And she knew she’d need time, so much time.Too much timeto do it at any point in an actual fight. She was exhausted, her magic more sluggish than it had ever been, her body so close to falling unconscious.
Her mouth gaped in a strangled stream as shepushedwith her magic.
But finally.Finally.
Her metal-forged dagger found form through Karvek’s chest, the handle pressed against her palm.
Karvek jerked, his hand loosening slightly. His face twisted with confusion, his body not yet processing the dagger inside him.
She took advantage of his loosening grip to fully wrap her fingers around the dagger’s handle, her joints aching under the pressure of Karvek’s weight. No longer focusing all her energy on forming her dagger, Iryana realized people were screaming. Pyetar was yelling her name; her family was calling for her, begging.
They saw Karvek strangling her and thought that was it. They thought Iryana was dead. They didn’t know what she had done.
Karvek still didn’t realize it, despite the blood now leaking over Iryana’s hands. She stared into his eyes and twisted the dagger, shoving it deeper. He jerked again; more confusion lit his face. His hands moved to the wood-bricked road at her sides and he leaned back as blood started trickling out of his mouth. Then he pushed up, muscles shaking, lifting his body off her dagger.
It made a stomach-churning sucking sound.
He stared in shock at the red pouring out of him. Bewilderment spread across his face as he looked back up at her. Iryana didn’t waste the opportunity.
She drove her forged blade into Karvek’s neck.
His death was so quick that Iryana only saw a flash of shock and awareness before Karvek’s eyes flickered and his body sagged. Iryana shoved him, his body dropping to the ground with a thud at her side. Releasing the dagger, blood spurted out of Karvek’s neck.
His body lay still in the growing pool of red.
She’d done it. She’d killed him.
Her hand touched her throbbing throat as she sucked in air. Slowly, her vision cleared, and the ringing quieted. She tried to swallow, but it hurt nearly as badly as her head.
Karvek was dead, which meant… she scrambled to her feet, ignoring the way the world tried to spin around her, and met the eyes of Karvek’s people.
With a burst of luck and willpower, Iryana managed to cast her spear and staff, pointing them at the soldiers. She flashed her teeth through the blood coating her face, promising death to anyone who dared challenge her now.
Her eyes found Pyetar, and she struggled to comprehend the state of him. He was alive.Theywere alive. He met her shocked stare with one of overwhelming relief.
A grin spread across Pyetar’s face.
“Karvek is dead,” she screamed, her voice rougher and deeper than usual, and the crowd roiled. “The 18th listens to me now. And I name Pyetar Horvol as general of the 18th.”
That divided the soldiers. Those near the front—the ones most loyal to Karvek—looked angry and confused. The others, though, they looked relieved.
The soldiers holding Pyetar backed away as Iryana stalked toward them, holding her spear and staff in each hand. It wasn’t like she could use either weapon well like that, but the effect of her metal and water-forged weapons had the soldiers backing away like she was one of the dakii.
“Untie them,” she demanded.
Soldiers who had been near the back of the crowd, ones that had been in the brigade for longer and respected Pyetar, rushed forward. The bags and ropes were taken off the Kleesolds, and they were helped to their feet.
She watched as Pyetar was freed right in front of her. As he stood slowly. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Bloody and beaten because of Karvek. But Karvek was dead.
“Bring out the other prisoners now,” Pyetar ordered. “And have them released. All of them.”
Many of the soldiers didn’t hesitate to obey their new leader. The others, with a single look from their new general, took control of the crowd, creating a barrier between the soldiers and Pyetar and the Kleesolds. Some of Karvek’s most loyal fought back, but they were quickly subdued.
Iryana was still standing there with her staff and spear, coiled like she was ready to attack. She couldn’t believe it was over, that the danger was gone.
Since the spring melts, she had been working toward this moment.
She lost sight of the Kleesolds as the crowds rushed to follow Pyetar’s order.
