Cainan couldn’t take his eyes off of her, captivated. It wasn’t just her lovely features, though he was inexorably drawn to them, but also her mannerisms, how quickly she’d adapted to the unexpected circumstances of finding two strangers rather than one on her doorstep, how easily she smiled when, if anything, a woman alone in the woods should be afraid of the unknown, even the way she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear without looking the least bit nervous. Like the world was a place to enjoy and not the turbulent, violent place Cainan had experienced for most of his life.

“Are you planning to wait out there darkening my doorstep while I have tea and scones with your beautiful companion?” the woman asked.

“Oh, I like her,” Sinna said, who’d somehow already moved inside without Cainan seeming to notice.

Cainan crossed the threshold, still unable to find his words. Perhaps he feared his foot would end up in his mouth as Sinna had suggested it might.

“I’m Cora. Been living here, oh, three years, give or take? Was tired of people, to be honest, so I figured living by myself in the countryside was a better way to spend my days. Of course then the forest kept growing and soon I was in it. Luckily for me I discovered that I enjoy forest dwelling even more than country dwelling. And there are plenty of creatures who need my help.” She gestured across one of the walls, which was filled with makeshift cages and small beds inhabited by a variety of woodland animals, all of which seemed to have some injury or ailment. A sparrow with a damaged wing that was now stabilized with a makeshift splint. A mouse with a missing leg gnawed on a bit of carrot. The bandaged bunny she’d brought inside not so long ago. There was even a fawn lying on a bed of hay, the nature of its injury hidden from his prying eyes.

“That’s kind of you, but why not just let nature take its course?” Sinna asked, sliding onto the chair that Cora pushed out for her at a small, square table. A mountain of scones rested on a plate in the center, while a teapot stood on a pad so as to not damage the wood, its spout still billowing steam.

“What you call ‘nature’ is just a series of choices made by those who are strong enough to make them. To act or not to act. To intervene or to stand aside and watch as those too weak to care for themselves suffer needlessly.”

“That’s a rather cheerful way to view the world,” Sinna said.

“Cheerful doesn’t equal foolish, if that’s what you’re implying. And why shouldn’t I think that way? The sun is shining. The forest is teeming with life. There is fresh air in my lungs. I am alive.”