I stand there for a minute, listening to her footsteps fade. The forest is quiet around me—no wolves howling tonight, no rustling in the underbrush. Just trees settling and distant night birds calling to each other in the dark.
Back at the cottage, I check the chickens one more time. Count heads, make sure Nugget hasn't escaped, scatter some extra grain for the morning. The door's latched. The fire's banked. The bloodied cloths hung to dry, the stew pot scraped clean.
I climb the ladder to my loft and lie down on my sleeping pallet. The ceiling's low, close enough to touch, the wood still rough in places where I never bothered to smooth it.
Through the gap in the shutters, I can see the stars. Same stars I've been watching for ten years out here. Same trees, same cottage, same routine.
Tomorrow I'll gather more comfrey. Remake the dye. Make more paste. Maybe start rendering fat for more salve—or put that off another day.
We'll see.
Chapter 2
What the—"Kestria! What are you doing?"
"What?"
"I—how are you carrying that? That deer is like twice your size."
She shrugs the deer higher on her shoulders. "It's not that heavy."
"Damn. I can barely carry a bucket of water."
She grins and keeps walking toward the cottage. "Thought you could use this."
"You weren't supposed to be back this soon."
"Got bored."
"So you brought me a deer."
"I saw it and thought of you."
I set down the bucket I'm using to water the garden. "You saw a dead deer and thought of me. I'm deeply touched."
"A fresh dead deer." She dumps it on my worktable with a heavy thud that makes the whole structure shudder.
“Kes—”
"There's a difference. You're welcome."
Nugget is making her displeasure known from inside the coop—she's still pink, and furious about it. I should checkif her feathers are growing back normal or if I've permanently dyed my chicken.
Add it to the list.
The mental list I definitely have.
Should write it down before I forget again.
"Did you hunt this yourself?"
"Found it."
"Youfoundit."
"Mm."
"Kestria." I step back from the table. "This is the third time."
