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Kladara rolled her eyes. “No, it’s nothing like that. You should stop reading those old books, they’re probably all make-believe anyway. It isn’t a tug on my magic, it’s just… pressure. Like I can feel it more than usual.”

“Oh,” he grumbled, falling back onto his butt. Then his eyes fell on Iryana again. “Well, what advice do you have for metal forging?” Levek stared at her with far more intensity than a young man like him should be capable of.

Iryana swallowed. She didn’t know how to answer, but she wanted to try. To help. What would Hadima say? Something comforting and encouraging, surely?

“You’ve heard the songs.” And there were many. Though they had always seemed more of an exaggeration or life lesson before. “Be prepared to humble yourself. Pride and dignity have no place at a forging.”

“Well, that’s not ominous at all.”

“At least you get to be forged,” Misha grumbled, slumping down next to Hadima, who patted her arm comfortingly.

“Well, I’m glad you’ll be there, Third.” Levek sounded slightly defeated. “The soldiers will heed you more than Dinhal after—you know, what you did.”

It was likely true, but she didn’t want her cousin to worry.

“I spent months with them before then,” she reminded him. “It was fine.”

“Maybe some of them aren’t bad.” Tonhald grimaced. “But the new general, I know you put him in power, Iryana… but I think he’s the worst of them.”

“Worse than the brother who held you and your wife, and much of the family hostage? Who would have killed you all without remorse?” Iryana asked, with a sharpness she forgot to smooth out. Instant regret soured her stomach as Tonhald’s face shuttered and his wife curled up at his side. “I’ve spent a lot of time with both Horvols. Karvek controlled everything and everyone, including Pyetar.”

She would never forget the time she’d seen Pyetar shoving Tonhald against a wall, threatening him, but it held a different meaning now than it used to. He’d had to be a lot of things to satisfy his brother, to keep that noose from tightening around his neck. She’d been manipulated and made to do plenty of things she hadn’t wanted to do either.

“Just being the better of the two doesn’t make Pyetar good,” Edvar mumbled, propping his feet up on the center table as he slouched.

“Help us understand, then.” Hadima raised her elegantly arched brows as she leaned forward on her knees, dress tucked around her. “I know you don’t like talking about it, but one man can’t be responsible for all the evil in an entire brigade.”

“Well, Karvek was vicious and cutthroat…” Iryana started, looking for safe explanations. She didn’t want them to know everything that had happened, everything she’d done.

“Sounds like his brother,” Tonhald grumbled. Teshya elbowed him.

Iryana immediately shook her head, but how could she explain in a way that wouldn’t hurt them? Hurt herself? To explain what Karvek had done to Pyetar implied a lot about what Iryana herself had gone through to earn his trust.

“Pyetar saved me from dakii when he didn’t have to, tried to shield me from his brother. When Karvek’s soldiers threatened us, threatened me, he challenged them. Protected us. The horrible things that you attribute to Pyetar, it’s all because of his brother. He—” Her throat squeezed, the words trapped.

“Come on,” Misha pushed.

Kladara added, “It’s best we know what we’re dealing with. Help us understand!”

“Is it not enough that he nearly killed my sister? That he held many of you in cells?” Iryana pleaded, begging them not to push. She wouldn’t be able to avoid upsetting them. And she tried to fight it, but she still worried they’d blame her.

Hadima wasn’t giving in. “He beat me because I was posing as an enemy to his brigade, working with a mole to steal secrets. It’s not surprising that a military leader did that. Or that he’d take hostages. Or want to expand his control.” She had thought her sister would stop pushing, but clearly, she couldn’t resist.

“How does that justify what Pyetar has done?” Kladara demanded.

Her frustration grew from a simmer to an open flame. They never stopped pushing. “The only time Karvek left Pyetar alone was when he pretended to be the monster Karvek wanted! Is that what you want to hear? That Pyetar tried to leave, and his brother killed his friends and set dakii upon their settlement? That Pyetar still tried to show the old general that Karvek was poison? That he tried to do the same with the King Commander, but no one would help him? He had to work in secret to undermine his brother; it was all he could do!”

“Pyetar told you that though, right?” Levek asked, squinting. “How can you trust that it’s the truth and not a trick?”

“Because I know Karvek. I knew him very well before I killed him.” It was growing harder for her to breathe.

“Then explain why you believe it!” Kladara snapped back, clearly struggling to control her frustration.

Edvar nodded. “We believe you more than a soldier’s words.”

They had asked in smaller ways before: what all had happened at the fort. But she’d given light answers, changed the subject. Now, Iryana felt like her throat was closing. When she looked around, she knew the panic was clear in her eyes. Misha was staring at her like she already knew Iryana wouldn’t tell them.

“We trust you,” Hadima said softly, perhaps trying to defuse the situation. “We don’t need to push so hard.”