Arrow drawn part-way, Iryana stepped out from behind the tree and into the moonlit glade.
Amidst the frozen mud and jagged mounds of snow, blood was splattered across the clearing. What could have bled so much? Not one creature, surely. Then she noticed the forms of two more dakii at the far end of the space, bodies twisted into impossible shapes.
Then a roar tore through the air, and a large, mottled-gray body flew out of the trees and straight toward her. Its fog-blue mane rippled behind its snarling face. Blood gushed from a wound in its side.
Before she even had the chance to think it through, Iryana’s bow was raised, her arm pulling back, and an arrow whizzing away from her fingers. She already had another in her hand when the first sank into the beast’s eye, not as deeply as she wanted. Any normal creature would have been felled by such a strike, but the dakii were not normal creatures.
As she loosed the next arrow, a wildness took over her. This time, instead of drawing another arrow, she drew her knife.
Letting the dakya nearly crash into her shield, Iryana dove and thrust into the beast with her knife, letting her sideways momentum tear the blade through its shoulder. It roared, but she kept moving, drawing an arrow.
The dakya swung wide as she raced a few steps away, just enough to trigger its chase instincts.
Everything else in the forest disappeared as she tracked every beat of the beast’s paws against the earth, every momentum-gaining stride, and timed the exact moment to dodge.
She breathed. Once. Twice. And then dove, crashing over her shoulder painfully as she felt something graze her foot.
The dakya had been moving far too fast, far too frenzied to slow quickly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, she ran backwards as she reached for her arrow. Hoping for a few more moments.
The two-horned dakya dug its feet into the slippery ground to turn, forcing its large body around, but Iryana hit it with another arrow even as she continued moving backwards. This one sank into its neck, an inch from where Iryana was aiming.
She clenched her jaw.
It was gaining on her now, and she needed it to slow down, just enough to take her shot. She leaped into a diving roll, forcing the dakya to turn, to slow just a little, and reached for an arrow before she was back on her feet. The second she had room to draw, Iryana was nocking and firing.
Her heart seemed to stop beating, and time seemed to slow down as she watched the arrow spin.
If she missed, the dakya would be upon her before she could draw again, but that wild frenzy in her mind stilled her hand from grabbing pointlessly for another arrow.
The arrow hit its mark—but the dakya kept coming.
Iryana closed her eyes, bracing herself and her shield where she was still crouched on the ground. The magic felt weak; she had been using it too heavily for too long.
She let out her breath, and it was more with acceptance than anything else.
It was over.
But Iryana wasn’t tackled and a thud a few feet away jolted her eyes open instead. The dakya lay in a bed of snow, soft whimpers and blood coming from its mouth.
Iryana wasn’t sure what she felt at having survived, but it wasn’t relief. And that made her angry. She couldn't abandon her family, not now.
The silence split as loud clapping sounded through the clearing. Iryana spun, reaching for an arrow.
It was a man walking toward her, tall and lean, hands outstretched as he clapped for her. The barest hint of a smirk only sharpened the planes of his face.
She was stunned, motionless as he stared at her with a look so intense she wondered if she’d ever move again.
A man in the woods? There were connections to be made, to the dead dakii and the blood in the clearing, but her mind didn’t reach for them.
Shaking her head, Iryana looked over him carefully, but she couldn’t see even a single dagger on his body. Yet, the slight hollow of his cheeks and his sharp jaw were smeared with blood. And the steel plates of brigandine armor flashed as his cloak billowed behind him.
“You’re not even forged, are you?” the man asked, head pitched to the side. “Yet you took down a dakya all on your own. Impressive.”
She just stared at him.
“Who are you?” he asked.
