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“Stop!” Iryana snapped, surprising herself. She gentled her voice and added, “The seers can sense a looming threat here, and with today’s avalanche and the state of the snow on the ridges above, the risk of staying here is too great. I’ve talked with the First and the other leaders, and we all agree this is what we need to do.”

“Why isn’t the First here?” Kladara asked.

“She’s resting.” Iryana wished she had a better excuse. A less worrisome one with the journey they’d have to make.

Iryana took a slow breath. “The camp is mourning, offer what support you can. But I want everyone ready to leave by dawn. Try to get some sleep.”

She hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake. Again.

The sun was barely over the mountains when they reached the mouth of the crevasse field. Though unsure and a bit scared, everyone had been packed, bundled up, and ready to go before first light.

Iryana had found a large rock to climb on so she could be heard by the whole group. Everyone’s eyes were drawn to Limhiz’s staff in her hand.

No nerves and no hesitation, she reminded herself.

She swallowed nervously. “If we had any other choice, we wouldn’t be taking this route. If you aren’t familiar with a crevasse field, it’s a field of ice with deep fractures throughout. If you fall into these cracks, it’s impossible to climb out on your own. And sometimes it’s impossible to see where these crevasses are. The longer we delay, the more dangerous this will be, and we can’t risk rescue missions. So, we are going to take this seriously and take as many measures as we can to keep everyone safe.”

Iryana ignored her rising panic. “You will be split into groups of four or five people. We want to spread out the weight. And you will all be tied together with rope. That way, if one person slips, everyone else can anchor themselves and pull you back up. You will also all have a knife in case there is no choice but to cut yourself or someone else off. If you fall, shield immediately.”

Someone called out about their elderly father not being able to travel so far. Another shouted about a fellow soldier with a broken leg. Soon the group devolved into panicked shouting.

“Quiet!” Iryana called, but it took Pyetar whistling loudly to cut through the noise. She raised her voice. “We will carry those who can’t walk if that’s what it comes to. Your group will be your lifeline, and you will be theirs.”

Iryana detailed the path they’d take, the spots where they could stop for the night, and reiterated the safety precautions they’d come up with. A strong rear guard would do their best to protect the rest from any dakii that came up on them. She wanted to wait as long as possible to reveal the groups. But eventually there was nothing else to go over.

“I have worked together with your leaders to put these groups together, spreading out the injured and those who will have trouble with the hike among those who can support them. We are also spreading out the metal-forged to avoid drawing the dakii as much as possible. There will be no changing groups.”

Iryana jumped down and nodded to those waiting to get started.

All the leaders and a few others they’d pulled in had been given numbered lists of groups to assemble and lengths of rope that had been salvaged from pack sleds and leashes that were no longer needed. They couldn’t take the sleds and the dogs would follow on their own. They’d use the numbers to track more easily who had made it.

She offered Limhiz’s staff to her grandmother. “You should be the one to carry this.”

Vesima frowned. “I don’t know if that’s the best—”

“If you have the staff, this will be easier on you. And I need my hands free.”

Her grandmother sighed, but she took it. Iryana double-checked that the First’s snowshoes were tied on carefully before being shooed off.

Iryana walked through the groups, making sure everyone was tied together properly and at the right lengths, making sure she hadn’t misbalanced the groups anywhere. The sled dogs were divided among the groups with smaller children to provide them with a little comfort.

A young mom with two little boys argued with Uncle Dinhal, Levek standing there looking frustrated.

“What’s the problem?” Iryana asked.

“Could we be paired with the soldiers instead?” The mother clutched her boys to her tightly, eyes wide with fear.

Iryana’s clan members looked to be running out of patience.

“I just don’t want them to abandon us, and I know that—”

Iryana tried to use the tone that Hadima always used when she tried to be soothing. “My uncle and cousin are some of our best fighters. They’re strong and loyal, and they will protect you and keep your sons safe. I promise.”

She sputtered. “I would just really feel better if—”

There was a temptation to give in, but if she made one exception, everyone would demand different groups, and they didn’t have time for that chaos.

“No,” Iryana said firmly. “Unless you want to trek it alone and risk your children's lives due to your stubbornness, I advise you to tie up.”