The Storyteller

Minka’s story continues with Aleks dragging Ania into an abandoned barn, where he reveals self-inflicted cuts all over his body. He finally tells her the story of her father’s death. One day, while Aleks was trying to find him food, Casimir escaped and found Ania’s cottage. He began to attack her father, but Aleks’s arrival at the scene distracted Casimir long enough for Ania’s father to land a blow against Casimir with his axe. The sight of the blood and his brotherly protective instincts overwhelmed Aleks, and he killed Ania’s father. He explains that he never wanted to kill again after that and had to find a way to protect others. Ania remembers that the only way to gain immunity from an upiór is by drinking its blood. She thinks of the pink-tinged princess roll and realizes that Aleks has been mixing his blood into the bread he bakes to protect her and other villagers.

After hearing Minka’s story, Sage asks how she can forgive the Germans for what they did. Minka says that she can never forgive Reiner for killing Darija—only Darija herself could do that. As for Franz, Minka has the choice to forgive him but is not sure if she can.