She stared at me, her voice low, steady. "I figured… you can see it."
"That is…" The words stuck in my throat.
"Spiritual energy" she said. Her fingertip moved, drawing a faint line in the air. A soft violet light followed.
I blinked.
Too vivid. Too real.
I wasn't supposed to see it.
Only the chosen could. Only those bound by a god.
But I did.
I saw it: raw, vivid, alive.
My chest tightened. Everything in my head looped back to the same question.
How..?
You can't use it unless a god chooses you.
Did one choose me?
No. That couldn't be right.
But then why could I see it?
There are conditions, rules. The Ceremony had already spoken—silence, rejection, absence. Yet here I stood, my vision burning with something no outcast should ever touch.
I looked down at my hand. My fingers trembled… not from fear, but from a strange certainty. If I can see it… then a god did this to me. It has to be. There's no other explanation.
But which one?
The question hit me hard. My memory snapped back to the training chamber where the instructor spoke with perfect clarity.
The color reflects the god who blessed you.
If my body still worked like it used to, my heart would be racing.
But how did you summon it? How did you make it appear?
I closed my eyes, and forced myself to remember.
It has will. It responds to your emotions, your control, your focus.
Meditation. Control. Intuition.
The words echoed like chains.
I didn't resist.
Silence pressed close. I sank into it.
And then, I felt it.
Something inside me stirred, something not passive, not controlled, wild.
It wasn't calm or obedient. It clawed—restless, alive. A presence beneath my ribs, twisting and sharp, like a heartbeat that didn't belong to me. It pushed against me, testing, biting. I tried to hold it down, but the harder I tried, the stronger it pulsed.
Alive.
No, more than that.
Hungry.
(Kisaya POV)
He closed his eyes, perfectly still. Was he trying to feel the spiritual energy? I almost called his name.
"Ere…"
The word caught on my tongue.
In his hand, the spiritual energy was already there, layered over the skin, pulsing. Too fast. My breath caught. Had anyone ever done it that easily on their first try?
I thought I'd give him a few tips. Instead, I watched him do something no one had ever done before, at least not that I can remember.
Spiritual energy wrapped him, not faint or soft, but pulsing like a living thing. And even though I'd seen it before, the color struck me like it was the first time.
Deep, blood red.
It wasn't still. It pushed outward, restless, writhing. Alive in a way I'd never seen. No god I knew bore that color. No god I remembered ever claimed such a presence. It wasn't a blessing.
My throat tightened. My body wanted to step back, but my heart betrayed me, dragging me closer.
My arm trembled. Not from fear of dying. I had stared at death too many times to count. This was different, this was the kind of fear that roots itself in the bones.
"Eresh…" I whispered.
The energy lashed outward, and for a moment, I felt like it was looking at me.
I couldn't stop staring.
Then I saw it…
No.
No, no, no, no…
"ERESH!!"
(Darek POV)
I'd been watching them for a while, Ereshgal and Kisaya, sitting by the flames. After a point, I stopped caring.
I felt stiff. Stretched my neck, rolled my shoulders, let out a breath.
Doesn't matter, not yet.
I drifted toward the others, slow, easy steps. My body looked relaxed, but inside I was already taking the situation apart, breaking it down, piece by piece, looking for a part that didn't make sense. Understand first, speak after. That's the rule.
Doesn't matter how urgent it feels. I have to understand the whole situation before I report it, even if it's a lie.
But now the question sat there, quiet and heavy.
Do I understand enough?
I think so.
Now… what do I do?
Help them?
Or stay on the sidelines and see how this plays out?
Kisaya… she's too strong to ignore. Getting on her bad side would be suicidal. Getting on her good side? Might be useful.
For now… I'll help.
It'll all depend on him. The prince. Everything seemed fine when they were talking by the fire, but will he hold together? Can he?
I kept walking toward the cart. Everyone was already there. Even the survivor. Guess he talked, because the second I came into view, I felt it, tension like drawn wires. Wide eyes, uneasy silence. They weren't chatting. They were watching, waiting.
One of them stepped forward.
And the others… gods, the way they looked. Like prey realizing the lion wasn't in a cage after all.
Someone asked, voice cracked with fear: "What happened to the creature?"
I smiled thin.
"Kisaya killed it."
They breathed relief like starving men biting bread.
Couldn't tell them the truth, even if I wanted to.
Saying it would break the Divine Oath. And breaking it… well, let's just say my ending wouldn't be a pleasant one.
But on the other hand… If someone finds out what the prince really is, what's happening to him, Uruk will turn into a furnace long before we ever get the chance to use him.
And I'm not fireproof. I checked.
Another voice: "Where's Lady Kisaya? We need to thank her…"
I tilted my head, still smiling. "She stayed behind. Investigating traces of the creature. Maybe she'll find out where it came from, or if there are more."
That last part made a few spines stiffen. "More?" one asked.
I shrugged. "Not confirmed. But she said the immediate danger's handled. Ordered us back to report, collect rewards, all that."
They nodded, relieved again. They always want relief. Doesn't matter if it's true, as long as it sounds simple.
So I laughed, easy and quiet, as we walked back toward the cart.
A laugh to keep them from asking questions.
But my thoughts cut sharp: If the truth leaks… Uruk won't just burn. It'll drown in its own blood.