Well, it was too late for that.
Iryana frowned, but it didn’t really change anything. Pyetar wanted her out, and Karvek was the one who had accepted her. That made things clear enough for now. As long as Pyetar didn’t poison Karvek’s opinion of her, she would be fine.
As if he knew her thoughts, Pyetar walked into the yard through the main gate, heading toward Captain Antar. Her eyes fell on Pyetar’s belt, and she realized it wasn’t any of the colors Vaneshta told her about. His belt was black. She would have to find out what that meant later.
“Apparently the guardian impressed Karvek by killing a beast, even though she’s unforged.” Lidishta’s voice carried over the yard, and she sent a look their way.
“Sounds like she got lucky.” Darish answered just as loud. He turned toward the training groups, rested his hands on the railing, and raised a brow at Iryana in challenge.
This was a test, Iryana realized. The training slowed, and everyone around seemed to wait for her response. They were thugs—they only respected strength. Of all the faces now staring at her, Pyetar seemed the most interested. His gaze was piercing.
They were all waiting for her to mess up,hewas waiting for it. Her throat was tight, and she was suddenly too warm, but she forced her body to appear relaxed.
“I’ve been on watch for dakii since I was sixteen,” she called out in a clear voice. “Sometimes that meant taking down dakii that got too close.” Iryana shrugged. “It’s what I trained for. We don’t wait until we’re forged to leave the safety of our walls.”
Lidishta rolled her eyes, disbelief all over her face. Pyetar’s frown deepened. Disbelieving chatter rose around her.
So sorry to disappoint, Iryana thought, clinging to her anger.
“What better way to back up those claims than to prove it?” Darish was smiling now. “We have a pit outside the wall, perfect for this.”
Iryana frowned, not sure what he was suggesting, and while the other recruits seemed just as confused as she was, the ranked soldiers murmured excitedly.
“Darish, what are you doing?” Pyetar asked calmly. “We’ve never sent an unforged into the pit.”
“I think the guardians have grown weak, hiding in their settlements, but maybe I’m wrong. If she’s as good as she claims, this won’t be a problem. And if she’s not, well, she’ll learn quickly that things are harder out here.”
Lidishta smiled and clapped her brother on the shoulder. “I think it’s a brilliant idea.”
“The pit is a bad idea,” Vaneshta whispered urgently next to Iryana’s ear. As if Lidishta’s enthusiasm hadn’t made that clear enough.
“Why?”
“It’s a fighting pit. For training against dakii we’ve captured.”
Iryana whirled to look at her. They captured the dakii? Fought them for sport?
“Well, little guardian?” Darish chuckled. “What do you think?”
Her eyes flicked to Pyetar, who shook his head slightly, as if to say she didn’t have a chance. Anger coursed through her.What was his problem?
She needed to impress them, right? The sooner she saw a well or learned something useful enough, she could go home.
She forced a confident smirk onto her face. “Sounds fun.”
Darish’s lips turned up into a bloodthirsty smile. He wanted her to fail, and he wanted it to be bloody. She could see it on his face.
“I’ll grab your stuff,” Vaneshta grumbled, worry pressing the slash of her lips thinner. But she took the supplies Iryana had been carrying and hurried toward their room.
With Captain Darish’s shouted invitation to spectate, everyone was herded out of the barracks, Iryana trapped in the crush. The previously sluggish trainees seemed bolstered by excitement.
“You have no self-preservation, do you?” A low, soft voice growled as she was pulled along by the crush of people. “You getting ripped apart in that pit will cause us such a mess with your family.”
She turned to find Pyetar over her shoulder, pressed in by the crowd. But before she could respond, he had slipped away back through the people. He reappeared at the front of the crowd at Captain Darish’s side.
Why did he think so little of her? Did he think she could only survive dakii by outrunning them? Besides, he was wrong. Her clan wouldn’t put themselves up against the brigade just for vengeance over her death. Especially not forherdeath. It went against their oaths and everything the guardians stood for.
She looked away, focusing on the growing horde as they moved through the fort toward the main entrance she had only seen glimpses of so far.
