(Ereshgal POV)
The streets near the palace were even busier than they had been the day before. Workers stretched red and ochre cloth between buildings while others cleared the road the procession would follow. Small altars had been set up at several corners, and merchants were already arguing over the spots that would give them the best view of the ceremony.
It was strange to watch Uruk prepare for a celebration when everyone moved as if they were afraid of making too much noise.
A group of soldiers appeared at the far end of the street.
The woman leading them wore her hair tied back and carried a sword at her side. She had changed a little over the years, but not enough for me to miss who she was.
Neval.
Hadan slowed slightly, and I did the same, pulling my hood farther over my face. I doubted she would recognize me after so long, especially like this, but there was no reason to take the risk.
Neval seemed to be inspecting the approaches to the ceremonial route. She pointed toward two rooftops, ordered one patrol to change position, then had a cart moved from where it was blocking part of the street. Everything about what she was doing looked perfectly ordinary.
When we crossed paths, her attention went first to Hadan and then to me.
"I didn't know they had assigned you to the preparations" she said.
"They didn't" Hadan replied. "I'm dealing with a personal matter."
Neval glanced past us toward the soldiers following at a distance.
"A personal matter with an escort."
"Just being careful."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"Just remember, Kudur wants the streets quiet on the day of the ceremony."
"We all want the city to remain calm" Hadan said.
"Of course."
Her attention returned to the shadow beneath my hood. For a moment, I had the uncomfortable feeling that she was trying to see my eyes, but then she looked away and went back to giving orders as if nothing had happened.
I waited until we were well past her before speaking.
"That woman gives me a bad feeling. She trained with you, didn't she? Do you know anything about her?" Hadan asked.
Not much.
I had never been particularly close to Neval. The only conversation I clearly remembered having with her was shortly before the fight with the wendigo, so I searched through Namur's memories, then Akhem's, just in case either of them had noticed anything unusual.
There was nothing obvious.
Neval had refused favors from Kudur more than once, but she had also avoided committing herself to the few people who still openly supported my father. That had been enough to make Namur and several of the other spies keep an eye on her without her knowing.
They had found nothing.
She completed every mission she was given, followed orders when they made sense, and occasionally disappeared for a night or two, but she always had an explanation when she returned. Nothing had ever been strange enough to justify pushing further.
"Nothing useful" I said.
Hadan gave a small nod, and we kept walking.
The problem was that nothing in those memories felt wrong. Every decision Neval had made could be explained, and every gap had an answer waiting for it.
Maybe that was what bothered me.
Everything fit a little too well.
"Who did you pick for the seventh vote?" I asked.
Hadan ran a hand through his beard.
"We have three possibilities. Uren might agree that your father's case should be reopened, but the temple of Anu has supported Kudur's regency from the beginning. If we push him now, there's a good chance he warns Kudur before we get anything from him."
"And the second?"
"Try to pull away one of the four who actually support him."
"No."
"That was my thought too." Hadan glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "Which leaves Zarik."
That name I knew.
Zarik represented the markets, caravans, and workshops. Namur had never considered him truly loyal to Kudur. He had supported whichever option seemed most likely to keep the trade routes open, the workshops working, and the city from falling further into disorder.
If we could convince him that stopping the coronation was the best way to avoid another war, he would at least listen.
"Let's go to him."
"He won't be able to see us until the market closes."
"Then we wait."
…
Zarik's house stood near the city gate facing the Euphrates. It was smaller than Mekar's estate, but warehouses flanked it on both sides, and the courtyard was crowded with sealed jars, rolls of cloth, and freshly unloaded timber.
He made us wait until the last worker had left.
Only then did he order the doors and shutters closed and everyone else out before allowing us inside.
Zarik was a short man with broad shoulders and a carefully braided beard. His seal was tied around his wrist with a leather band, showing a reed boat beneath a copper disk.
The moment he saw me, his expression became cautious.
That worried me more than surprise would have.
"Mekar warned me that Hadan might bring me something difficult to believe" he said. His eyes stayed on me. "Now I understand what he meant."
So Mekar had figured out we would come here.
Hadan presented the case without wasting time. He told Zarik about Namur, the evidence used to turn the council against my father, and the six members who were now willing to suspend the coronation.
This time, I barely needed to speak.
Zarik listened to all of it without interrupting. When Hadan finished, he remained silent, his eyes lowered toward the table as he considered everything he had just heard.
He slowly shook his head.
"I'm not deciding this here. When the ceremony begins, all twelve of us will be in the same room. I'll make my decision then."
His eyes settled on me.
"If the evidence holds up, you'll have my vote."
Hadan leaned forward.
"We need to know we can count on it."
"And I need to know I'm not helping start another war." Zarik tapped one finger against the table. "You're asking me to help stop a coronation two days before it happens. I want to know what comes after that."
Hadan opened his mouth.
"The council has the authority to..."
"Authority doesn't stop a sword" Zarik interrupted. "Kudur has Chosen inside the palace and controls a large part of the army. You've gathered men of your own. What happens when both sides decide the law is on their side?"
There was no easy answer.
I could tell him Kudur would accept the council's decision, but there was no reason for Zarik to believe that. I could promise that our side would win if fighting broke out, but that would only prove his point.
"The men supporting me won't attack first" I said.
"That isn't enough."
I thought about it for a moment.
"Then if Kudur refuses to accept the council's decision, I'll deal with him myself."
Hadan turned toward me.
Zarik did not.
"Yourself?"
"Uruk isn't going to bleed over a dispute inside my family."
Silence settled over the room as Zarik studied me, trying to decide how seriously to take the promise.
Eventually, he placed both hands on his knees and stood.
"Present your evidence to the council. If it's enough, and you keep your word, I'll vote to stop the coronation."
There was no point pushing him further. That was probably as close to a promise as we were going to get.
When we left, Hadan waited until the warehouses were well behind us before speaking.
"You just promised to face Kudur alone."
I looked toward the palace lights in the distance.
"If it really comes to that, I will."
…
This time, Hadan came back to the workshop with me.
Kisaya was already awake by the time we arrived, and she was not alone. Ashren was waiting in the courtyard beside Kelzar, while a tall man with brown hair sat at one of the tables surrounded by clay tablets.
I recognized him immediately from Namur's memories.
Laris. Kisaya's scribe.
He stood as soon as I entered.
"Prince."
I frowned as I looked between them.
"What did I miss?"
"Once Kisaya joined us, we started looking into the people around her to make sure they could be trusted" Kelzar explained. "Laris checked out, so we contacted him. Turns out he's useful. He knows all the things Kisaya never bothered paying attention to."
"Hey!" Kisaya snapped. "You don't have to say it like that."
I ignored them and looked at Laris.
"Do you have anything useful for us?"
He began arranging the tablets in front of him before answering. He still looked slightly surprised by his captain's reaction, though there was the faintest hint of a smile on his face.
"I do. Hadan gave me the names, and I went through the guard reports, duty records, and older surveillance files for anything connected to them." He arranged the tablets in front of him. "These contain everything we have so far. Their routines, where they can usually be found, who they meet with, and anything else that might be useful."
Hadan stepped closer to the table and looked over the tablets.
"Azel will testify to what Namur admitted. Ashren and I can confirm we heard it ourselves. My men will arrest the people on Laris's list, and we'll question them using Ishtal's artifact. We won't need all of them to talk. Two should be enough."
"We move on all of them at the same time, shortly before the council gathers. Once the first disappears, Kudur will know something is wrong."
Kisaya looked down at the tablets before turning to Hadan.
"And if the vote fails?"
Hadan was quiet for a moment.
I already knew the general idea. Ishtal had explained it to me before. If the council refused to act, they would try to free my father and bring everything before the city instead.
Before anyone could continue, Kelzar glanced toward an empty corner of the courtyard.
I followed his gaze.
There was nothing there.
Or at least, nothing I could see.
Wait...
I pushed my hearing as far as it would go and focused on that part of the courtyard.
There it was.
A heartbeat.
Faint, steady, coming from what looked like empty air.
A figure slowly appeared in my sight.
Nadira.
So she had been here the entire time.
And if she was here, Ishtal probably was too.
"You can come out," Kelzar said.
Everyone followed his gaze toward the empty corner.
A moment later, Nadira appeared, and the reactions around the courtyard made it clear that no one else had known she was there.
Kelzar cleared his throat and placed a small sealed tablet on the table.
"Ishtal sent her a few days after you left Sippar, once he found someone else he trusted enough to replace her as his guard. She arrived yesterday."
"She also brought Ishtal's truth artifact."
I picked up the tablet and read it.
The message was brief.
Nadira was to study the security around the places where my father and mother were being held and prepare a way to get them out. She was not to act as long as there was still a chance the council could resolve everything peacefully. If the vote failed, if Kudur tried to kill the witnesses, or if he ordered my arrest, then the rescue would begin.
"My mother comes out too" I said.
"That's the order" Kelzar replied. "Lugalbanda first. Ninsun afterward, if the situation allows it."
I did not like the priority, but I understood it. My mother was not in immediate danger. She was too important for Kudur to simply get rid of, while my father was another matter entirely.
I looked at Nadira.
"You're sure you can get into the palace and the temple of Anu?"
"I don't need you questioning what I'm capable of."
She gave me the same look of disgust I remembered.
Right. I had almost forgotten she did not like me.
Then she disappeared.
Everyone except Kelzar looked around in surprise.
"Where did she go?" Laris asked.
"It's her rune" Kelzar explained.
While the others stared at the place where she had been standing, Nadira calmly walked toward the door.
I kept my eyes forward.
There was no reason to let her know I could still see her.
Hadan glanced at the empty corner.
"Charming."
Kelzar let out a short laugh.
"And very capable."