Chapter Sixteen #2
Things hadn’t been easy on her side either, but Iryana wasn’t going to risk upsetting them by saying that.
“So,” she pondered. “Is that why Pyetar is the way he is? Why Karvek lets him get away with so much?”
Vaneshta gave her a warning look. “Pyetar isn’t half as strict as his father, but who knows what happens between the Horvols.”
Mezhimar leaned forward conspiratorially.
“The 18th Brigade had been led by a Horvol for generations, but Marik had no adult relatives in the brigade other than his sister, and she isn’t technically in the military.
Karvek was only 25 when his father died, far too green to be put in charge of the brigade. ”
That could explain a lot, but as curious as she was, it wasn’t going to help her.
“But back to the dakii,” she blurted, trying to take advantage of their chattiness. “Are there usually younger ones that don’t engage? That isn’t normal in my experience.”
Vaneshta frowned, reflecting, but Mezhimar answered immediately, “I think I've seen it before, especially with the larger packs. I remember taking one out a few missions before you arrived.”
So, not a one-time thing.
Vaneshta looked at her for a long moment, as if unsure whether she wanted to explain further.
But then she sighed and began detailing the set of expected encounters based on how the dakii engaged with them, when they were most common, and which formations were to be used in those cases.
It was impressively detailed. Iryana hung on to every word, trying to commit them to memory.
She had so many questions. “What if—”
“Ah,” Vaneshta stopped her with a raised hand. “I am getting lunch now. Come on, Mezho.”
Iryana relaxed back onto her bench, settling into the following silence. She twisted all the new information she’d learned just as she twisted the sinew between her fingers.
Later that afternoon, with her bow-string weighed down in her room to stretch as it dried, Iryana found herself in the hall just as soldiers were gathering for dinner.
She chose one of the empty tables in the front to sit at, though she knew she should have sat with her team.
But she didn’t want the distraction; her mind was too busy.
Besides, she was failing with them already, wasn’t she?
Iryana spent most of the dinner period hunched over a pile of papers at the otherwise empty table, staying far later than she usually did, sketching out the movements of the dakii from her last encounter as well as those Vaneshta had detailed.
It wasn’t entirely different from what Iryana was used to, but the larger packs definitely seemed more structured.
Completely ignoring the couple making small gasping noises at the table next to her, Iryana shuffled through the pages again, choosing two different ones to compare.
She stared at the little diagrams, mind churning, until she was sure her theory was correct.
The beasts were training the younger generation.
“Interesting work.”
Iryana jumped, looking up to find Karvek standing next to her table, looking at her mess of papers and sketches.
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, sleeves shoved 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.”
Iryana was pretty sure his visits to the settlements were when Pyetar was peddling, unbeknownst to Karvek. Some people from the fort clearly bought as well, but his best customers would be other settlements and posts.
Pyetar looked right at her, and Iryana dropped her gaze, moving through her techniques again. A tingle on her spine said he was still watching her. Did the tension between the brothers mean Pyetar was threatening Karvek’s rule, not wanting to listen to his orders?
Iryana had to admit she knew little about Karvek, but he seemed a just enough ruler for a military gang.
Pyetar would be far worse just based on the fear he instilled and the drug operation he would grow.
She didn’t want the poppy anywhere near the Kleesolds.
They wouldn’t use the stuff if they weren’t desperate, but they had few alternatives these days.
If someone was in enough pain and Hadima had nothing to make it stop, she would offer the poppy as a last resort. And it would inevitably be a mistake.
When she peeked back up, Darish and Karvek had moved further down the walk, talking in lowered voices she couldn’t make out.
“Hey,” Vaneshta’s voice was quiet as she walked up beside her. “You’re pushin’ yourself harder than usual.”
“Yeah.” Iryana shifted, twisting her hand on the staff.
Vaneshta didn’t say anything at first. Just watched Iryana move through a few more strikes. The silence pressed in.
“I could work with you. On the group techniques,” Vaneshta offered at last, leaning against her forged sword. “If you want.”
Iryana went still. “Oh.”
“It might help. Running them together.”
She heard what Vaneshta was really offering. Another chance. A way to rise to meet her standards. She should take it.