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He nodded, reaching out to run a hand down her back and pulling her to his side. She took a moment to lean into him, enjoy his presence, and then grabbed his hand so they could head back.

When Pyetar and Iryana returned to the temple, Iryana intentionally walked a few steps away from Pyetar, putting the distance back between them. Yet the moment they ran into Sergeant Soshya and her team playing a game of sticks in the courtyard, Iryana froze.

“Welcome back, General,” the sergeant said, lips twisted into a frown. “Third,” she added, like an afterthought. Two of the soldiers were glaring at Iryana suspiciously; the other two smirked.

Iryana wanted to be offended, but she couldn’t say their trip had been entirely… on task.

Pyetar did little more than nod, and she looked over to see his face was hard and emotionless. Already masked.

“We have room for one more. Will you join us, General?” The sergeant asked him.

Iryana swallowed. They wanted him on their side, not on hers. She understood, but it still did uncomfortable things to her insides.

“I will check in with you later,” Iryana said quietly, nodding her head at Pyetar in farewell. He had to keep his soldiers happy, and she didn’t want him to worry about her while doing it.

When she dropped her pack off in her room and changed, Edvar was surprisingly not there. She tried to cull the worry, but her mind spun with what-ifs and worst-case scenarios. Iryana hurried back into the hall, peeking into every open door.

Vaneshta and the team were in their room, so she popped in and asked, “Vani, do you know where my cousin is?”

“Welcome back,” Vaneshta said. “He’s been doing an afternoon watch in the tower. Only time he comes out of his room.”

She let out a relieved breath.

They were dressed casually, not even in their armor. Vaneshta and Lidishta sat on one lower bunk, while Mezhimar was scrunched up next to Pepha, clearly failing to find a comfortable way to sit in the small space.

“Have any of the forgings finished?” she asked next.

“Not yet,” Lidishta answered, which wasn’t a surprise, given they’d only been down at the well for several days. “Did you and the general find anything out there?”

Pyetar must have told them more about the purpose of their trip than she had expected. “Not much. Poppies, a young dakii, and some evasive packs. Nothing we hadn’t heard about, but still unusual.”

“The whole thing makes me nervous,” Pepha complained, wringing her hands.

“We’ll adapt,” Mezhimar told Pepha, smiling reassuringly. “We always do.”

A touch grazed along Iryana’s arm, and she snapped her head around to find Pyetar making his way toward his room. He looked back at her and winked.

Iryana jerked her head back to the team, fighting a smile.

“So, is that going to be a thing, or isn’t it?” Vaneshta asked.

“What?” She averted her eyes to the piles of unkempt clothing strewn across the floor.

“You and the general,” Lidishta said with a dramatic sigh. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I can’t imagine that’s not going to be a thing.”

“Everyone certainly thinks it is already,” Pepha said awkwardly, looking around again.

Mezhimar leaned forward, looking like he was about to fall off the bed. “Do you want me to do something about that?”

Iryana shook her head quickly. She’d seen a taste of how Mezhimar got even back at the fort, underhanded tactics that could kindly be called pranks. She didn’t think his brand of getting even would help the situation, entertaining as it would be.

They kept looking at her still. Waiting for an answer. Iryana slid the door shut behind herself so no one would overhear. The urge to deny it was strong, but these were her friends. And they weren’t stupid. And she didn’t want to lie to them.

“Relations between our people aren’t in a place where anything between us would be accepted,” she explained, fumbling her braid between her fingers for comfort. “My clan may have fought beside you a couple of months ago, may have accepted some level of alliance, but they don’t trust the brigades. Don’t trust Pyetar in particular. They would not take it well if I told them, and I don’t want them to think I’m pushing for us to work more closely with you because I want to be in his bed.” She swallowed awkwardly. “And it wouldn’t be well-received at the fort either.”

Mezhimar groaned. “Hatred, the greatest impediment to love.” Iryana just blinked at him in surprise.

Lidishta seemed to be seriously considering it, though, tilting her head back and forth as she thought. “Some of the fort wouldn’t care. Some would even be happy about it; there are still some who talk about you like you’re one of the gods themselves. Ugh, the overexaggerated stories I’ve heard in the hall about how you took down Karvek are disgusting.”