Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
The full moon was a harbinger of death.
The fear seemed to burn the alcohol right out of her body. It hit her like an avalanche, burying her. Her family was about to be in far more danger than they knew, than they would be prepared for. And here she was, twirling around with the enemy in a pretty dress.
Her heart was racing; her breath caught in her throat. She could picture Hadima lying between the trees, bleeding out from gashes across her chest. Her cousins’ bodies thrashing as dakii tore into them.
No. She had to warn them, send them home before it was too late. Her whole body trembled.
What if she was too late?
Then she froze.
If she went to warn them, her cousins would know. It wouldn’t be between her and Hadima anymore. They would know what she was trying to do, they would hope, and they would never forgive her if she failed.
That fear cut right through her, and it was almost enough to keep her from going.
But she knew she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Hadima and her cousins were dead and she could have warned them. How could she go on knowing that Misha had lost her older sister? Who would take care of her?
The warehouse was a roar of merriment and dancing as she left it behind. It felt like she was in a daze as she hurried to the empty barracks to grab her armor and weapons. She only stumbled and dropped her bow once.
Before she knew it, she was sneaking through the fortress, climbing the western tower, and heading toward the wall walk. Drunk as she was, she still knew the routines of the guards well enough to avoid them. She moved as quickly as she dared; there was not a lot of time.
When her feet hit the final landing of the tower, a hand grabbed her shoulder.
Iryana jumped and pulled away, squinting into the shadows.
She couldn’t let anyone stop her. There was no point in being metal-forged if her family was dead.
“What are you doing?” the shadow accused, and she recognized Pyetar’s voice.
“Nothing,” she spat, but instantly regretted it. She needed a better excuse.
Pyetar came closer, and she could just make out his face as he asked, “Why the hell would you leave the fortress? Did you not hear how many dakii are nearby?”
“I heard.”
“Then where are you going?”
Iryana didn’t answer. She didn’t think he would believe any of her lies anyway.
“You were reading something. Is that why you’re leaving?”
He was watching her?
When she didn’t answer again, Pyetar growled. “Iryana, don’t be an idiot.”
She was panting, her mind spinning. She needed to get away from him.
“Are you going to physically keep me from leaving?” she finally asked, her voice a bit too shrill from her panic.
Pyetar looked away. He didn’t answer.
“Will you tell anyone?”
“Of course not, but—”
“What have I told you about trying to tell me what to do?” Iryana slipped past him, half expecting him to stop her, but he didn’t follow.
Iryana knew she would have to deal with him later, but that was a problem for another time, when her family’s lives weren’t at risk.
He was silent behind her as she stepped onto the rope and looked down at the shredded moon reflecting in the river.
It spurred her faster. The crossing was harder than expected, but she pushed herself to hurry.
The ropes swayed over the river far more than usual, and Iryana refused to acknowledge it was all the honeywine she’d drunk.
It had been a mistake to go to the party.
She stumbled off the platform and glanced back across the river to find Pyetar still standing there. Watching her. But he didn’t move to follow, so she pushed him from her mind and scurried down the tree. Iryana’s feet hit the ground, jumping down past the last few branches.
She’d have time for her regrets later. And perhaps she’d have even more to contend with by the end of the night.
Iryana could feel the darkness and anxiety pressing down on her as she ran through the moonlit forest.
There was too little time and far too many dakii to try and sneak past. She kept her shield wrapped around herself, but didn’t bother solidifying it as much as she could have. Instead, she ran.
It took far less time than she’d hoped before the hair on her arms prickled—she was being followed. And it took more time than she expected for a beast to tumble out of the trees beside her, trying to take her down.
Iryana dug her heels into the ground, switching directions.
A wave of anger heated her blood. They were slowing her down, and Hadima needed her.
Scouts and lone hunters, those were the dakii she’d encounter unless she woke up a pack. One, maybe two at a time.
Pulling the long spear from its clip on her back—the one she’d spent hours and hours working with Vaneshta with—Iryana lunged for the dakya.
She left it in a pool of its own blood.
Iryana had been running for what felt like hours, only letting herself pause for the shortest of breaks.
The Yuresh valley was more familiar to her now, and without all the mud and snow to slow her down, she truly could run to her old post and back easily within a night.
But it had already been late when she’d set out.
When her muscles burned and her lungs threatened to stop sucking in air, she thought of her sister and cousins torn to pieces if she was too late.
Every rustle in the trees made her heart flutter, but she kept running.
She had fought off four dakii already and avoided countless others. Her path was wild and chaotic, anything to throw them off her tracks. The night air was cool, but the breeze blowing down from the mountains was colder; a welcome sensation against her sweaty skin and hot muscles.
She had an idea of where Hadima would lead the hunting party, and she could only hope that they hadn’t gone somewhere new.
She could hear a pack of dakii in the distance, far enough away that they wouldn’t hear her, but close enough to make her pump her already exhausted legs faster.
She was grateful for all the time she spent running; otherwise, there was no way she could have gone so far so fast for so long.
As it was, the time she had to find them and make it back in time was dwindling.
When a few figures finally formed between the trees, Iryana threw her head back in relief. She had made it in time.
There were five of them, wearing dark grays and browns to blend into the forest as they moved carefully around the trees. But after all the techniques and strategies she had learned with the brigade, the deficiencies in their tactics were glaring.
The realization made Iryana frown. She had convinced Hadima to take them on hunts, not knowing how truly unprepared they were.
Looking them over as she closed the distance, Iryana could see they hadn’t run into the dakii yet.
She was exhausted, ready to drop on the spot. Every muscle in her body burned and trembled; her breaths were quick and ragged, but she had made it.
Hadima was clutching her wooden bow, and Sanora and Levek, both too young to be forged, held unforged weapons too. Levek had a long spear, while Sanora carried a long, slender sword. Kladara and Tonhald were with them too, and Iryana was surprised by that.
Why had Hadima brought them? Tonhald had a newborn at home and was a bit too bad at keeping secrets for sneaking around. Her cousin, Kladara, was another story. But they both held their forged air-bows, and the small golden bows would do far more against the dakii than the others’ weapons.
That at least made her feel a bit better.
She tensed as they noticed her.
“Iryana?” Hadima stepped away from the others, her face twisted with confusion. “What are you doing here? Is that mom’s dress?”
Her cousins stared her down from behind Hadima’s shoulder, eyes wide with shock and surprise. Iryana was caught in their glares for a moment, the accusation in their eyes familiar.
Iryana felt her chest constrict as a wave of panic rushed over her, but she kept it hidden inside and forced herself to utter the words she had been practicing in her head. “There are too many dakii in the area—an entire horde. You need to go back. Now.”
They didn’t seem to process her words.
“You said she went to the settlement.” Levek turned to Hadima, hurt in his eyes.
Hadima shrank back, looking between Iryana and their cousins with wide eyes.
“It’s complicated,” Iryana cut in. “But there really isn’t time. It’s too dangerous, and you need to get deeper into the valley. Go back to the post.”
“What is going on?” Kladara snapped, with at least the sense to keep her voice low. Her wide oval face was set firmly in a glare. Her scarf was wrapped thickly around her head and draped over her shoulders.
“There isn’t time to explain. Please, we need to hurry,” Iryana pleaded.
Hadima finally found the ability to speak, telling the others, “I will explain everything back home, I promise.”
Kladara crossed her arms, and Iryana immediately recognized the look on her face from when they were children and she had thought of a scheme that was bound to get them into trouble. There was no way Kladara was going to wait for an explanation.
“You’ve convinced us to go against grandmother’s orders and go beyond the wall to hunt the dakii,” Kladara shot at Hadima, and then turning to Iryana added, “And you’re supposed to be at Lake Vranna. You both lied to me, and I’m not moving until I know why.”
Iryana looked around nervously. The moon-cast shadows between the trees seemed to move ominously. She needed Kladara to move, and it looked like the only way to do that was to answer her.
Her jaw quivered slightly as she took a bracing breath.
“I didn’t go to Lake Vranna, I went beyond the wall to try to join the 18th Brigade—”
“What?” Kladara hissed, the others staring at Iryana in shock.
Hadima rushed forward. “If they accept Iryana, they will let her forge her magic at a metal well. Then we will know where one is, how to get to it, and we will have another metal-forged.”