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Iryana looked to the First, as if she could do something—perhaps order the scholar to give them a better solution. But her grandmother was staring through the scholar, lost in her own thoughts.

“I will think on it.” Her fingers crumpled the scroll in her hand. And she’d think on what Karvek could have done.

Iryana stood in the western watchtower, alternating between scanning the skies and watching the trees. No one had seen a glimpse of the dragon on the horizon since the solstice over a week ago, but she looked for it, anyway.

She was covered everywhere but her eyes, bundled up so snug against the frigid temperatures and harsh wind that she could barely feel them.

As far as she could see down the valley, dark shapes moved in the trees. It wasn’t the horse-sized canid shapes of the dakii, but something burlier. Just like Tonhald had seen the day before. They’d also confirmed that there were multiple fox-serpents out there and while they hadn’t done anything more than occasionally spy on their wall, these new creatures she watched now hadn’t even ventured farther into the valley. So far, they weren’t a threat, but who knew when that would change.

More god-made creatures, she bet.

Iryana checked the skies again, scanning the wispy gray clouds that gently dropped snow, contrasting with the blizzard not even a week earlier.

They needed answers. Information. She didn’t believe Thelbiz would abandon his war, but they needed to do something. The conclave had left the day before, reminding her again to seek out Thelbiz. She’d nodded and agreed, knowing she had no intention of doing so. The First agreed it was a terrible idea. If she were to seek a god, it would be someone who might care more than Thelbiz.

She rested one of her hands below her ribs where she could feel her magic churning. Thelbiz had said the gods whose magics fought inside her would be able to calm it. She doubted Noshtiz would help her, but perhaps Voordiza? Unfortunately, searching for the water god was just as bad an idea as trying to find Thelbiz. She had no idea where to even start.

She just had to stay strong, her people needed her. Take it one step at a time. The First was rattled, and the whole clan could feel it.

Iryana understood why her grandmother always showed strength and conviction, no matter what was happening. Things seemed to fall apart when a clan leader was unsure. It likely bothered her the most, but Iryana couldn’t show that. She tried to compensate by acting confident, as if everything would definitely be fine. It seemed to help somewhat.

Iryana checked the burly shapes again, confirming they hadn’t ventured nearer. Then she sighed and sat down on the chair, ignoring the frost that had dug into the wood.

Iryana had done a lot of thinking about the news the conclave had brought. Odds were she wasn’t going to live a long life. She’d mostly come to terms with that. As things grew worse in Istri, she wouldn’t be able to hide behind her clan. She wasn’t willing to. She’d fight. And it would eventually kill her.

Perhaps if it got to the point where she couldn’t fight, she’d attempt the reversal of her water forging, but she didn’t want to cut down what time she had left.

Iryana checked the horizon again, checked the forest again, and sat again. The same routine she practiced over and over.

A sense of hopelessness watched over her.

She questioned every precaution they were taking, every plan she’d put into motion, when a strange sensation took up in her chest.

At first, she thought it was a pulled muscle or her heart racing in her desperation. But as it grew stronger, she realized it was coming from Thelbiz’s mark. She tugged at her clothes, slipping her hand inside her coat when she couldn’t move the layers fast enough, and rested it against the mark below her collarbone. The faint magic was stirring, pulling at her.

Iryana stared down in shock.

Thelbiz was calling her.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Iryana scrambled out of the watchtower, struggling across the fresh snow as she raced along the wall toward the gate, trying not to fall off the cliff. The guards opened the door for her as she approached, and she ordered them to have someone cover her shift. And then she was sprinting toward the main house, heart racing.

Kladara was carrying something out of the courtyard, but stepped aside as Iryana rushed toward her, surprise lighting her eyes.

Iryana dragged to a halt. Kladara was the most sensitive of her air-forged cousins.

“Are you feeling anything strange?” she asked, breathless.

Kladara frowned. “No, what’s going—”

That confirmed it.

“I’ll explain later!” She took off again.

Luckily, her grandmother was in her study. She looked up with furrowed brows when Iryana stumbled in, still pulling off her winter gear.

“I think Thelbiz is trying to summon me,” she gasped. “I can feel him pulling at the magic in his mark.”