The Wolf and the Woodsman

by Ava Reid

I was raised like a goose for the slaughter, just in case this moment ever came.

But how did a perfect being create something as imperfect as humans, so prone to caprice and cruelty?

All that talk of quiet obedience is for their benefit, not yours. They don’t have to go to the effort of striking you down if you’re already on your knees.”

Creation can only exist alongside destruction, peace alongside pain. Wherever there is life, I will also be.’

“You write nearly as well as my littlest brother.” I elbow him fiercely in the side. “If you teach me how to spell, I’ll teach you how to shoot an arrow as well as any clumsy, one-armed child in Király Szek, which is probably the best you can hope for.”