(Ereshgal POV)
I carried Darim through the dark streets of Sippar, holding him carefully in my arms. He slept without stirring, his breathing slow and steady, unaware of everything that had happened tonight.
I didn't need to rush.
Urhen would take some time to reach the meeting place, and Lureh had probably only just entered the city.
I headed toward Arisha's house.
Instead of the main streets, I moved through narrow alleys and quiet side paths, the kind only someone who had spent years living in the city would know.
Step by step, I followed the fastest route through the shadows.
Even so, I kept listening to the sounds around me as I walked. My senses stretched outward, catching every distant step, every movement in the quiet streets. There shouldn't have been any immediate danger, but if Liraya's life had taught me anything, it was that rushing to conclusions never ended well.
Besides, Nadira was probably somewhere nearby, watching.
After a while, I began to hear hurried footsteps moving back and forth inside one of the nearby houses.
Arisha.
A moment later I was standing at her door, knocking calmly. The footsteps rushed toward it at once. The door burst open a second later.
"DARIM!" She shouted the moment she saw him in my arms.
The moment he heard his mother's voice, Darim stirred in my arms.
"Mom?"
Before he could even fully wake, Arisha had already pulled him from my arms and hugged him tightly.
"My son…"
Her voice trembled as she held him close, pressing his head against her shoulder.
"Thank the gods… thank the gods…"
Darim blinked in confusion, still half asleep. He didn't understand what was happening, or why his mother was holding him so tightly.
"Mom?" he repeated, this time with clear concern in his voice.
Arisha shook her head quickly, trying to steady herself. "It's nothing… I'm just very happy to see you." But the tears on her face said otherwise.
Darim still did not understand what was happening, but he stayed quiet and wrapped his arms around her in return. For a while, neither of them said anything. Arisha simply held him, as if afraid that letting go might make him disappear again.
After some time, she finally looked up at me.
"Thank you."
I shook my head.
"Don't mention it."
The weight of Akhem's feelings no longer pressed on my mind, but that did not mean I would abandon Arisha and Darim to their fate. Whenever I could help the families of those I had killed, I would.
It was the least I could do.
I pulled my hood over my head and turned to leave, but after taking a few steps, I stopped.
"In a few days, I'll be returning to Uruk" I said. "If you want, you can come with me. You probably already have some idea of who I am."
Arisha looked at me with wide eyes, clearly caught off guard by the invitation. But I already knew what she truly wanted. Sippar had never been home for her, and after everything that had happened tonight, that feeling would only grow stronger.
"Think about it" I added. "I'll come back in a few days to hear your decision."
After that, I moved.
To her, it probably looked like I simply vanished.
There was still one last loose end I had to deal with.
Urhen.
And, of course, Ishtal.
Thinking about that, Nadira was probably still following me somewhere in the shadows. If I wanted to take care of Urhen without interference, I would have to lose her first.
Even Liraya had never fully understood how Nadira's ability worked. But over the years, she had learned a few of its weaknesses.
One of them was simple.
She could not follow a target moving too fast for long, and I had a solution for that.
I called on my spiritual energy. It answered immediately, flowing through me as if it had been waiting. With a thought, I guided the energy into my legs, and once I felt they were fully covered, I sent my will through it, telling it to make me faster and stronger.
The change was immediate.
My speed nearly doubled in an instant, the sudden burst almost throwing me off balance. For a brief second I stumbled, but I quickly steadied myself and kept moving.
The streets blurred as I ran through them. I could already imagine the look on her face when she realized how fast I was moving.
I headed toward the main temple of Shamash in the city. The place where Liraya used to meet Urhen was directly across from it.
A pottery workshop. It was one of the many workshops controlled by her faction.
Lureh had probably already delivered the message by now, but I would still get there before Urhen.
A short while later, when I knew I was approaching the temple, I slowed down and stopped running, continuing the rest of the way at a normal pace. Drawing attention near the temple would not be wise. There was someone there I did not want noticing me.
Soon the temple came into view.
The great temple of Shamash rose above the surrounding buildings, its stepped terraces built from pale clay bricks that caught what little light the night offered. Tall columns marked the entrance courtyard, and even at this hour faint lamps burned near the outer gate.
I allowed myself a brief glance at it before continuing past.
The workshop stood directly across from it.
From the outside it looked like any other pottery workshop in the district, its walls stained with years of clay dust and smoke from the kilns.
The door wasn't locked.
The interior was completely dark. But to me, the entire workshop was as clear as if it were daytime.
Rows of clay pieces rested along one side of the room. Plates, bowls, and jars had been set there to dry, their surfaces still dull with moisture. They had probably only been shaped recently.
It would take a few more days before they were ready for the kiln.
I let out a quiet laugh.
Not long ago, I wouldn't have known the first thing about pottery. But Liraya had learned it at some point during her long life, and now that knowledge was mine as well.
I understood the process. The shaping of the clay, the timing of the drying, the careful adjustments before the pieces went into the kiln. Looking at the rows of unfinished bowls and jars, I could even see the small imperfections in some of them. A slight uneven curve, a wall a little too thin, a surface that would crack if it dried too quickly.
I already knew how to fix them.
Maybe one day I would try making them myself.
I leaned against the wall to my left, lowered my hood, closed my eyes, and waited.
Minutes passed.
All I could hear were the quiet breaths and heartbeats of the people sleeping in the nearby houses. The rhythm of it filled the silence of the night.
It was strangely calming.
Almost hypnotic.
Until I heard footsteps approaching, soft at first but growing clearer as they came closer.
I opened my eyes.
Not long after, Urhen stepped into the workshop. He moved cautiously as he entered the dark workshop. Seeing the room unlit, he closed the door behind him and headed straight to the right.
That was where the lamp always was. It had been a habit between him and Liraya. Whoever arrived first would light it.
He reached the small oil lamp, struck the flame, and the dim light spread across the workshop.
Then he turned. The moment his eyes landed on me, he froze. His mouth had just begun to open when I was already moving. The short sword slipped from my ring into my hand as I closed the distance in a single motion.
I drove the blade straight into his chest without hesitation. It passed through easily, I had aimed between the ribs, straight for the heart.
Slowly, he lowered his head and looked at the sword buried in his chest. For a moment his expression was only confusion, but then it changed as recognition set in. They were the same blades his master had carried for years.
Urhen slowly raised his head again, blood slipping from the corner of his mouth as he tried to look at the one who had killed him. I let him see my face.
At the very least, he would know that Liraya had not betrayed him. It was the last thing I could do for him.
The light in his eyes faded, and his body went still. I pulled the blade from his chest, now slick with blood.
Without meaning to, I inhaled. The scent reached me immediately, thick and metallic, filling the air around me. The smell flooded my senses, and my entire body trembled as the urge rose inside me. Every instinct pushed me toward it, toward the warm blood spreading across his clothes.
I wanted to drink it.
But I didn't.
Instead, I wiped the blade clean on his clothing before sliding it back into the ring. After that, I reached for the lamp and extinguished the flame, letting darkness reclaim the workshop.
Then I stepped outside, I needed to leave quickly. Even if no one had noticed, the temple was too close. There was no need to deal with the body. By the time anyone found him, it would no longer matter.
I began moving quickly through the streets again. Kisaya was probably starting to worry.