Sarratum Tabni stepped back and met my eyes. Hers were hooded. Calculating.

“Mighty A-zu, healer, we grant you our thankfulness on this evening for all you have done for our city. You, a stranger in our land, worked to bring my warriors back to health. May the Koru repay your kindness with their allegiance.”

At once, the warriors brandished their battle-axes and swords and shouted my name, a great wave of exultation that resonated off the homes scattered nearby.

As they chanted, I locked my hands together to keep from playing with my healer’s satchel. I had only been doing my job. What I had been trained to do by my abum. Though healing all of them had been a challenge, since Mudi, the healer with whom I’d been working, tended to favor the spirit world to her own rational thought. She told me that my visions from the Boatman were gifts. That I should listen to what he was trying to tell me.

But all he brought to me were nightmares about Alu, a city I’d never be able to visit again.

“Do you accept the gift that we have given you, Healer?” Sarratum Tabni asked.

“Yes, my lady.” Not accepting this gift wasn’t an option. Arwia, our exiled queen of Alu, had told me so earlier. Rejecting their kindness could only lead to ill will, even if it felt like too much. “I accept it.”

She smiled briefly. “Good. We ask that you use it wisely, letting the goddess guide your heart.”

The queen turned to the Koru and raised her arms up high. “My Koru, warrior maidens of Manzazu, children of Linaza, I invite you to feast in the A-zu’s honor tonight. Drink from Linaza’s cup. Dine from her abundance. Let us celebrate Kammani’s bestowal of her gifts upon our great city. We can rest easy this night knowing we lie in her capable hands.”

The Koru cheered once more, a great ferocious roar, and my heart seized as I looked at them all. These warriors were part of a larger Manzazu army that protected me. The citizens of this city, our place of refuge, were now my citizens. Their illnesses, mine to heal. And though the thought filled me with pride, with a certain amount of unspeakable joy, it also filled me with an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

I couldn’t let them down now. Though I’d barely begun to make headway in this city that would rather pray and whisper incantations than take the tinctures I gave them, I would build a successful, thriving healing practice here with my own two hands. I swore it.

The musicians took up their drums and shakers once more to play a quick, staccato rhythm. Some of the Koru gathered to dance. Some dispersed to partake in the food brought in from Linaza’s altars. Others hoisted me to their shoulders to sway in front of their goddess, voices raised in excitement.

“A-zu, this is your night.” Commander Ummi’s face was bright with religious fervor underneath me. “Enjoy it.” She and other warriors jostled me around to the rhythm of the drums. Writhing in embarrassment, I met Dagan’s eyes at the perimeter of the courtyard. He grinned and gave a little wave.