The worlds that spilled out of his mouth in a stuttering mess confirmed everything I guessed about the boy, this... Nevin.

It kind of surprised me that the briarbane hadn't actually caught up to him during the chase. Not that it would have known what to do once it got their grubby vine-woven mitts on him in the first place.

"Madison," I replied in kind, keeping my tone neutral and aloof as I relaxed. "Been living here for a while now. Couple months or so. Nobody else was here, and I needed a place to hide for the night when we got lost in the woods ourselves. Then a storm hit, and a few days passed."

I offered a shrug. "We ended up getting used to the place, and decided we had nowhere better to be. So we made it home."

Nevin cocked his head to the side, confused. "I'm sorry. We?"

Amber light flashed in my eyes. "Myself and Hyperion. And those."

The boy followed my gesture, his eyes resting on the front door. Instinctively, he took a step away from it. "Those? Those are yours? And there are more?!"

"They won't hurt you, I promise." The look in his eyes said he wasn't going to believe me.

I turned around and motioned with a briar-knit hand for him to follow. "Think of them as my guards. All they do is watch, and when someone gets to close, they lead them to me. If the trespassers are here with ill intent, then they're neutralized. If they just wandered a bit too close, then we'll see that you have safe passage back to the roads that lead to Underwood."

The two of us arrived in an old common room that I fashioned into a living area. Several plush but worn couches were arranged in a triangle around a small, round coffee table that was littered with books and a few pencils. One of the walls was lined with shelving that I dragged from other parts of the compound, packed to the brim with even more books. What can I say, I have a lot of spare time on my hands nowadays.

I threw myself down onto one of the couches, kicking up a small cloud of dust as my weight slammed into the cushions. "Please, take a seat. There's a kettle on for tea, and Hyperion will bring us something to snack on. I don't get to entertain very often, as you can imagine. Now, tell me why you're in my forest."