(Ereshgal POV)
We were heading back, but my mind wasn't with my feet. It kept circling the same place—the mother and her son.
Why did I feel like that?
Why did a tear fall before I even noticed?
What's happening to me?
I looked to the side at Kisaya. Ever since she noticed the tear, her expression hadn't shifted. The worry in her eyes stayed. She kept glancing at me every few moments and had already asked if I was alright more than once. I kept telling her I was fine, until eventually she stopped asking.
After that, neither of us said anything.
Even with the noise of merchants, carts, and shouting all around us, the quiet between us felt tighter with every step.
"Kisaya" I finally said, "do you know anyone named Akhem?"
She stopped for a moment, surprise flickering across her face. "Where did you hear that name?" she asked, her voice cautious as she looked away from me.
"When you left, I talked to a woman. She said she was the wife of someone named Akhem."
Kisaya didn't answer, she didn't even blink.
"Kisaya?" I asked again, quieter this time.
"I-I knew someone by that name" she said slowly. "But he was a soldier in Uruk. He lived there with his family, so I don't think it's the same person."
"He lived there?" I asked.
She gripped the ropes tied to the sheep so tightly I saw the color drain from her knuckles.
Her voice came small, careful:
"He was one of the people you fed on… back when you had no control."
I froze.
I fed on him?
I killed him?
The air seemed to press in around me. The sounds of the city sharpened, louder, clearer. Every heartbeat on the street felt like it was pulsing in my own throat.
"But!" Kisaya cut in before my thoughts went further. "It can't be the same Akhem. We're in Sippar, and he was a soldier from Uruk. His family should still be there."
"No" I said.
The word came without thought or doubt.
"It's the same one."
I didn't know how I knew.
I just did.
Ari and her son… Darim.
They were the family of the man I killed.
We reached the house.
Kisaya went in first with the six sheep. I followed a little slower, the name Akhem lingering in the back of my mind.
Inside, the room felt smaller than before. The sheep huddled together, unaware, their warm breath filling the still air. I sat on the chair, watching them. I swallowed without thinking. The thirst was rising again.
I needed to get this over with.
The moment I leaned down, my teeth began to change. The pressure along my gums sharpened, and the fangs pushed through.
I'd noticed them before, but I hadn't truly paid attention. I raised my hand and touched them.
Four.
Two above, two below.
Sharp enough to prick my finger with barely any pressure.
This is what I've become.
I didn't hesitate anymore. I sank my teeth into the first sheep.
The animal kicked when I grabbed it, panic running through its legs. But the moment my fangs broke the skin, its struggle faded. Its body slackened, breath shuddering out once before it stopped fighting altogether.
Relief hit me as soon as the blood reached my tongue. Warmth moved through me with each swallow, easing the tightness in my chest and settling through my body.
The flow was steady.
I could hear it, a soft pull through flesh, almost a hum in my ears.
My jaw moved on instinct, each pull feeling as if it drew the blood in even faster.
I wasn't even that hungry, but still… It tasted good.
Too good.
And yet, something felt… missing.
Once I finished drinking from all six sheep, the thirst settled.
I also realized something.
The moment I bit them, each sheep went completely still, a kind of paralysis, or something close to it.
What was causing it?
Was it the bite itself… or did my fangs have something in them?
So many questions, and no answers.
I looked to the side.
Kisaya was watching me, and the worry in her eyes hadn't left.
"Next time I'll do it in private" I said.
She shook her head with a small smile. "No. This is you now. I'll get used to it."
I nodded and looked at the six sheep piled together. There wasn't a single drop of blood anywhere. How I could drink that much without letting even one fall.
"What do we do with them?"
Kisaya thought for a moment.
"What if we skin them and sell the meat? Since we bought them anyway, we could make use of it. And if we sell it cheap enough, someone will take all of it.. besides, it's already drained."
"Sounds like a good idea" I said. "Though I have no idea how to do that."
She laughed. "Don't worry, I've got experience. I'll go buy a knife, be right back."
I nodded and watched her leave. The room dimmed a little as the door closed behind her. I let my head fall back against the chair and closed my eyes.
But the moment I did, the image of her came to mind.
Ari.
The tired smile she tried to hold together.
The softness in her voice when she said her husband's name.
The sadness she carried quietly, heavy enough that anyone paying attention could see it.
And the boy, Darim.
That name hit something deep, sharp enough that my chest tightened before I even understood why. It felt like a memory I didn't own, like my body reacted before my mind could catch up.
I kept replaying every detail, the way she looked at him, the way he held her hand, the way something inside me pulled tight for a moment when I watched them walk away.
I couldn't shake it.
I couldn't stop thinking about them.
Like something in me refused to let go.
And worse… beneath all of that, she had no idea the man standing in front of her was the monster who killed her husband.
I clenched my fist.
I owe the family something.
Protection, at least.
But… is that truly what I believe?
Or is this feeling pushing me to think that way? Feelings for someone I didn't know, someone I shouldn't know.
Responsibility?
Some twisted sense of honor?
I didn't know.
But one thing I do know.
We're in Sippar.
A city that isn't mine. Here, I have no standing. No authority. No weight to my name.
Nothing.
But Ishtal does.
And now he wants us to work together.
Whether that's good for me… or a disaster waiting to happen, I don't know.
I chuckled softly. Of course there's a trap somewhere. He doesn't help without wanting something in return. But just like he wants to use me… I can use him too.
A small, sharp smile formed on my face.
The moment Kisaya opened the door, she lifted a knife triumphantly.
"Looks like you didn't have any trouble" I said, smiling.
"None at all" she replied, closing the door behind her.
"By the way…" I continued.
She looked at me, waiting.
"We'll accept Ishtal's offer… with a few conditions."