“Are you ready?” she asked, settling back into the alcove and turning toward him.
Pyetar cupped her cheek and pressed his lips to hers, quick and fast. And then he was pulling away before Iryana had fully registered the kiss. “Now I am. On your signal.”
“What was that?” she asked, breathless and confused.
“Hope? A prayer?” He chuckled, not sounding nearly as nervous as she felt. “Just in case.”
She couldn’t let herself think too long on that, so she let out the whistle Vaneshta would be waiting for. For a few agonizing moments, nothing happened. And then the gate started to open.
“Good luck,” Pyetar nodded at her with a tense smile.
She nodded, looking him over, what little she could see with all his armor. She hoped this wouldn’t be their last moment together.
Iryana charged across the road, Dinhal and Teshya following her, while the others waited. She needed a head start before the alarm was raised.
She had been at the fort just the day before, but it felt strange marching in now. She was there as a guardian for the first time.
Right inside the gate, Vaneshta and Lidishta waited with a group of soldiers. She met their eyes. Saw Mezhimar, Vabihn, and Pepha. No Shahn.
“You don’t have long,” Vaneshta said, clapping her on the shoulder as Iryana briefly paused. “The longer we wait, the longer we risk losing control of the gate before the others make it in.”
“I won’t need long,” she promised, gesturing for her uncle and Teshya to follow her.
Iryana’s Uncle Dinhal came to her side. With his full guardian armor on, he looked fierce: broad chested, tall, and with a vicious look in his eyes.
“Ready?” Iryana asked.
“Completely,” he said, his voice deeper and more gruff than usual.
Teshya looked less sure, cloak wrapped tightly around her.
They moved away from the main roads and hugged the shadows. Iryana knew these paths unquestionably after months of sneaking around in the dark, and Dinhal was surprisingly stealthy for a man of his size. Only Teshya struggled, but she was slight enough that it hardly mattered.
“Do you see the big estate?” Iryana said over her shoulder as she led them parallel to the main road, hugging right under the wall.
“Yeah,” Teshya said as she tucked in next to her.
Iryana looked at her cousin-in-law, really looked at her. Teshya was beautiful; her dark, curling hair barely stayed in a braid. Her large, wide-set brown eyes were full of nerves. She was everything to Tonhald, and Iryana would do everything in her power to make sure she came home to him. To ensure she came home to her little daughter.
“When we get to the spot, you don’t come out until I give the signal,” Iryana reminded her. “No matter what, got it?”
“I know,” she smiled slightly. “Tonhald reminded me at least a dozen times on the way over here.”
“We’ll keep you safe,” Uncle Dinhald promised, squeezing Teshya’s arm.
“Alright, this part will be trickier.” Iryana turned back to the path she had chosen for them to take. “Stay right behind me.”
As they started rushing along the wall again, Iryana could hear Pyetar leading the rest of the soldiers through the gate. Then the first sounds of fighting brokeout somewhere behind her. A few shouts called out, but it was blocks away. The alarm bell on the wall didn’t ring. Vaneshta wouldn’t let it ring.
The sound only continued to grow after that. Iryana focused on getting them to Karvek’s manor unseen, not letting herself worry about Pyetar and the others.
Creeping along the fence of the house until the manor was only a quick sprint away, Iryana paused.
“You okay?” Dinhal asked, lifting his helmet.
Iryana nodded absently, going through the plan again. It was getting harder and harder to pretend with Karvek, but she needed to show him what he wanted.
One more time.She could do it, she reminded herself.
