“It was the only choice,” she said tightly. “And I had to do something.”
“Why do you care about them so much?” he pressed. “I saw where you lived. Alone on that ridge, far away from the rest of them.”
“I chose to live alone,” she snapped, but then her voice softened. “But it’s not because I don’t love my family. I do, I just… can’t be around them.”
She shook her head slightly, jaw clenched, but forced herself to continue. “Just trust that I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family. I know Karvek is a murderer, and I don’twantto help him. But I need to be accepted into the brigade. I need to be metal-forged.”
Pyetar was quiet again, but something shifted behind his eyes.
“You went out to warn them,” he said slowly, realization dawning in his eyes. “About the dakii.”
She gave a small nod and looked away. “They were in the Yuresh Valley. I had to make sure they got back safely.”
“I actually tried to leave the brigade once,” Pyetar admitted quietly. “Tried to disappear, join one of the settlements and forget about my brother.”
Iryana’s eyes snapped back to his.
“But Karvek found out. Somehow.” His voice was pained. “My friends who took me in ended up dead. I know it was my brother.” Pyetar rolled his shoulders back, like he was pushing a weight off. “I can’t leave. Not without Karvek killing anyone who helps me.”
Then his voice quieted further. “Please be careful around him. I know you’ve seen what he’s capable of.”
Iryana could only nod. Pyetar was staring at her so intently.
Then his eyes flicked down, just briefly, to her mouth.
The moment stretched between them, breathless and still. She could see it now. He kept himself as isolated as she did. They were both guarded and alone.
Andthis—the tension pulsing between them. It was familiar. Almost comforting.
She’d always turned to distraction when she was stretched too thin. And right now? She was frayed, burning at both ends.
But it would be a mistake. He knew too much already. That, if nothing else, meant he was the wrong kind of distraction. She saw him realize it at the same time she did.
He pulled back suddenly, awkwardly. Like flinching from a fire that’d burned him.
He cleaned up quickly, almost clumsily, not meeting her eyes. Iryana slipped off the table.
Pyetar brought her a clean shirt and a fresh bowl of water, then some more rags to clean herself up.
Then he left, giving her space. Or maybe protecting them from what they’d both briefly considered doing. She didn’t bother waiting for him to come back.
She slipped out his back door and into the soft wash of dawn.
Iryana managed to avoid both Horvol brothers for a few days. She had the chaos of the fortress to thank. Vaneshta had given her some strange looks when she’d moved too gingerly and when she saw the bundle of Pyetar’s clothes shoved in the corner. Thankfully, she’d said nothing about it.
The extra herds of dakii traveling through the area mostly moved on, calling for a flurry of patrols and scouting missions to check the lay of the land. And amidst the chaos, they still had the normal chores of summer. Honey was gathered, fish were caught, and fields were tended.
Then a representative from the King Commander had visited a few days ago, arriving with far more pomp and revelry than was truly called for. Karvek had been absent from the hall through most of that visit, Pyetar distracted and missing most of their team’s training sessions.
The visit had seemed to divide the fort. Some didn’t mind the King Commander, liked the idea of sticking together and working together. Vaneshta was one of them. But many, the newer soldiers especially, seemed to itch at the idea of more control. Iryana just wanted whatever would bring peace.
Despite his claims when he took control, Karvek had entertained the representative.
Almost as soon as the representative left, a rider had come to Myura River, calling for help from one of the villages of water-forged. It wasn’t as if the entire fortress scrambled to answer their call, but Iryana was shocked with how much and how quickly help was sent.
It calmed the quiet arguments about the King Commander at least.
Iryana had wanted to know how the soldiers operated when truly protecting one of the settlements, but her team had been assigned near-constant patrols instead.
