(Ereshgal POV)
Kelzar stepped toward me, panic breaking through his expression.
"Stop using spiritual energy right now" he whispered.
"I'm not using any" I answered.
"Liar." His voice sharpened. "How else did you hear them? They were too far away."
I understood his concern immediately. From his perspective, spiritual energy was the only explanation that made sense. Luckily, I had prepared for this.
"Ishtal told you who chose me, didn't he?"
Kelzar looked at me for a moment, then nodded.
"There's your answer."
The words left a sour taste in my mouth.
Chosen.
It almost made me want to laugh.
But Kelzar stared at me, and from the look in his eyes, he believed me. Or at least, he wanted to.
I pointed toward Kisaya.
"You can ask her."
Kisaya met Kelzar's gaze. She already knew what I intended to say if this happened, so she gave a small nod. Kelzar looked between us, still tense, but he did not argue. While we spoke, the guards drew closer. Their voices carried through the darkness, clear only to me.
"Are you sure this is our section?" one of them asked.
"Yes. No doubt" another replied.
"Split up. Move in pairs. Start patrolling."
I lowered my voice. "They're starting to patrol the area."
Everyone went still. I stepped closer to Kelzar, who seemed lost in thought, and gripped his shoulder.
"This is not the time to get distracted" I whispered. "Is it possible something was leaked?"
Kelzar snapped back to himself at once. He shook his head.
"Impossible."
In that case, we needed to understand why they were here.
"Then information comes first" I said. "I'll listen and see if I can catch anything useful."
I turned my attention back toward the guards.
Their voices carried through the dark in broken pieces, mixed with the sounds of the night. Footsteps, torches crackled softly in the distance, and armor brushed against cloth whenever someone shifted too quickly.
At first, most of it told me nothing. Short orders. Quiet complaints. Men asking each other which path to take.
While I listened, Kelzar leaned toward Kisaya and spoke under his breath.
"Has he always been able to do that?"
"Since the moment he was chosen" Kisaya replied without hesitation.
"What is his range?"
"An eighth of a mile."
Perfect.
She remembered to tell him only half. Kelzar fell silent after that. I could feel his stare on me, but I ignored it and kept listening. The guards continued moving through the area in pairs. I filtered through every voice, every careless murmur, every useless exchange.
Then, finally, I caught something worth hearing.
"We shouldn't be here" a young guard muttered.
"Oh, really?" his companion answered at once. His voice was older, rougher. "Where should we be, then?"
"Hunting those cultists."
"Tarak, we already talked about this. That is not your job. Focus on the patrol."
So the young one was named Tarak.
"This area is useless" Tarak murmured. "It is not even important."
"We do not know that. Remember what the captain ordered a few days ago. Patrols are to be reinforced until the coronation. Every part of the city has to be covered. Something could happen."
I listened for a few more breaths, but the rest of their conversation gave me nothing useful. At least now I understood. I turned back to the others and repeated what I had heard.
"So they have been increasing patrols for days" Kisaya said.
Her eyes moved to Kelzar. "When was the last time you updated your information?"
Kelzar exhaled through his nose. "A few days ago."
"So this is basically your fault" Kisaya said flatly.
Kelzar gave her a sharp look, but he did not deny it. Lureh shifted beside us, her hands tightening around the cloth covering her face.
"What do we do now?" she whispered.
She was right to ask. We could not stay here all night. The patrols were spreading through the area, and I could already hear some of them moving near the bridge.
If we waited too long, they would close every path around us.
I looked at Kelzar. He brought a hand to his chin and fell silent, probably going through whatever backup plans he had prepared.
"Where is the workshop we are trying to reach?" I cut in.
He hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer and explained the location in a low voice. The route was simple enough: across the canal, past the first row of workshops, then deeper into the district.
Simple, if the streets had been empty.
I did not know the city as well as Kelzar did. As a prince, I had not been allowed to wander wherever I pleased. Still, I searched through Akhem's memories and found what I needed almost at once.
Between his memories, Kelzar's directions, and everything I could hear, a clear enough map formed in my head.
I explained the plan in a low voice. We would move while I tracked the guards by sound.I would decide when to move, when to hold back, and when to cross.
No one objected.
"Good" I whispered. "Now I need to concentrate, so make as little noise as possible. Follow my signals."
I closed my eyes. One by one, I found them.
Sandals scraped near the canal. Spear shafts tapped lightly against shoulders, and the faint crackle of torches moved with them.
A pair of guards had crossed the bridge and were heading toward us.
We had to wait.
I gestured for the others to press themselves against the wall and crouch as low as they could. Kisaya obeyed immediately. Zabar moved without a sound. Lureh took half a breath too long, but she followed, pulling her clothes close so they would not brush against the wall.
Kelzar watched me for a moment before doing the same.
The guards passed close enough for their torchlight to reach us. It slid across the ground, trembling with each step, until it touched the edge of Lureh's sleeve. She nearly gasped, but Kisaya covered her mouth before the sound escaped.
Only when the glow faded did the others let out the breaths they had been holding.
"Now?" Kisaya whispered.
I shook my head.
"Two more are walking along the canal. They are about to pass the bridge. We wait until they move beyond it."
Once they were past it, I signaled to the others with my hand.
"Now."
We moved quickly, one after another, crossing the bridge in a tight line. To our right, I could see the guards I had heard earlier, their torches drifting farther down the canal.
The path ahead stayed clear, so we continued straight.
I kept listening. Not only for where the guards were, but for every small change in the sounds they made. If their steps grew louder, they were coming closer. If the crackle of their torches faded, they were turning away. If the rhythm broke, they had stopped or changed direction.
In my mind, the city became a quarter-mile dome of sound. Every step inside it had a place. Every patrol had a rhythm. I kept track of them all, adjusting the path each time that rhythm changed.
There were more of them than I expected.
Far more.
But once I adjusted to their routes, reaching our destination became possible.
Not long after, we arrived. Kelzar went ahead and stopped in front of a dark workshop. He pushed it open just enough for us to slip inside. We entered one by one, and he closed it behind us without making a sound.
Only then did Kelzar and Lureh breathe out in relief. Kelzar stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"We would not have made it without you," he said quietly. "Thank you." A faint, tired smile touched his face. "I suppose your brother really does underestimate you after all."
I let out a low laugh. "Don't mention it."
Kelzar stepped back and gestured deeper into the workshop.
"Go through to the courtyard. There is a room at the back, but it only has two beds. You decide how to handle that." He lowered himself to the floor with a tired grunt. "I told you it would be tight, didn't I?"
We started toward the room.
"Ah, by the way, Prince" Kelzar said.
I stopped and turned to look at him.
"Prince?..." Zabar whispered.
"You need the animals every day, right? Ishtal told me."
I shook my head. "Not for now."
My eyes moved to Zabar for a moment.
"I'll be fine"