(Ereshgal POV)
We walked ahead while the soldiers followed far enough behind us not to draw attention.
"Who are we meeting first?" I asked Hadan.
I was curious to see which council member he had picked.
"Mekar. Head of House Ubara."
His face surfaced immediately in Namur's memories. Mekar was a reserved man, respected even by those who disagreed with him. He had never been part of Kudur's inner circle, nor had he been one of the men pushing for my father's removal from the beginning. He had supported Kudur only after he stopped trusting my father's judgment and believed there was no longer a capable heir left to take the throne.
He had chosen what he believed was the most stable option for Uruk, not Kudur himself. Out of the twelve members of the council, I probably would have gone to him first too.
More importantly, another neutral member, Belari, tended to listen to Mekar's opinion before casting her vote. If Mekar changed sides, there was a decent chance he would not come alone.
I glanced at Hadan.
He had chosen well.
Now we only had to convince him.
We needed seven votes for a majority. Two members of the council were still loyal to my father, and Ishtal had already brought another two to our side. If Mekar agreed to join us, we would have five.
That left two more.
That was our job for the next three days.
We left the main street behind and turned into a quieter one. The soldiers slowed near one of the canals and stayed there, pretending to rest while Hadan and I continued alone.
Mekar's house was easy to recognize.
It took up almost an entire side of the street, its outer walls marked with the emblem of house Ubara: three stalks of grain crossed by a line of water.
Two guards stood at the entrance. They recognized Hadan immediately, but both of them looked at me a little longer.
"I need to speak with Mekar" Hadan said.
"Is he expecting you, sir?"
"Yes."
One of the guards went inside. He returned a short while later and allowed us through.
We crossed a wide courtyard surrounded by storerooms and connected rooms. Servants carried small sacks of grain from one building to another while two scribes stood over a table, checking clay tablets against what was being moved.
House Ubara controlled farmland north of Uruk, along with several of the canals that kept those fields alive. It was not the most powerful of the great houses, but that almost did not matter. Too many families depended on its land, its grain, or its water for Mekar's voice to be ignored.
We were led into a more secluded room at the back of the estate.
Mekar was waiting for us beside a low table, with two servants standing nearby. His hair was cut short, streaked with gray at the sides, and he wore a simple tunic with little decoration.
Once we entered, he raised a hand. The servants bowed and left without a word. The guards closed the doors behind them.
We waited until their footsteps faded.
"Can we speak freely here?" Hadan asked.
Mekar looked at him. "You can check, if you're concerned."
Hadan brought his palms together. Black spiritual energy began gathering between his hands, the unmistakable energy of someone chosen by Ereshkigal. It spread almost immediately, passing over me and expanding through the room until everything around us was caught inside it.
I had never actually tried creating a spiritual zone myself. Liraya had been able to do it, so in theory, I should be able to as well.
A few seconds later, Hadan let his hands fall and the energy disappeared.
"It's safe."
Mekar's attention shifted to me.
"Who is he?"
Hadan glanced my way and gestured toward my hood. I raised my hands and pulled it back.
Mekar did not react at first.
His eyes moved slowly across my face, lingering on each feature as if he expected to find something wrong. Some small detail that would prove this was a trick.
Then he stood.
"No."
I almost smiled. "It's good to see a different reaction for once."
His expression did not change.
"Prince Ereshgal is dead."
I could hardly blame him. He had spent five years accepting that as fact. Seeing my face was not going to erase all of that in a few seconds.
"That's what I thought too" Hadan said.
Mekar looked at him.
"You verified it?"
Hadan gave a short laugh. "Of course. Who do you take me for?"
Mekar turned back to me.
"Let us assume you really are Ereshgal. Why have you waited until now to show yourself?"
"Circumstances made it impossible for me to return."
Mekar let out a dry laugh. "Of course. And now, with three days left before the coronation, those circumstances suddenly changed."
"I wanted to return sooner. But the man who nearly had me killed five years ago is now in control of Uruk. If Kudur learns I'm alive before I'm ready to act, he'll make sure I don't get another chance."
Mekar watched me for a moment, then sighed and sat down again. He reached for the wine and poured himself a little.
"So your father was right after all. You were alive."
"What do you want from me?"
"My father was imprisoned" I said. "Ishtal had renounced his claim. Ennari was too young, and I was believed dead. Kudur was the only option you had left."
Mekar leaned back slightly.
"Then you understand why I supported him."
"I understood before I walked through your door."
He rested both forearms on the table.
"And now you expect me to change my decision simply because you came back?"
"No."
I held his gaze.
"I expect you to change it because the reason you chose Kudur no longer exists."
Silence stretched between us.
Mekar gave a quiet laugh. "I'm glad you're alive. I truly am. But that changes very little. No one is going to support an heir who cannot defend the kingdom, not with Uruk in the state it is now."
I smiled.
"That part has changed. I'm a chosen now."
His expression tightened. "Ereshgal was never chosen by any god."
The suspicion was back.
"I wasn't chosen during the ceremony because another god already had plans for me."
"Which god?"
"Anshar."
For the first time, Mekar's control slipped. It was barely more than a flicker in his eyes, but I caught it.
"Anshar has never chosen anyone."
"Apparently, he finally found someone worth choosing."
Mekar looked at Hadan again, searching for confirmation.
Hadan let out a short laugh. "He is a chosen, and his spiritual energy has a color none of us have ever seen before."
Mekar looked back at me.
"That proves you are a chosen. It does not prove Anshar chose you."
"No. For that, you'll have to take my word for it."
Mekar poured himself another cup of wine.
"I can at least see the possibility now, but..."
He paused.
"Kudur has kept this city standing. The rituals are spreading. Kish is moving soldiers. The northern fields barely have enough protection as it is. If this turns into another fight over the throne, who is going to stop our enemies from taking advantage of it?"
"That fear is exactly what Kudur is using to rush his coronation before anyone has the chance to question him."
"That does not answer my question." Mekar's voice hardened. "Kudur may be an opportunist, but another civil war could destroy Uruk."
"I understand that."
I leaned slightly forward.
"But with your support or without it, I'm going to try to stop him. And if Kudur crowns himself without enough support behind him, there is a good chance the fighting starts anyway."
Mekar's eyes narrowed. "Is that a threat, boy?"
Hadan shifted beside me, ready to speak, but I stopped him with a hand.
"No."
I kept my eyes on Mekar.
"But I'm not going to leave Uruk in the hands of a man who weakened his own kingdom just to put himself on the throne."
"Are you saying Kudur was behind the rituals?" Mekar asked.
"No."
"The cultists don't work for him" I continued. "But Kudur used what they were doing to make it look like my father was responsible. You know how strong Lugalbanda is. I still don't know how they managed to imprison him, but they did. Namur helped make that happen."
Mekar frowned at the name.
"Namur is loyal to your father."
"Namur had been serving Kudur since before his first rebellion."
"Can you prove all of that?"
I thought for a moment, searching through Namur's memories.
"Hadan, Ashren, and Azel heard enough from Namur himself to confirm where his loyalty really lay. As for the fabricated evidence, I can give you names and help trace it back to the people who planted it."
I paused.
"Namur also tried to kill me to make sure Kudur's coronation went ahead."
Mekar looked at Hadan again. By this point, it was becoming a habit.
"He's telling the truth" the old man said. "We also uncovered other infiltrators inside our own faction."
Mekar lowered his eyes to the table. One finger tapped against the surface once, then stopped. The existence of spies did not seem to surprise him.
"What exactly is your plan?" Mekar asked at last.
"We stop the coronation."
"And then?"
"The council will meet and decide who has the rightful claim to the throne."
Mekar studied me.
"So you intend to claim the crown."
"I intend to prove that I never stopped being the legitimate heir."
He watched me for several seconds.
"You speak as if Kudur is going to let a vote take everything away from him."
"If we have a majority of the council behind us, along with Ishtal's support, we can put enough pressure on him."
A faint crease appeared between Mekar's brows.
I was not asking him to trust me. I was not even asking him to believe I would make a better king.
He only had to accept one thing.
Kudur could not be crowned while a legitimate heir still lived and the accusations against my father remained in doubt.
That was a much easier decision to make.
"If what you're saying is true," Mekar said, "then Kudur has no right to be crowned"
"Then vote to stop it."
Mekar leaned back slowly.
"I'll vote to suspend the coronation and demand that the council reopen Lugalbanda's case. If Kudur refuses, I'll withdraw my support."
Hadan smiled.
"Sounds like a vote to me."
"It's a vote for an investigation" Mekar corrected him.
His eyes returned to me.
"Not a vote to crown a boy who came back from the dead claiming to have been chosen by a god whose spiritual energy no one has ever seen before."
"For now, that's enough."
Mekar nodded.
"If it helps, Belari might listen to me, but I won't speak for her. You'll have to convince her yourself."
"That was the plan."
We stood.
I was about to pull my hood back over my head when Mekar spoke again.
"There's something else you should understand."
I stopped.
"Whatever investigation comes from this needs to be quick. I'll put the city before any man, whether that man is Kudur, Lugalbanda, or you."
Fair enough.
I pulled my hood back up.
Once we were outside, Hadan waited until we were far enough from the guards before speaking.
"One down."
I looked at the streets ahead of us.
"Two more."