The rain had come. Gentle at first, but before we reached the path to the city, it was like the sky was weeping in excess. Dingira all but danced down the mountain, catching the rain in her hands and mouth like a child who witnessed rain for the first time.

Even Idal smiled brightly, gushing to me with each footfall. "I can't believe you did it. You actually made it rain. Enheduanna the miracle priestess, wait until your father hears that."

"I'm sure he will be pleased," I giggled before the changing waterline of the river caught my eye. "Although I'm not sure the people of Lagash will be pleased with this much water."

"Are you kidding? They will be thrilled. Now the river will leave slip on the lands, making it soil fertile again." Idal explained before wrapping a hand around my shoulder. "Be proud, Enheduanna. Your bond with the gods has brightened more lives than you can count. Wear it with honour."

"Thank you, Idal. I will." I smiled, and for the shortest moment, his face was so close to mine our noses were almost touching. I pulled away in embarrassment, pretending to react to one of Dingira's cries of joy.

She was beaming in the rain, wet hair clinging to her face, as she danced all the way down the mountain. At the start of the path, Lugal-ushumgal awaited our return, hordes of servants and slaves in toe. The moment his eyes spotted me, he threw himself onto the ground, his water-coloured garments melding into the puddles on the ground. His entourage followed suit, laying their foreheads on the wet stones, proclamations of praise echoing from their lips.

"Hail, Enheduanna! En-priestess of Ur, anointed of Nanna. Hail the miracle priestess!"

Taking Idal's advice, I rolled my shoulders back, pointing my chin to the sky and basked in this moment. My title was on their lips. Each word flooded my senses like a beautiful summer's day, filling me with a warmth akin to the sun. My steps so light I might have taken flight with wings. They praised me. Not for my blood, but for my deeds. Is this was recognition felt like?

That night Lagash celebrated. Women danced, men drank their honeyed wines and every child in the city came to lay offerings at my feet. Jewels of every kind, gold and silver, forming a small mountain that reached up to my raised dais.

The servants laid a silver platter in front of me, on top of which sat a fleshy pink strip of trout, garnished with a dashing of green herbs I didn't know but enjoyed the taste of. The fish course was supplemented by a side plate of mussels. Their black shells lay open, the beige insides spilling out - sickening yet enticing. Knowing they already had so little, I politely declined the mussels, letting the children feast on them and after consuming only half of the trout, I pushed the plate away.

Lugal-ushumgal eyed me suspiciously. "Does the fish not please you, My Great Lady?"

"Oh no, it is perfect. I am satiated, that is all." I responded. "Please, let your people have the rest, my good lord."

"You honour your title, My Great Lady. Truly, you are a jewel of the heavens." Lugal-ushumgal said.

As my eyes glided over the festivities, my mind returned to that night in the royal palace. It was barely one moon cycle ago when the royal diviners announced me to be the new high priestess of Nanna, but to me, it felt like a lifetime. My legs already got used to sitting on a dais. My head knew how to balance the horned crown. My heart knew Nanna spoke true to me—no, not Nanna—I had never even seen Nanna.

Insecurity clawed at the edges of my thoughts as if Anzû himself was trying to steal that slither of pride I had gained. I shouldn't worry, I was the miracle priestess. These people praised me like a goddess reborn. I could do no wrong.

"Enheduanna, are you okay? You seem tired." Idal appeared beside me, worry written on his face. "Shall I escort you to your sleeping quarters?"

Greatful, I took his outstretched hand and after giving my thanks to Lugal-ushumgal, I stepped out of the light, traveling into the darkness of night with Idal guiding me.

"I'm sorry for whisking you away so suddenly," he said.

"There is nothing to apologize for. I am thankful you saw my tiredness when you did."

Suddenly, Idal stopped dead in his tracks. "I must confess something. I have an ulterior motive for taking you away from the festivities."

His daunting words didn't match his slummed shoulders and fidgeting hands. Making me both intrigued and slightly worried. Cautiously, I took a step forward. "What do you mean?"

Idal swallowed a lump. With his onyx eyes, he gazed at me like he really saw me for the first time. "I heard what you said in Ningishzida's temple. I heard your hymn of love. And I feel the same way. I know we can never act upon it, because you are a priestess—and I your steward. But I wanted to tell you that I feel the same way."

"What do you mean?" I repeated, confused as to what it was Idal was referring to.

Within an instance Idal wrapped his hand around mine. "You made me anew, Enheduanna. I too am reborn in the most perfect form. I never thought I ever could be as happy as I am now. As an archer, I always brought death. My only purpose was to kill people. But with you, I bring life. Enrich life. You inspire me to be a better person every day, and your gentle smiles that are so hard to earn brighten my life like the moon does the night. I—I love you."

He had made his big declaration of love. A grand speech, the likes of which I had read—out loud—in the temple, but now the silence lay on my skin like poison. It seeped into my blood and paralyzed my thoughts.

Idal's pupils became so dilated his eyes seemed entirely black and there was a tremor in his hands that had never been there before. As his eyebrows furrowed in regret, I realized my face must have been one of awkwardness, not even hurrying to save his feelings. I wanted to. I wanted to tell him how much I cared for him, how thankful I was for his presence. But none of those proclamations could fill the void of appreciation and admiration he just confessed to. The void was a cruelty I inflicted unintentionally, but here I was feeling utterly useless and cruel for the way I felt.

He picked his eyes off the gravel with the weariness of one who was bestowed a faith worse than death, and I could stay silent no longer. "I'm so sorry, Idal, but I am in love with Dingira. I wish I could reciprocate your feeling, for you are a good person, but I know in my heart that I can't."

"You were talking about Dingira in the temple?" Idal asked, his eyes still focused on the ground.

"No, I was reading a hymn from—someone who left it in the Giparu."

"Oh," he sighed. His lips parted several times, speaking words he swallowed before they made a sound when at last his eyes met mine. "Do you trust Dingira?"

"I always thought that trust must come before love, yet it is not so, for love and trust can arrive at the same moment. Her love is given so immediate, with no explanations, that the trust arrives too. Perhaps that is why people advise caution or call it foolish, but to me, it never feels foolish. Love is always a gift from the divine spirits." I halted for a moment, reading Idal's pained expression. His feelings pained him in this moment. I motioned between us, "This love isn't physical, and it isn't a sin to feel such affections; it is only natural to love. We love in as many ways as there are stars in the sky; we love our parents, siblings, the ones who nurture us, the ones who save or inspire us."

Tentatively, I reached out, cupping Idal's chin in my hand. "In a way, I love you. You who protect me—"

"I was ordered to do that," Idal wheezed a bit sarcastically.

I smile against my better judgement. "You know that not to be true. There is so much more that you do. You also advise me, even correct me when I am wrong. It might not always seem like I'm listening, but I am. It just takes some time to overcome my pride."

"And you have a lot of that."

"You constantly complimenting me with each achievement isn't going to help." I replied.

"You have grown so much, Enheduanna." Idal sighed, "I hope Dingira may be someone who will one day protect, rescue and nurture you. Because even though trust is foundational to all human relationships, it doesn't always come first. Nor is it always deserved. But if you trust her, I'll trust her as well."

"Anna," Dingira shouted as she ran up to us, a white cloth flapping in her hand. Despite Idal's promise, I could feel him tense up as soon as Dingira arrived. "A bird brought a message for you. Lugal-ushumgal said it was urgent."

"What kind of bird brought this message?" Idal asked.

"I don't know. A big bird." Dingira huffed.

I unrolled the white cloth, reading the ink imprints that were written in such a hurry it was almost impossible to distinguish all the words through the spilled ink that soaked the cloth. But one sentence was all I could read before my knees gave out beneath me.

Sargon, king of Akkad and his queen Tashlultum are dead.