CHAPTER 2
The sun beat down on Kaspian from the bright cloudless sky. He pulled at his collar as sweat dripped down his brow, blurring into his eyes. The effigy of Marzanna, crafted from bundles of dried twigs and wearing an old cornflower-blue dress of Mama’s, looked nothing like the goddess of winter he’d seen depicted in tapestries. As a boy, the same effigy had scared him when he’d stood here with Tata, but now his concerns didn’t brush fear of the divine so much as the mundane.
The morning was wearing on, and only half the village had arrived.
“Why don’t we wait a little longer?” Mama whispered.
“Not a very good turnout,” Stryjek remarked, shaking his head. He had stayed longer than they’d anticipated; Kaspian had assumed his uncle would move on to his next destination with the fi
