“As if Dagan would agree. Or Nasu.”
“Dagan could come with me if he were disguised. He’s of the noble class. He can…I don’t know…sneak around and convince the ensis to accept you and get the people on our side. Nasu could come along to protect us.”
She stared at me, her black eyebrows coming together in angst. “Then I am coming as well.”
“No! You’re too precious. If something were to happen to you, then who would rule?”
“Kammani, stop it. We’ll have to figure out another way. This is ludicrous.”
“We can do this, Arwia. We can sneak into the city and send him to the Netherworld before that insane sarratum up there bloodies everyone in Alu.”
“This is terrible.” Arwia crossed her arms over her chest as we took the last remaining steps and descended into the chaos of the Libbu. A pair of donkeys pulled a creaking cart stacked high with spears, their sharpened blades a stark reminder of what was at stake.
“We’ll be ghosts in the night, my friend. He’ll never see us coming.” I couldn’t believe I was convincing her I would make a good murderer. I couldn’t believe I had to.
After several moments, Arwia straightened her shoulders, but her eyes were bleak as she assessed the frenetic movement in the Libbu.
“You’re probably right, Kammani, though I hate it. I hate the whole idea.” She stared at the weapons gleaming in front of us. “But if we don’t, we’ll live the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, waiting for the blade. She touched her stitched ear absently. “I have far too many plans for my life to live like that. Well, I did. I suppose now my plans include a throne.” She stared gloomily at the weaponry cart.
“And I have plans, too.” In Alu, I could rebuild a healing practice with my own citizens. I could build a home with Nanaea and Kasha. Spend a long life with Dagan in whatever form that took.
Uruku had already taken my abum, my good kind mentor who’d taught me everything I knew about healing. He’d stolen Mirrum. Mudi.
He’d stolen this safe haven of Manzazu right from under our feet.
Though it sent shivers of dread up into my hairline and guilt into my heart that I was already thinking of the deadliest poisons to use, I wouldn’t let him steal anything else from me ever again.
NANAEA AND KASHA walked next to me on the road to Alu, their sandals crunching in the silted sand, eyes squinted against the blazing sunshine. Their presence grated on my nerves. They’d refused my demands to stay in Manzazu, safe and secure with Simti and Ilu. Kasha had wailed in fright, beating his chest and threatening to sneak away and follow us if I left him. Nanaea had promised she’d help get us into the city with clever disguises and had argued that her life was on the line, not just mine, and wasn’t she a grown woman now, too, so she should be able to do what she liked.
By the time she’d finished speaking, my head had been pounding, and I’d agreed to let her come if only to shut her up. We’d tearfully hugged Simti goodbye, promising we’d return with news of our triumph.
Obviously, we couldn’t all just march into Alu’s gates, so we decided to stop in Wussuru, an abandoned city-state a few hours’ ride from Alu. Nasu and the traders had slept there before and said it was safe and had a working well. Arwia said that she needed to be near enough to claim the throne quickly should we accomplish our task, so she’d camp there until she got word. Since she couldn’t stay alone, Nasu agreed to stay in Wussuru as her guardsman. We all convinced Kasha he should also camp with them to be an extra set of eyes and ears.
The rest of us would head into the city of our birth.
Nanaea to disguise us.
Dagan to pave the way for the nin’s coronation.
Iltani to be the sneak.
And me to mix the poison.
My throat went dry even thinking about it. I still needed to find something deadly enough to do the job. My tinctures had dwindled since trade had been reduced, and I didn’t have time to test any new plants or berries before we left. With Mudi gone, there was no one to go to for help, either. I was counting on Dagan’s mother to have something suitable at the farm. If anyone would have a tincture to take down Uruku, it would be her.
I am going to kill a man.
My abum had always trained me to do no harm. Ease someone into death only if they’re suffering greatly. Keep my feelings out of my practice if I was angry with the person I was treating.
Churning with dread, I brushed the damp hair out of my eyes and laid a hand on the packed, squeaking cart to steady myself in the blazing sun. We were disguised as traders, loaded down with carpets and casks from Ilu’s father. Dagan and Nasu marched up front, flush with weaponry to discourage theft as we traversed down the busy road that wound near the river.
“You all right?” Beet red, Arwia sat under a thin linen on the cart, rocking gently with every bump and turn. We’d advised her to stay hidden as much as possible, but in this heat, it was difficult to be strict.
“Just hot. Very hot. The sun is relentless.” A trickle of sweat rolled down my throat where my scorpion necklace should be. I had taken it off and stowed it in my healing chest for safekeeping.
“It is. But Nasu says we should arrive by nightfall.” She blinked up at the sun and frowned. “Whenever that will be.”
“See anything behind us?” I asked her, glancing over my shoulder.
“Not a thing. Just traders and travelers. That’s it.”
“Good.”
We’d told Sarratum Tabni that we were going to go hide in Enlidu until the war was over in case Uruku tried again. Arwia explained that we didn’t feel safe in Manzazu since the assassination attempt, and there was a high likelihood the sarratum didn’t believe a word of what she said. She’d offered to send some Koru with us to protect us on our journey, but we’d declined. They could report on our attempt to subvert the war that the queen had planned, and we’d be hauled back to the Palace, likely in chains.
We’d been traveling for two days and two nights now, and the threat of them catching wind of what we were planning urged my feet forward. We’d lost two days planning in Manzazu before we left, so we only had about a week and a half to complete our mission.
Not nearly long enough.
“I’m going to check on Iltani,” I told Arwia.
“Okay. Tell her to stay out of the sweetwine jugs. She can drink water if she’s thirsty, like the rest of us.”
“I will. Assuming she will listen to me.”
“You can only try.”