The Thirteenth Child
What does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love?
1. THE THIRTEENTH CHILD by Erin A. Craig
SYNOPSIS
All gifts come with a price.
Hazel TrΓ©pas has always known she wasnβt like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfatherβMerrick, the Dreaded Endβto arrive.
When he does, he lays out exactly how heβs planned Hazelβs future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.
But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patientβwhen all hope is goneβand is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those sheβs killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And itβs where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yetβto save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?