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“I’ve got her,” Iryana called, waving to him from inside the wardrobe.

Tonhald ran toward them, arching himself over them and throwing out what little unforged magic he had. The cloudy white shield shimmered around her cousin, providing a little more of a barrier above Iryana and Anara.

Groans and creaks seemed to come from everywhere, and Iryana desperately wished the building was earth-imbued. The village houses would not collapse with that magic worked into every nail and beam, but the main house was at risk. Unlike the rest of the village, they had built it after the beasts came, when their access to forged builders was non-existent.

But eventually, the shaking stopped.

Tonhald took his daughter and helped Iryana out. They were both still shaking. It had felt like the quakes had gone on for hours, but she knew it was probably only a couple of minutes.

“I have Anara!” Tonhald shouted down the stairs as soon as he left the room.

Iryana ran into Misha and Hadima in the hallway as they all checked that everything was all right. Others emerged from their rooms, and she could hear people talking downstairs, confusion and panic in their voices. No one seemed to know what to do.

Iryana shook her fear aside. There was no time for it. She was Third.

“Search the house,” Iryana ordered those within hearing distance. “Send everyone to the hall. Kladara, check the gate and the watchtowers, make sure everything is okay there. Hadima, go straight to the hall so if there are any injured you can help them immediately.”

The crowd in the hall calmed, rushing off now that they had orders. Iryana took a breath and headed for the stairs.

One thing at a time. That was all she could do.

When they finally had gathered everyone in the hall, aside from those on watch, Iryana was relieved to discover that no one had been seriously injured. There were some bruises and scrapes, but nothing more. Earthquakes weren’t entirely unheard of in the Lasharye Highlands, but they were rare. The First took charge, assigning people to check all the structures for cracks or weak points. Putting people in charge of repairs. Sending someone out to check the villagers and start a list of things that were broken and would need replacing.

Iryana couldn’t help but consider the timing. Was it related to the gods’ war? Surely the gods could cause an earthquake. But it could also just be a rare but unexceptional coincidence. Iryana doubted she was lucky enough that this was natural.

The following day, Iryana was walking back toward the main house, having just helped repair the shelters for the sheep pasture. The path through the village was well-packed with how many people had been running around already. Her snowshoes glided easily over the packed path. The First had sent word for her to come help at the house.

She passed Edvar, who was working through a huge pile of snow blocking one of the house doors. The snow must have fallen off the roof during the quake, trapping those inside.

A young village woman was trying to assist Edvar, but he waved her off. “Leave it to me,” he told her, grunting as he hauled a large clump of snow that looked hard as ice.

“Take it easy,” Iryana reminded him as she passed by the partially buried gate.

The woman turned to Iryana, eyes wide and skin flushed from the cold. “He’s already dug two houses out.”

Stubborn man.

“Edvar, how many more are there? I can find someone to help you.”

Her cousin paused, pulling the fur-lined cap off his head to wipe the sweat from his brow. “There’s a few more. I’ve made sure everyone trapped inside has enough supplies, but I want to get them out as quickly as we can.”

Iryana nodded. “I’ll send someone.”

Edvar turned, diving back into clearing the snow. As much of a pain as her cousin could be, Edvar took his duties seriously.

“I’ll go help him in a minute,” Kladara offered as she slipped out of a neighboring house, carrying a little boy in her arms. “I’m just going to take this brave little man to play with Anara; Teshya is watching some of the other village kids.” They were both bundled up, but Kladara wrapped a blanket around him and held the boy close.

“No, gyena,” an older villager argued, trying to wave Kladara off as she chased her out of the house. “You’ve already helped so much, you don’t need to watch him for me.”

“Don’t argue with me,” Kladara scolded, sticking her tongue out at the little boy as he giggled. “You’ll lose. Now go sit back down and rest that ankle. We’ll bring you dinner tonight and check on your fire. Don’t you dare get up.”

The woman shook her head but limped back toward her house. “Thank you, gyena.”

“I’m happy to help,” Kladara assured her, turning to Iryana as they met out on the road.

The boy waved his little mitten at Iryana, head tucked into Kladara’s shoulder.

Iryana smiled at him, rubbing his back, and asked Kladara, “Do I need to send Hadima to look at her ankle?”