My mouth flew open in silent terror, and when my eyes cleared and little Rish appeared once more in front of me, I was shaking so badly I could barely stand.

But I did, pushing myself out of the tent into the bright sunlight, panicked gasps tearing from my throat.

“Sister? What’s wrong?” Kasha asked.

I shivered. Nanaea was now standing with everyone, her face screwed up in concern while Assata and Ummi argued with Dagan. Dagan tore his gaze away from them as I stumbled to the washbasin.

“Are you all right? Is it Rish?” He laid a hand on my back as I knelt down in front of the cool water. “What happened?”

“I—” I closed my mouth to stop my teeth from chattering. “It was hot in there and I felt a little nauseous. Rish is okay. Resting.”

“I’ll stay with him.” Shep ducked into the tent behind me.

But Dagan didn’t know what had happened in there. I’d seen him again. I’d seen the Boatman in full as I’d felt his touch on my cheek behind the fishmonger’s stall. Just as I’d seen him in the tomb with Lugal Marus. Was Mudi right? Was he trying to contact me to help me? Trying to show me something? Or was he trying to get to Rish? Was the boy so far gone?

Of course not!

Rish wasn’t that sick from his arm. Not yet. I knew it and I could trust the facts. My father always said to trust the evidence because it always told the truth. But my mother said there were forces outside of us at work, and we never knew what could happen if we let ourselves trust in them. The Koru trusted in them. They trusted in Linaza more than their own minds.

I dipped into the barrel of water and washed the sweat from my face as Dagan rubbed my back. As I dabbed my skin dry, a thought occurred to me that raised the hair on my head.

The Koru trusted in Linaza.

So much so, in fact, that they’d given me a scorpion necklace and a favor supposedly on her behalf.

If I needed one more chance to poison Uruku and rescue Iltani, then perhaps, I could do both things if I used the favor—now!

Dagan rubbed my shoulders, his handsome face screwed up in concern as Nanaea and Assata bickered. “Are you ill?”

“No.” I shook my hands off to dry them and stood, wiping them on my tunic. My knees were wobbly, but I was more than fine. I walked over to my sister, and whispered in her ear to go fetch my scorpion amulet from my healer’s chest. When she ran off, I approached Assata, who stood next to Ummi and Higal. I laid a hand on Assata’s forearm. On the bracer covering Ummi’s. Higal crossed her arms over her barrel chest.

“I’ve heard from Linaza in the tent, Ummi. An imminent attack is not what she wants.”