She sat up straighter. “Major. Uh, thank you.”
“What are you working on?”
“Just thinking about dakya tactics.”
She was unreasonably nervous and self-conscious as he looked over her papers, shuffling a few around. There was a sharp interest in his gaze, but he stepped back easily.
“You’re very intelligent, Iryana.” He gave her one of his small smirks. “I made the right choice inviting you here.”
She blinked after him as Karvek walked to his office, unable to look back down at her papers until he had shut the door behind them.
Iryana stood on one side of the barrack’s yard, fighting one of the small straw dummies they dragged out on sunny days. She had braided her hair as tight as she could, but wisps of light brown-and-honey hair had escaped, sticky on her sweaty skin.
There was no formal training going on, just a few batches of soldiers and recruits sparring and going over techniques. There was a particularly rowdy mock fight going on between Lidishta and Vaneshta; a small crowd surrounded them.
Ignoring the others, Iryana moved through a series of swings and dodges with a training staff, imagining a roaring, horned head in place of the dummy’s.
She hadn’t bothered with armor or one of the short overdresses she had brought with her. Her whole body was on fire, sweat coating her back. Her long white shirt was tucked into her pants to keep it from getting in the way, sleevesshoved above her elbows. It was a warm spring day, though they were still in the first quarter of the Greening Moon.
Karvek had been back for a week, and she was feeling the pressure more acutely than ever. Somehow, amidst disappointing her team and captain, she had impressed the major. It wasn’t helping her sanity. She needed to work the aggression out.
A cheer rose up and Iryana faltered in her lunge, eyes swiping across the yard. Vaneshta had won the bout—no surprise there—but Lidishta was already challenging her again. She was going to be an entitled ass once forged.
Iryana preferred training outside the fort, where she was free from suspicious eyes. She had a series of targets set up across the river and ran the course each morning until she hit every target.
Unfortunately, she needed everyone to see how hard she was working, given her recent failures. So that meant training among them.
The main yard gate opened with a groan, and Darish stepped through right as she spun with another hit to the dummy. Just on time. He walked across the wall walk of the barracks and watched for a while each day, around late morning. Iryana would try to be there for training every day. Prove her dedication.
From behind her, Iryana heard Darish talking. Iryana peeked over at him. He usually came alone, but today Karvek was walking beside him, Pyetar trailing behind. None of them looked happy.
Her whole body seemed to grow even hotter. Why were they here? Pyetar alone made her uncomfortable, especially after he had seen her huddled on the forest floor, terror surely all over her face. Just imagining it made her squirm.
But Karvek was there too. The jacket wrapped around his athletic build was fit for a commander; shining buttons, gold belt, metal pins. He prowled across the wall walk with such sharp intent that many soldiers in the yard visibly stiffened. She barely saw him outside the estate, and he seemed to come and go from the fort. He seemed her best chance to win her place.
She started going through her more fundamental movements, but more slowly now, so she could try to listen. Iryana drew out each lunge, each move, until her muscles burned. She watched them out of the corner of her eye.
“He’s been taken care of,” Karvek was saying.
Darish nodded back. “So, is it time to move forward with the other mission?”
“There are still a few things to figure out.” Karvek rolled his neck. “But we should be able to start soon.”
Karvek and Darish shared a look; the corner of Darish’s mouth curved up.
Pyetar stared intensely, his gaze darting between them. “What mission?”
Karvek’s lips quirked. “You had your chance to be involved in this.”
“You need me doing what I’m doing.”
“Don’t tell me what I need.” Karvek’s voice was deceptively calm. “You have your orders. Stick to them. Don’t give me another reason to doubt your loyalty.”
Interesting, Iryana thought as she slid into a lunge with her staff extended in front of her.
Pyetar’s body was still relaxed, but Iryana saw something coil inside him. Like a panther that hung lazily in the trees, not wanting to alert its prey while preparing to pounce. There were many layers to the look he was giving Karvek, and she couldn’t figure out how to peel them back.
“And brother?” Karvek stepped up close to Pyetar, taking advantage of his extra height to look down at him. “Don’t wait until tomorrow to visit the settlements.”
