CHAPTER 4
Outside Kaspian’s window, the horizon burned red, not with the dying light of day but the ambient glow of burning fields. All told, six farms had been affected by the blight, and every last one of them bordered the Madwood. It could be a coincidence, but something told him there was more to it than that. Whatever had killed these crops was nothing like he’d ever seen before.
“Kaspian, come away from the window,” Mama said.
The servants had arrived with tonight’s entree, roasted squab in butter with a mushroom gravy, and Mama and Stryjek awaited him at the same worn, oaken table where his whole family had once had dinner together.
Looking at that empty chair at the head of the table, his instinct was to search for Tata, who’d take his place, same as always. These moments were
