Night had already fallen. Oil lamps burned near the remaining stalls, and a few doorways were still lit as people closed up for the night. The light was low but steady, keeping the streets from falling completely into darkness.
But that night, it all felt like a lie.
I stood still on a rooftop, eyes fixed on the market below.
Arisha had told me everything that happened.
It was all my fault.
Even after showing concern for them, even after telling myself I would protect them, I hadn't made sure they were safe.
Why?
My chest tightened, guilt settling in and refusing to let go. It was slow, persistent, impossible to ignore.
I still didn't know if that guilt was mine.
Or if it belonged to Akhem.
In the end, it didn't matter.
I felt it.
And feeling was enough to make it real.
I turned my head slightly, stretching my senses, searching for movement or any clue that might lead me to Darim.
Nothing.
It made no sense. No one would dare do something like this in Sippar, especially not in broad daylight. There were too many coincidences.
"NADIRA!" I shouted, the force of it ripping through my throat "OR WHOEVER IS OUT THERE! COME OUT!"
A few people nearby turned to stare at me, startled by the outburst, but that was all.
Of course.
"I swear on those damned gods, if you don't come out right now, I'll take Kisaya and Ennari and we're leaving this city."
"You can try." Her voice came from behind me.
Once again, she appeared out of nowhere.
I turned.
She still looked at me with that expression, but I had no patience for her nonsense right now.
"Where is Darim?"
"Darim?" she repeated, as if the name meant nothing.
"The child! Where is he?!" I shouted.
"It's surprising that something like you can care about a child" Nadira said, as if she were commenting on the weather.
My jaw tightened.
I wanted to reach out and wrap my hand around her throat just to see if she would finally change expression.
There was no way something like this could've happened without them knowing.
"If Ishtal is involved in this…" I said through gritted teeth.
Nadira tilted her head slightly.
"Is that a threat?" she asked.
I stared at her.
"It is."
Nadira sighed. "We don't know where he is. But most likely this was the work of another high chosen"
I raised an eyebrow.
Another high chosen?
"What did you think?" she laughed softly. "That Lord Ishtal is the only one in the city?"
Damn it.
I knew there were other chosen. I knew it.
And yet, I had let my attention narrow, I had watched Ishtal like he was the only danger. Like he was the only one who could move pieces on this board.
I had been careless.
"But we do know the merchant accomplice left the city not long ago" Nadira continued. "The eyes are chasing him in the ring."
He's already outside?
Darim is in the ring of shadow?
I turned toward the city gate.
"Make sure someone protects Arisha while I'm gone."
Nadira's eyes didn't blink. "I don't take orders from a monster" she said coldly.
I closed my eyes.
Don't attack her. Don't attack her.
"Believe me" I said, opening my eyes again "If anything happens to Arisha too… then you'll see a real monster."
For a moment, I thought I saw doubt flicker in Nadira's gaze.
But, I didn't wait for another word.
I moved across the rooftops of Sippar without stopping, leaping from one to the next.
Within minutes, I reached the gate and stepped into the corridor of light, Shamash's spiritual energy floating through it in a soft golden glow. The moment I crossed, I felt it again, the spiritual energy pressing against my skin, followed by that familiar push, as if it were trying to enter my body. My own energy stirred in response, devouring it. The corridor ended, and the world beyond it hit me all at once.
The Ring of Shadow.
The same scene spread before me again. Tents and broken carts lay scattered across the sand, bodies shaped by survival rather than dignity. Smoke from cookfires drifted low, carrying the smell of sweat, waste, and old blood.
But it didn't matter. I had to find Darim.
I moved away from the corridor. The place looked quiet on the surface, but the noise never really faded. I could still hear the heartbeats beneath it all, overlapping in the same restless, uneven rhythm as before.
Then someone approached me.
A man.
He was so thin his bones showed through his skin, one arm gone. Filthy and naked, hardly human anymore. If not for the fear and anger twisting in my chest, I might have felt pity.
He raised his only arm.
And in his hand… a clay tablet.
He held it out toward me. I hesitated, trying to understand why he was offering it, watching his gaunt face as he pushed the tablet closer. His mouth moved like he was trying to speak, but only broken, uncertain sounds came out. The desperation in his eyes said enough.
I took it.
The child is safe for now. Come alone to the Euphrates. We will speak there.
My hand tightened around the tablet until it cracked, then crumbled completely, turning to dust that slipped through my fingers.
"Who gave you this?!"
His whole body shook as he trembled violently, lifting his hand in panic. When he opened his mouth, I saw it immediately. He stuck out his tongue, or what remained of it. It had been cut out.
He couldn't speak.
Someone had used him to bring this to me. He probably didn't know anything.
I left him there and headed toward the river.
The farther I got from the city, the fewer torches I saw, and I didn't mind it. I could see better at night than during the day.
I passed the eyes along the way, moving in groups, still searching for Darim. The message had been clear. They wanted me to come alone.
And if I didn't go alone, Darim could pay the price.
I kept my hood low and moved past them without slowing. I passed the place where I had first fed on animals in this land.
Finally, I reached the river. The moon's reflection drifted across the surface as the current moved on.
Where were they?
Just as my unease started to rise, a small river boat drifted toward the shore, flat-bottomed and wooden, simple in design. A single lamp glowed at its front, almost peaceful. Someone was rowing. The boat slid closer, then came to a stop at the edge of the water.
"Get in." The voice was flat.
I narrowed my eyes. "Where is Darim?"
The man shook his head slowly. "I don't know what you're talking about" he said, his voice just as empty as before. "I was only told to take you across."
They were being careful. I looked at him, he seemed like nothing more than a common ferryman, dressed in simple linen, his skin darkened by long days under the sun, his face half-lost in the lamp's glow
I stepped into the water, cold seeping into my clothes and weighing them down. As I climbed aboard, the boat rocked slightly under my weight and the lamp flickered. The ferryman didn't look at me and simply began rowing again. The boat turned toward the opposite bank and started crossing. The river wasn't wide, it would only take a few minutes.
As we moved across, I listened to the quiet sounds around us, the steady rhythm of the water and the ferryman's heartbeat. It was calm, unhurried. To him, this was just another crossing.
The boat nudged the bank softly.
Fields stretched beyond the opposite shore. More farmland lay on this side of the river, nothing surprising.
We stopped in front of a large storehouse.
The ferryman looked at me.
"We've arrived."
I stepped off the boat, moved closer, and stopped just outside the building, listening.
If Darim was inside, I would hear him. A child's heartbeat was different, lighter and quicker than an adult's, easier to pick out.
But… there was only one heartbeat beyond the door, and it belonged to an adult.
I pressed my palm against the wood, feeling its rough grain beneath my hand, and focused on that single rhythm.
Whoever was in there knew where he was. And I was going to make sure they told me.