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Iryana hugged Teshya and the baby and then joined her cousin.

“You can join them,” she offered Tonhald.

He shook his head quickly. “No, I will make sure they have time to get to safety.”

Iryana nodded stiffly. The longer the first wave had to retreat, the better the odds of them making it before the wall fell. In an ideal world, they would hold their position for the next few weeks and never have to complete the retreat. They didn’t live in an ideal world, though.

They estimated that four days would be enough time for the first group to reach the fallback location in time. They’d hold up in an abandoned temple that wasn’t large enough for them all, but was bigger than all the others she’d seen. Four days sounded like so little time, but with the monsters pressing their border, it was an eternity.

She found Hadima next, checking that one of the soldiers with a broken leg was braced properly in the sled. Iryana waited until she was done and then wrapped her arms around her sister.

“I’m going to miss you!” Hadima cried. Where her patients went, Hadima went too.

“Do you have everything? Are you ready?” She tried not to think of how worried she was for her sister, how she would be among the slowest of those retreating, sticking with those with the gravest injuries.

“Yes.”

Iryana’s attention caught on her little sister saying goodbye to their cousins and Anara, empty-handed.

“Misha, where’s your bag?” Iryana called over. Misha froze, then sighed and headed over to them.

Once she reached Iryana, Misha squared herself, and Iryana already knew what was coming.

“I want to stay and fight,” Misha asked, eyes pleading. “Don’t push me away to protect me. I will stay back. I will follow your orders. But this is my family too. My baby cousin to protect. My people to protect.”

Fear bubbled up inside her. “Don’t you want to go with Hadima? Keep her safe?”

Misha shook her head. “Hadima will be fine. I want to stay with you.”

“What about you, Mishi?” Hadima asked, worry thickening her voice. “It’s going to be dangerous.”

Misha gave Hadima a stiff look, then turned back to Iryana.

Iryana swallowed.

She suddenly could only see Misha as a four-year-old girl when the clan had realized their mother had left. Uncle Byorsh and Aunt Emadya had come to bring her back to the main house. Misha cried and clawed at them, screaming at Iryana to not let them take her away. Iryana had known it was better for Misha to get out of that toxic house, but she had no idea what kind of damage it would do to Misha. And now Iryana’s little sister was asking to stay with her again, for Iryana to let Misha face the danger with her.

She wasn’t sure, but she had a realization that Misha might have been training her entire life to be ready to face danger at Iryana’s side. Like she didn’t want to be too small or too weak to be sent away.

“The three of us are a team,” Misha declared stubbornly. “That means supporting each other, defending each other. Taking equal risk. We all have our part. Hadi, yours is to get the injured to the temple. To guard their lives. Iri, yours is to lead our clan and hold this wall. The best way I help you both is by being right here.”

Iryana hid her shaking hands in her skirts. Hadima’s face softened beside her.

“I know I’m not a full guardian,” Misha rushed to further her case. “But I took down two dakii with Uncle Dinhal’s help yesterday. And I’ve helped shoot down plenty.”

Iryana had been doing such a good job wearing the mask of heir, keeping too busy to doubt herself.

Her mind tried to justify her choice as a leader of their clan. Was Misha staying the best thing for those they protected? Was it the best thing for the clan? She could argue it. But that wasn’t the reasoning that made up Iryana’s mind. She couldn’t send that little girl away again, even if she’d be safer. Couldn’t deny Misha the opportunity to fight for the ones she loved. For her sisters.

Iryana cleared her throat. “As far as I’m concerned, little sister, you’re already a full guardian. You’ve earned it.”

Misha’s chin quivered, eyes widening.

“Get your bow and get on that wall,” Iryana ordered, voice shaking.

Misha sagged with relief. “Thank you, Iri.”

Then she dove into Hadima’s arms, said her goodbye, and raced off to find her bow.