(Ereshgal POV)
I carried the criminal back after knocking him unconscious, one hand covering part of my face as I walked. Before Liraya, I might have listened to his story. I might have cared enough to hear why he had been condemned. Now, I did not.
More importantly, for a moment, I had almost lost control. I had almost bitten him right there and drunk his blood before anyone could stop me.
I could not let it control me.
When I reached the other criminal, I dropped the body beside him. He did not react at all. He only kept his eyes down and his body still. I was not worried about the unconscious one waking up soon. This time, I had hit him hard.
I walked back to the cart and sat down again.
A few hours later, Kisaya and Lureh were awake. While they prepared everything so we could continue moving, I told them what had happened during the night.
"I'm going to drink from him one last time" I said. "After that, we'll carry out his sentence."
Neither of them looked particularly surprised. They had known from the beginning that the two criminals were not going to live much longer.
"Only him?" Lureh asked after a moment. "What about the other one?"
"We can't let him keep walking around with that wound on his neck" Kisaya said. "If someone sees it, we'll have problems."
"I'll handle it." I walked over and crouched in front of him. He was still staring at nothing.
"What's your name?" I asked.
No answer.
I watched him for a moment. "You want to die, don't you?"
Still nothing. "You want it to end, but you don't have the courage to kill yourself."
His heart stopped for a beat. Then he looked at me.
Good.
"If you refuse to be healed by my companion" I said quietly, "then I'll make sure you stay alive for as long as I can."
His eyes shifted slightly, and a faint tremor ran through his body.
"Decades, if I have to." For the first time, real fear appeared on his face.
I leaned a little closer.
"But if you accept her healing, then one day soon, I'll do it myself. I'll end your misery."
The criminal stared at me for a long moment. Then he gave a small nod.
I looked at him without moving.
"Your name" I asked again.
His throat shifted.
"Zabar."
I returned to the others. A few moments later, Lureh went over to him.
"Do you wish to be healed?"
"Yes" Zabar answered.
Lureh looked surprised, but she did not question it. She prepared the water, traced her rune, and handed it to him. A short while later, he was drinking and the wound on his neck slowly closed.
After that, I drank from the other criminal one last time. Of course, I asked Kisaya to help me again. I still did not trust myself enough to stop on my own. When she pulled me away, the man's body was pale from the blood loss, his breathing weak and uneven.
I took a sword from the spatial ring. First, I made a cut where I had bitten him, hiding the marks beneath a normal wound. Then I ended it.
One swing. His head fell.
He died before he even had the chance to wake up.
Kisaya looked away when it happened. He had been sentenced to death already, and one way or another, this had always been his end. Still, he was human.
We climbed back into the cart and continued down the road.
As we drew closer to Uruk, I lifted my gaze, searching for the signal Ishtal had told me about. It did not take long to find it. A thin column of smoke rose in the distance, far enough from the city that it would not be seen from the walls.
A few moments later, we were close enough for my eyes to make out the source clearly. The smoke came from a small fire beside a willow tree. A man sat next to it, feeding the flames with straw and dry reeds.
We were still some distance away when I pulled on the reins and stopped the cart.
I turned toward Lureh.
"Can you cover your face?" I asked. "Ishtal's contact might recognize you."
She nodded and pulled the cloth back over her face.
Then I climbed down from the cart. "Wait here" I told them. "We'll do the last part of the journey with him."
I walked toward him. When he heard me approach, he turned.
At first glance, he looked like a farmer. Simple clothes, dust on his sandals. Nothing about him stood out.
"Prince Ereshgal, I assume" he said, looking me up and down.
"In the flesh. You must be Kelzar."
He nodded, then turned back to the fire and threw a handful of dirt over it. The flames died down at once, leaving only a thin trail of smoke behind.
After that, he walked past me and headed toward the cart.
"Come on" he said. "I've been keeping a caravan waiting all day so you can enter"
When we reached the cart, his eyes moved to Kisaya, and recognition flashed across his face.
"Lady Kisaya."
She nodded in response.
I climbed back into the front of the cart while Kelzar moved toward the back. But instead of getting in, he stopped.
I turned slightly. "Is something wrong?"
He was frowning. "I was expecting two people."
"There was a change of plans" I said. "Will that be a problem?"
Kelzar sighed. "Ishtal said you might cause a bit of trouble."
Then he climbed in. "No. It just means things will be a little tighter."
He settled near the front, across from Lureh, whose face was already hidden. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, but he did not say anything.
Instead, he gestured toward the road.
"Go."
I flicked the reins, and the cart began to move. A moment later, Kelzar started speaking.
"Your hideout will be a copper workshop" Kelzar said. "The city is on alert, so I recommend you avoid going out too much. Especially Lady Kisaya. As captain, you are too recognizable."
"Why is the city on alert?" Lureh asked.
"The illegal ceremonies are getting more out of control" Kelzar replied.
Kisaya's expression tightened. "They still haven't found the one responsible?"
Kelzar let out a short laugh. "No. I don't know who the bastard is, but he's clever."
I glanced toward Lureh, then back at him.
"Couldn't we just cover our faces like her?"
"You can try," Kelzar said. "But the guards are paranoid right now. If they notice someone suspicious…" He shrugged slightly. "Well, you can imagine the rest."
I could.
With the coronation so close, Kudur would not want accidents. Anyone acting strangely near the wrong place would be stopped, questioned, and probably dragged somewhere unpleasant before they could explain themselves.
Kelzar continued.
"If you need anything, ask Bazi, the coppersmith. He is from Uruk, but he is with us." He paused for a moment, then looked at me more seriously. "If it is important, you can send for me. But it had better be important."
Then his gaze moved over all of us.
"This entire plan depends on you not revealing yourselves before the right moment. So don't."
I nodded. Kisaya and Lureh remained silent, but neither of them objected.
"When do I meet Hadan?" I asked.
"Tomorrow afternoon."
Hadan was one of my father's most loyal men, and one of the leaders of Uruk's military branch. If I had come alone, he would have been the first person I looked for. A reliable man. He had fought beside my father and had even trained me when I was a child.
I was about to ask something else, but the words stopped in my throat when I saw it.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
It was just as I remembered.
The barley fields stretched beneath the sun, moving softly with the wind. Canals cut through the land like brown veins, carrying water between the fields. Palm trees rose nearby, and farther out, reeds thickened toward the marshes. Beyond all of that, the walls of Uruk waited in the distance.
My fingers tightened around the reins.
I smiled.
"I'm back."