outside the walls. Desperate, Freya attempts to end the cycle of violence by throwing herself over a cliff, but Bjorn stops her. They stage their deaths, making it appear they’ve fallen into the waterfall below.

Ylva confesses to feeling responsible for unleashing the “monster” within Freya on Skaland, and while Snorri remains blinded by ambition, Ylva proves herself an unexpected ally. She helps Freya secretly travel to Selvegr to see her mother, Kelda, a journey deemed too dangerous by Snorri. There, Kelda recounts the mystical circumstances surrounding Freya’s conception—how the goddess Hlin intervened in exchange for Freya becoming her vessel, offering the chance for a different destiny shaped by altruism, not greed. But Kelda’s selfishness becomes clear when she demands Freya end her relationship with Bjorn, prompting Freya to finally recognize her mother’s long-standing neglect and manipulation. Shortly after, Kelda is killed by a warrior named Skade, though she apologizes with her dying breath. Grief-stricken and enraged, Freya lashes out, attempting to kill Ylva, but Bjorn stops her. Her accusations against Ylva are interrupted by the arrival of Harald’s army. When Snorri threatens Bjorn, Freya refuses to fight for him and prepares to flee—until she learns her siblings are in danger. To save them, she pledges herself once again to battle.

Harald demands Freya’s surrender, claiming Snorri lied about Saga’s death to justify war. When Freya refuses, Tora begins slaughtering civilians. Desperate to stop the violence, Freya tries to end her own life, but Bjorn saves her, leaping with her into the river. They survive and find shelter, where Bjorn reveals his tragic past and how he accidentally set his home on fire while invoking Tyr’s power. In a secluded cave, they reaffirm their love, imagining a peaceful future together. However, doubts creep in the next morning. Freya presses Bjorn for the truth, and when he avoids answering, she storms out—only to be captured by Harald. Bjorn confesses that he’s loyal to Nordeland, and Freya realizes it’s he, not Ylva, who betrayed her. Furious, she curses the Nordelanders, and her divine power, inherited from both Hlin and Hel, kills them all except Harald, Tora, Skade, and Bjorn.

Harald reveals Freya’s true parentage and immense power. Bjorn urges her to flee, but she’s caught and taken aboard a drakkar with other god-born warriors. Realizing her powers don’t work on those with magic, Freya jumps overboard but is recaptured. Bjorn explains that he lied to protect her and his family, and that Saga is still alive in Nordeland. The conversation Freya once misunderstood as Ylva’s betrayal was actually between Bjorn and Saga, trying to save Freya. Now sailing toward Nordeland, Freya prepares to take control of her fate and confront the truth.

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