“Will you tell anyone?”
“Of course not, but—”
“What have I told you about trying to tell me what to do?” Iryana slipped past him, half expecting him to stop her, but he didn’t follow.
Iryana knew she would have to deal with him later, but that was a problem for another time, when her family’s lives weren’t at risk.
He was silent behind her as she stepped onto the rope and looked down at the shredded moon reflecting in the river. It spurred her faster. The crossing was harder than expected, but she pushed herself to hurry. The ropes swayed over the river far more than usual, and Iryana refused to acknowledge it was all the honeywine she’d drunk.
It had been a mistake to go to the party.
She stumbled off the platform and glanced back across the river to find Pyetar still standing there. Watching her. But he didn’t move to follow, so she pushed him from her mind and scurried down the tree. Iryana’s feet hit the ground, jumping down past the last few branches.
She’d have time for her regrets later. And perhaps she’d have even more to contend with by the end of the night.
Iryana could feel the darkness and anxiety pressing down on her as she ran through the moonlit forest.
There was too little time and far too many dakii to try and sneak past. She kept her shield wrapped around herself, but didn’t bother solidifying it as much as she could have. Instead, she ran.
It took far less time than she’d hoped before the hair on her arms prickled—she was being followed. And it took more time than she expected for a beast to tumble out of the trees beside her, trying to take her down.
Iryana dug her heels into the ground, switching directions.
A wave of anger heated her blood. They were slowing her down, and Hadima needed her.
Scouts and lone hunters, those were the dakii she’d encounter unless she woke up a pack. One, maybe two at a time.
Pulling the long spear from its clip on her back—the one she’d spent hours and hours working with Vaneshta with—Iryana lunged for the dakya.
She left it in a poolof its own blood.
Iryana had been running for what felt like hours, only letting herself pause for the shortest of breaks. The Yuresh valley was more familiar to her now, and without all the mud and snow to slow her down, she truly could run to her old post and back easily within a night. But it had already been late when she’d set out. When her muscles burned and her lungs threatened to stop sucking in air, she thought of her sister and cousins torn to pieces if she was too late.
Every rustle in the trees made her heart flutter, but she kept running.
She had fought off four dakii already and avoided countless others. Her path was wild and chaotic, anything to throw them off her tracks. The night air was cool, but the breeze blowing down from the mountains was colder; a welcome sensation against her sweaty skin and hot muscles.
She had an idea of where Hadima would lead the hunting party, and she could only hope that they hadn’t gone somewhere new.
She could hear a pack of dakii in the distance, far enough away that they wouldn’t hear her, but close enough to make her pump her already exhausted legs faster. She was grateful for all the time she spent running; otherwise, there was no way she could have gone so far so fast for so long. As it was, the time she had to find them and make it back in time was dwindling.
When a few figures finally formed between the trees, Iryana threw her head back in relief. She had made it in time.
There were five of them, wearing dark grays and browns to blend into the forest as they moved carefully around the trees. But after all the techniques and strategies she had learned with the brigade, the deficiencies in their tactics were glaring.
The realization made Iryana frown. She had convinced Hadima to take them on hunts, not knowing how truly unprepared they were.
Looking them over as she closed the distance, Iryana could see they hadn’t run into the dakii yet.
She was exhausted, ready to drop on the spot. Every muscle in her body burned and trembled; her breaths were quick and ragged,but she had made it.
Hadima was clutching her wooden bow, and Sanora and Levek, both too young to be forged, held unforged weapons too. Levek had a long spear, while Sanora carried a long, slender sword. Kladara and Tonhald were with them too, and Iryana was surprised by that.
Why had Hadima brought them? Tonhald had a newborn at home and was a bit too bad at keeping secrets for sneaking around. Her cousin, Kladara, was another story. But they both held their forged air-bows, and the small golden bows would do far more against the dakii than the others’ weapons.
That at least made her feel a bit better.
She tensed as they noticed her.
