She darted across the field to the mansion, tucking into the shadows before the last light along the wall went out. She froze, waiting, her muscles tense with excitement. Something about the rhythm of it all sent her heart flying.
Iryana frowned. The last light still hadn’t gone out. Had she missed it? Or had the soldier turned back for some reason? She couldn’t get caught.
Karvek had been very clear about that.
The last lantern went dark, and Iryana sagged with relief. She wasted no time tracing the back fences and walls of the mansion. The curtains to Karvek’s study were pulled tight, glimmers of light shining through where they met. It was supposed to look like he was inside, working late into the night like he had been every other night for the last week.
Another watch for the soldiers on the wall, and then Iryana was across the field, across the road that circled the entire wall within the fort, and then into the bottom floor of the tower.
There were no lanterns inside; there never were, but Iryana could trace the wall to the stairs where she’d find the rope bridge to take her across the river. That wasn’t where she was supposed to go this time, though.
She made her way into the side passage that led inside the wall, having no idea what would happen once she got there. It was where her instructions ended.
Iryana hated the anticipation sending goosebumps down her arms and the queasy feeling in her stomach, like she had jumped off a cliff and was still waiting to hit the ground.
Something brushed her arm, and Iryana fought the urge to strike. The gasp stuck in her throat.
“Iryana.”
She knew instantly that it was Karvek; his voice was low but melodic, even more so in the dark. And with him so close, she recognized the smells of his evening habits. The woody bite of pepper from the infused vodka he drank, always from the same chipped crystal glass. That strange scent from the ink he used for his notes, the sharp alcoholic stench softened by something that reminded her of hawthorn bark.
“It’s me,” she whispered, not that there was anyone else around to hear.
“Did anyone see you?”
“No. My team will know I left when I don’t show up for morning training, though.”
“That’s okay.”
She hesitated, but her hatred of the unexpected forced her to ask again, “Can you tell me now? What the plan is once we get inside?”
Karvek tensed. For all the details that Karvek shared with her, walking through the logistics of the mission over and over at that table in his office, Iryana had no idea how Karvek planned to deal with the other faction. If he expected a fight, or if they would fall in line once the general officially handed over power.
Guardians were traditionally trained to fight other people—usually the invaders from overseas that kidnapped and trafficked the forged people ofIstri—but with the dakii, there’d been little need for that training. She’d never had to kill someone, to actually fight them beyond sparring. The thought of having to do it for Karvek was unsettling.
“This is too important to mess up.” He was leaning down so that his mouth was right next to her ear. “You know everything you need to for your part, and I need you focused on that.”
Iryana knew what he was really saying. It was a warning.
He showed her a lot of trust, involving her as he did. But she knew how he felt about relying on others. About handling things himself. He needed her to trust him back.
“I know everything I need to,” she repeated.
“Yes, let’s go.”
Karvek grabbed her hand and led her into what she guessed was the corridor inside the wall based on the musty smell. There was a creak as he did something she couldn’t see, and moonlight flooded the space. A door in the wall. Iryana memorized the location, the shape of the door, and hurried out after him. It could come in handy later.
He moved quickly, leading her through the edge of the city and into the trees. On a small path just inside the forest waited a dozen mounted soldiers, ones she had seen hanging around Karvek in the hall or prowling around the fort. Pyetar wasn’t one of them, not that she was surprised given he was still off visiting settlements. Neither was anyone from her team.
She eyed the horses warily. She had ridden a lot as a child, and while her clan had a small stable of horses in the village to aid in visiting the duchess quickly, it had been a while since she’d spent much time on a horse.
Iryana squared her shoulders, ignoring the questioning gazes from the other soldiers Karvek had deemed trustworthy enough to bring with, and mounted the last horse. Thankfully, she did not fall off.
Looking at the others, she had the feeling this mission had been in the works for a long time, the others likely playing their parts for months. Karvek had too many maps and plans for it to have been put together any quicker. And she had only been involved for a week.
This was the mission Pyetar had wanted to know about, that Karvek was keeping him from. The fact Iryana was helping the major when his own enforcer was not allowed to was thrilling.
An unsettled need to prove herself shifted around her belly.
