EIGHT
"I'm going to have a son," Maja said proudly. "I visited Dalia, the witch woman in the woods today. She is a seer, you know, and she is certain the baby will be a boy. You will be a father, Abraham."
Chase clapped Abraham on the back. "Congratulations!"
But Abraham felt no joy in the news. Being born a boy in his family was a death sentence. He knew, for his time had already started to drip away. Without a word, he rose from his seat and left the hall.
The spring air still held winter's chill, as its icy breath swirled around him in the dark. No breeze could ever be as cold or dark as the invisible hand clenched around his heart as he stood on the battlements, and wished he dared throw himself off them into the river below.
But he could not. Death would find him soon enough, a
