She spent hours looking over the maps, making notes. Karvek watched her at first, then eventually migrated to his desk, working on something else while she tracked every detail she could. Even the smallest coincidences. The hall outside his study gradually grew louder, but she shut it out. Ignored everything beyond those four walls.
The world outside the windows was dark when Karvek finally spoke, passing her a warm cup of spiced tea.
“Thank you,” she murmured, realizing they’d missed dinner. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
“What do you have so far?” he asked intently.
She took a deep breath, pulling a diagram to the top. “I think this is the base plan, if nothing goes wrong or changes. It doesn’t exactly match any of the others, but when I account for other factors and isolate the changes, this is what we’re left with.”
He leaned forward, eyes tracing the diagram intently. She held her breath.
“And what about the things that change, can you predict them?”
“The notes here—” she pulled another paper on top. “I started noting the different factors and how they affected the base paths. But a lot of the factors seem to stack, which makes it complicated.”
Karvek leaned closer, eyes narrowing.
“And here,” she said, flipping to another. “This part is interesting. Sometimes there is a guard who hugs this back wall more often than others. And based on the timing, it’s probably the same one. I wonder if they have a specific reason to fear that part of the wall. Perhaps they lost a friend there during a breach? Sorry, it doesn’t really matter why. And it’s so small, but it changes the window of opportunity during their shifts just a little. Probably doesn’t matter enough, but I found it interesting.”
“Such a slight thing, yet you noticed it,” he pointed out, watching her intensely.
“It just… clicked for me.” She smiled softly without even realizing it. “It was something I read once about how soldiers respond to pressure. They don’t follow orders mindlessly. They respond to what theyexpectto happen. To instinct. Whether it’s justified or not.”
Karvek studied her for a moment, unreadable.
“You’re brilliant, Iryana.” His voice was steady, sure. As if he were remarking on something as inarguable as the color of the sky.
Her stomach flipped with discomfort.
It felt strange being appreciated, especially by someone who seemed to see her so clearly. Knew how she preferred to be alone, how she struggled to trust others, how she hated things out of her control. And he didn’t seem to think less of her. For her faults. Her broken edges. It turned his compliment into something more precious. Something that wouldn’t be taken back or regretted later.
She glanced toward her abandoned bag near the door. She still had to admit her failure in combing the city to her captain, now very late.
But she had a chance here. With Karvek. A real way to prove herself and get access to a well regardless of how well she fit in with her team.
“Let me help you.” She turned to him. “Whatever you need.”
He considered her for a long moment.
“You can’t say a word about it to anyone.” His voice was hard, serious. “And I won’t be able to tell you everything.”
He was offering her trust. And she knew how much that meant to him. “Of course.”
“Very well, my little guardian. Consider yourself on board.”
She smiled. “I won’t let you down, Major.”
“I know.” He gave a sharp half-smile. “And in here, it’s just Karvek.”
She ignored the twinge of worry deep in her gut, the bit of her still questioning what Karvek wanted. If it meant saving her family, it didn’t matter.
When Iryana finally left his office, she felt warm. Full of hope. She’d be going back, meeting with Karvek every day after her assignments from Darish were done. So long as the major didn’t get pulled away for something important. And only until the mission kicked off. But still. Days to prove herself, to make herself invaluable. She’d have something promising to report to her sister.Hopeto offer.
Over the next few nights, a quiet rhythm settled between them. Each afternoon after Darish dismissed her, Iryana returned to Karvek’s study, where the maps and plans covered every available surface of the room. One of the young initiates working in the kitchens would bring dinner to the door, and they would eat quietly while they worked. Sometimes Vaneshta would be in bed before she got back to their room.
Her presence in Karvek’s study didn’t go unnoticed. It was a hard thing to hide given his office was off the main hall. He had told her to tell anyone who asked that she was walking him through how the guardian posts and the settlement functioned, which some seemed to believe. She heard the whispers of what they thought she was really doing in there, though. Whattheywere doing.
Karvek said he didn’t care about those rumors either. “Let them believe what they want,” he’d said with an amused tone. “As long as no one knows what we're really planning.” So Iryana focused instead on helping.
