“I have some specifics we need to go over too.” Vaneshta pulled out a scrap of paper she’d been working on, plans for taking the fort.
By candlelight, they prepared for every factor, every possibility they could think of. There was so much that could go wrong.
Pyetar left the next morning on a mission that Lidishta had convinced her brother to send him on. It was a cover, though, to meet the River Brigade’s marching forces and finalize their part of the plan.
At Myura River, it was a flurry of preparations. Vaneshta and Lidishta kept spreading word and doubt, and Iryana split her time between making sure the Kleesolds were ready and making sure Karvek didn’t suspect a thing.
It was difficult, but despite the exhaustion, Iryana felt like she was finally and completely doing the right thing.
Chapter Forty
“Are you sure they’re ready?” Iryana asked Pyetar as she paced in the clearing.
The sun was just rising; the tips of the trees were engulfed in light, but the forest floor held lingering shadows. The air was still cool, even through the armor they wore. She wished she had the familiar overlapping hardened leather plates of her guardian armor, but Karvek would find that too suspicious.
“I’m sure. They sent most of their forces into the city throughout the night. They are in position. And Jesha is on her way to meet us. I had a message from her this morning.” His head was lolling back and forth as she paced, tracking her movements.
“Good.” Even though it had to be the third time she had asked.
She looked to the sky, to the slowly advancing line of light, and then into the trees. “They’re late.”
“Barely.”
“Everything has to run smoothly.”
Pyetar stepped into her path, forcing her to stop so she didn’t barrel into him. He grabbed her arms, and the unexpected contact cleared her mind for amoment as she focused on him. They’d been keeping their distance, not touching or lingering too close.
“The plan is good,” Pyetar assured her. “We have to trust we’ve done all we can.”
The crack and swishing of people quietly moving through the trees reached them both. Iryana sagged with relief, but Pyetar stiffened slightly.
“Iryana,” Pyetar said urgently, an awkwardness to the way he held her gaze. “Please promise me you will do everything you can to make it through this. No reckless heroism, no rushing off to handle it all yourself. I don’t know what I—just promise me.”
Her breath caught as she traced his features with her eyes. “Pyetar, we’re attacking the fort. I’m going up against Karvek. I can’t promise I will survive it.”
“Promise me you’ll try. Please.” He pulled her closer now, urgently. Her body was nearly pressed against his.
“Alright,” she whispered.
Iryana felt a little shaky staring into his blue eyes. They were an impossibility, but the way he was looking at her—was it just the impending danger? Or would the intent behind the heat in his gaze last? She wanted to fold into him, to feel his warmth and his strength around her. For him to make her feel safe just a little longer.
The snapping of a branch broke the trance they’d found in each other’s eyes. Pyetar stepped back as the Kleesolds started entering the clearing.
Iryana found her sister first.
Hadima wore her guardian armor, but she would stay in a camp nearby, ready to follow behind the others once the fighting was over. To heal the injured. Still, her presence worried Iryana. Hadima wasn’t fully recovered yet, though she put on a brave face. Iryana would have preferred Hadima stayed home with Misha, but they’d need her healing skills.
The First marched up to Iryana, looking healthier than she had in months, with a fierce look on her face. It was the first time Iryana had seen her grandmother in guardian armor since they had settled at their post. A wave of nostalgia and memories from her youth brought a current of confidence.
“Are you ready to go the rest of the way?” Iryana asked the First, stepping away from Pyetar.
Her grandmother nodded. “We camped last night, so we’ve only been marching a few hours this morning.”
“Karvek and most of the soldiers we’re expecting to be the biggest threat should be sleeping still. The sooner we get to the fort, the more disrupted they should be.”
“And we have control of the gate?”
“Yes, Sergeant Vaneshta will be ready to open it for us. And there will be friendly guards near the river and the secret path through the rope line, so the forces waiting to enter that way won’t have trouble.”
