Chapter 13 - WacławI wish I could dream.
SLEEP WOULD BE NO WELCOME ESCAPE for me that night. It never was.
When I returned home, soaking wet and frozen to the bone, Mom forced me into a hug. Although my mind was distant, I told her everything. I vented about Otylia, about Yuliya and Marzanna, and about every hope that Father had stolen from me.
Through it all, she held me in her arms. Then she sat on the edge of her bed, her face heavy. “Your father lost the meaning of love many years ago, and now he wishes to send you away like a mistake. If Marzanna truly commanded you to let the chiefs march our men to war, then speaking for peace was brave—far braver than anything your father has ever done.”
I sat next to her, rubbing my thumb along Marzanna’s Frostmark, now uncovered. “It didn’t w
