Chapter Twenty-Five

"I know who you are."

Set looked up from the scroll splayed open across his lap to look at me, narrowing those gleaming silver eyes on me. He sat with one leg folded over the other, his hands resting on his knees, his long hair falling like a black waterfall over his shoulder. Behind him, the albino crocodile appeared just above the surface, as if to also question my claim.

"Do you, now?" Set asked, straightening slowly. I inclined my head, then pushed off the column I'd been leaning on. I lowered my arms from across my chest and Set's eyes flickered, his head cocking slightly.

"I've been watching you since the moment you appeared before me," I answered, watching him raise an eyebrow, "My first impression of you was how beautiful you are." He straightened at that, his eyes widening for a split second before he dropped them to the floor, as if he were having difficulties looking directly at me.

"You're quite possibly the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. I find it difficult to not watch you when you enter the room. You are a true testament to the Egyptian lineage. You are also one of the most powerful creatures that walks this planet. You are a god of chaos, blood lust, and you are also a god of the desert, of storms, and of foreigners. You are intelligent and you are strong. You have a way with even the most fiercest of animals, quite possibly because you deal with a beast inside your own self. You've found a way to quell the beast of chaos that lives in your heart and your soul. You are fiercely loyal and you love so deeply. You are, in so many ways, the most beautiful creature."

Set stared at the floor now. He was unsure whether or not to believe my words. I understood.

"But I have seen the problems that you deal with," I said at last, making him blink and look up curiously, "The method in which you quell your beast is unhealthy. You allow your family, your wife, to abuse you. You believe that if you play their game, allow them to treat you as nothing more than a wild animal that needs to be controlled, you can keep the beast from lashing out. It wasn't hard either. While love is a powerful force that you use often, it unfortunately has backfired on you quite a few times, has it not?" Set's eyes sharpened.

"Shut up," he snapped, shutting the scroll and setting it down. I met his eyes levelly.

"I am correct. And I know of the people who have harmed you. I know that you have begun to tell yourself that your self-loathing is necessary in order to leash the beast within you, but it is not. The beast inside you is feeding on this. It becomes stronger, and soon, it will completely consume you and you will kill everyone around you, including those you love. Including your people."

"I have no idea what you're spouting off about," Set said coldly, picking up his scroll and rolling it up as he turned his back to me, "All you've done is stood around and spied on me. It is none of your business to deal with my family matters. You came here to help me, not--"

"Do not turn your back on me," I said firmly. Set froze, then slowly turned to face me, his expression murderous.

"How dare you speak to me--"

"I have come to assist you. In order to do that, I must know who you are and what has made you the way you are. You are one of the most powerful creatures in the world, yet you bend to the will of lessers because you are afraid of yourself. Because you hate yourself, more than you hate anyone else." My words only heightened Set's rage. He dropped the scroll and moved fast. One minute, we were standing before the pool and in the next, Set had me slammed against the column beside the dais upon which sat his throne. He pinned me with his hard solid body, his hands capturing my wrists and thrusting them over my head.

"You've been here for only a week," he spat in my face, and I simply watched him calmly, "You know nothing, absolutely nothing, about me or my family or anything else for the matter. I see now what Lucifer has done-- sending his pretty little whore to my chambers to seduce me in hopes of earning my alliance with him, but I'm afraid you and he are incorrect, as I do not associate with foreigners. And you have lost your game." I raised an eyebrow.

"A month has not finished. I lost nothing."

"Oh, please," Set sneered, "You truly expect me to believe that you can fix everything in a month? You say I am intelligent, and I am, because I am not falling for such a stupid scam. I have no problems that you can fix. So you lose. And I've changed my mind with what I plan to do with you." I watched his eyes darken, his tongue brush his bottom lip, his jaw tight and ticced. He pressed his body against mine, holding me against the column, and I cocked my head, amused by his attempt to frighten me.

If anything, my reaction was immediate. A burn of desire rushed straight to my groin, and I watched Set hesitate as he felt me hard against his hip. He met my eyes and I met his, my lids hooded now as I watched those silver eyes struggle to cope with the situation he'd stumbled into.

"And what, pray tell, will you do with me, Set?" I asked, my voice dropping into a low husky purr. He twitched. He moved his grasp from my wrists to my hair, grabbing a handful of it. He pulled our faces close, but he didn't kiss me. His breath came in excited gasps, his body reacting immediately to our situation. I could feel his cock pressing against my thigh, rock hard and wet for me. I slid my tongue across my bottom lip, watching him study my face.

And then his hand was between my legs, my breath leaving me in a low hiss. His palm was warm and large against me, stroking slow and gently, as if he was unsure exactly what he was doing. I lifted my eyes to meet his, but he'd dropped them down between us to watch his own hand move over me. Impatient, I reached down to take his hand, quickening his strokes, wrapping his fingers around me through the thin flimsy material of the shendyt.

He blinked, then looked up to meet my eyes.

"You're enjoying this." It was a statement, a surprised one. He had been expecting me to shove him away or yell at him. Instead, I smiled and reached out to touch the hot skin of his torso, moving my hand down over his abdomen, savoring the tight muscles there before I brushed the sash holding his shendyt in place.

"You appear to as well," I pointed out, then took him into the palm of my hand, impressed by the size of him. He sucked in a sharp breath, blinking in confusion, then a low moan escaped past his lips. We stood there, touching each other. Hard, rough, but not enough to bring an orgasm to the tip. It was a moment before I met Set's eyes, having to reach up with my fingers to brush along the underside of his chin, making his face lift and those drunk silver eyes met mine.

"Set, I am not delicate. Do not treat me such. I have angered you, have I not? Show me how angry you are. How me how much you want control of your life. Be not afraid of hurting me, for nothing you could ever do would harm me," I murmured. Set's eyes glowed at that. There was an immense curiosity in his eyes, a fascinated gleam. He wet his lips, then leaned in, brushing his lips against mine. I expected him to kiss me, but instead, he dropped to his knees and tore the shendyt from my waist, dropping it to the floor. I leaned against the column, lifting an arm over my head to hold the column, my other hand dropping down into Set's hair. I savored the beautiful thickness of it, the beautiful locks of pure midnight sliding between my fingers like raven's feathers. He brought his arms about my hips, fingers digging into the cleft of my ass, his tongue darting out to lick his lips wet before he parted them.

I smiled silently as I watched him take my cock into his mouth, those perfect well formed lips stretching around the girth of me. His eyes slid closed, as if he could think of nothing better to fit in his mouth, and he dragged his tongue against the tip of me. His fingers worked their way between the cheeks of my ass and he prodded at my entrance, but I reached back and brought his hands back to grip my ass cheeks instead.

He started to pull back to protest my movements, but I pulled hard at his hair and forced his mouth to stay on me. He blinked a few times, looking stunned with my actions, but he calmed instantly as I reached out with my foot to rub between his legs. He moaned and settled for gripping my ass hard, his fingernails biting into my skin. He buried his face against me, took me in so deep that his nose was pressed into the skin of my groin. He took a deep inhale through his nose, and those eyelids flickered open to peer up at me.

"You're very good at this," I murmured, and he closed his eyes once more, looking pleased that I was happy with his work, "You're very beautiful, Set. Your cock is huge. I can feel it beneath this material here. So rigid and ready. Will you take me, or will you do it the way you prefer it?" Set blinked his eyes open, looking caught off guard at my astute comment. His cheeks colored a brilliant shade of pink, and I smiled further, finding that particular blush to be very, very attractive.

"Do you want me to fuck you, Set? The right way? The way you've always wanted to be fucked? I don't mind going slow and hard if that's the way you want it," I whispered. Set moaned, as if just my words were rocking his word, and his hips thrust up against my foot. I pushed down against his cock and he seemed to whine deep in his throat.

I rolled my hips around for a bit, getting a strange satisfaction out of the way he choked every so often, and I finally pulled his head back from my cock. His lips glistened with saliva and pre-ejaculation, his cheeks flushed and his hair now disheveled from my pulling so his bangs fell in his face, his eyes heavy lidded.

The delicious spiced scent of his arousal burned my nostrils and blew heat into my groin. I slowly lowered myself down to his eye level, reaching up to brush my thumb around his lips, gathering the mess there before I popped it in my mouth. He watched me, entranced.

"I won't force you to do it," I told him, watching him blink a few times, as if my words had awakened conscious thought, "This is something you get to decide, Set. Only you. Do you want to do this, together? Right now?" Set stared at me for the longest time, and for a moment, I was sure he would change his mind. He had behaved according to his pantheons wishes his entire life, and now would surely be no different. Apparently he and Nephthys made an agreement to not sleep with others in their relationship, which was particularly rare for gods. Monogamy they were not known for.

"I understand if you do not wish to carry on," I said gently, "I will not put you in an uncomfortable position--"

"Nephthys is sleeping with Horus," Set blurted suddenly, making me blink and look at him, perplexed by his comment as he lowered his eyes and sank down further onto the floor, "She has been for some time. She sleeps with others as well. I've known for... a very long time. It didn't particularly bother me; it is nature for our species to do this. What truly bothered me was the inability to see anyone the way she saw others. What bothered me was my inability to satisfy her the way she wished to be satisfied. The only reason we wed was by unanimous vote of the pantheon. Nephthys was chosen to control me."

"Why Nephthys?" I asked softly. Set averted his eyes, frowning a bit as he swept a hand up to rub at his arm.

"I could never bring myself to strike a female," he muttered, "They knew this. And Nephthys had shown me kindness when we first began to see one another. She was polite and she was open and she was... different. Once we were wed, she saw me as nothing more than a dog to be chained up and locked away until she wished to use me."

"And she didn't."

"No," Set wiped a hand down his face in frustration, "Not since the night we wed. And since then, she has slept with Horus particularly. Knowing full well..." His voice trailed, and became strained with anger and hurt. He clenched his fists and slammed them down on his knees, holding his head down.

"And worse still is she knows of... of Nyx," he spat the goddess's name with malice.

"What did Nyx do to you, Set?" I asked gently. Caught up in the moment, Set looked up at me, his expression twisted in rage.

"She tricked me. We were at war with the Greeks. I remember not even what the stupid war was over, just that it was enough for them to send Nyx to me in the form of... in the form of a male named Hybrius. She seduced me for three months and when she had succeeded in gathering the intelligence that she wanted, she revealed herself to me."

I ground my teeth together. Damn it. That was a dirty trick.

"She laughed at me, you know," Set seethed, "And how could she not? How could anyone not laugh? I was a fool, a simpleton, to think someone-- anyone-- could possibly..." I frowned.

"Set, it wasn't you. It had nothing--"

"Do not tell me it had nothing to do with me," Set shouted suddenly, shooting to his feet and backing away from me, "It had everything to do with me! She chose me! She spent three months playing me!" The room shuddered, and I narrowed my eyes, watching Set pace in the room now, the heat of his anger permeating the air. The crocodiles in the pool trembled and vanished below the surface to hide from their master's rage. I watched Set's silver eyes flash red, then silver again, then to red again.

"I was not going to say that, Set," I said aloud, watching him hesitate and look back at me, the red in his eyes fading to silver once more, "I was going to say that it had nothing to do with whether or not you were a fool. It was not your fault. It was war and Nyx chose their most powerful god to collapse. Tell me, Set, who won that war?" Set clenched his teeth and turned his back on me. I rose to my feet and approached him from behind, but still he did not turn around, so I touched his back, spreading my fingers out against his beautiful dark skin and moving my hands up to his shoulders.

"Who won?"

"The Greeks."

"Do you know why?"

"Because I--"

"Because you are this pantheon's greatest power, and greatest gift, and Nyx knew this. She took down the foundation of the pantheon, and since then, this pantheon has been nothing, but unstable walls and a caving roof. Without you, this pantheon would crumble." I pressed myself against Set's back and he sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes and tilting his head back, as if he wanted so desperately to believe my words.

"Set, you've suffered so much. I can feel it, and I can see it. While your pantheon chooses to ignore it for their own benefit, I do not have that luxury. Your pain is loud and clear to me. It hurts me so to see a creature so powerful and so great to have given up on himself, unable to see his own beauty any longer, unable to scream when he wishes to scream." Set squeezed his eyes shut.

I could feel his heart pounding hard in his chest, his breath quickening, his emotions rounding up and building toward what I was certain he was desperate to release. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against the space between his shoulder blades.

"Scream for me, Set. Let out all the anger and pain that you have felt all these years. Scream it to the Great Beyond, and scream it so that all of Egypt will feel your pain and your fury. Scream so that the Greeks will wake in their beds at night with a fear so great, they can sleep well no more. Scream, Set." There was a brief pause as my words lingered in the air, and then a sound pierced the air so loud that my ear drums rang with the sound of it, my heart shattered at the force, and my legs quivered.

Set threw his head back and screamed. His agony filled the room and caused the water in the pool to vibrate, the walls to shudder and the throne to rock. The sound echoed in the distance, and I could see the sky overhead darkening in response to my own inner turmoil stirred by Set's wail. Rain speckled the sand outside before it fell in a torrential downpour that matched the tears streaming down Set's cheeks, streaking the black kohl.

The sound was anguish incarnate. The sound so mournful that even the wraiths would weep. The sound so primitive, from the deepest pits of our darkest emotions, wound up tight and released like a coiled spring. It was finally being released.

And the sound went on and on and on until Set could scream no more, his throat hoarse and his chest heaving with breath. He sank down on his knees, gasping for breath, tilting his head back to look up at me as I stared down at him. I reached out to cup his face in my hands, watching his eyelids flutter a bit, unaccustomed to touch so gentle and so pure with intention.

"Yes," Set said at last, voice cracking, "Yes, I want you to fuck me. I want you to completely fuck me up. Please." I pressed my lips together and smiled, stroking his cheeks.

"As you wish," I replied. One minute we were in the throne room, and the next we were in Set's quarters. It was dark inside, and outside the storm continued to rage on as I let loose on my own pent up feelings. It was a great release, not just for Set, but for myself.

I stripped Set's shendyt and shoved him back onto the bed and he fell back with accepting ease, landing on his elbows and opening his legs in invitation. I reached up and tore my hair free of its tie, letting the white strands fall freely over my shoulder. I advanced on Set slowly, allowing him time to change his mind, even though I knew he wouldn't.

He'd made his decision and he wasn't going to go back on it.

I draped myself on top of him, taking his jaw in my hand and bringing our lips together. I stroked the underside of his chin as I buried my tongue in his mouth. He moaned and arched his back into me, and I swept a hand down between his legs, taking him into my hand. This time, no thin material would keep me from my goal. And I savored it, rigid cloaked in soft skin, twitching as I dropped my thumb upon the tip of him and he tilted his head back to moan, giving me complete access to his throat. I brought my lips down on his neck, suckling the skin there and he groaned, digging his head back into the sheets. He drew a knee up along my side, his foot digging into my leg, toes curling tight.

I brought him closer to his peak, teasing him to the end, catching myself just before I went too far. He growled impatiently, and I tightened my grip on his jaw, smiling at him.

"If we are to do this as you commanded, then we shall do it correctly, Set. I will not let this end so soon. I want to bring you to the peak," I purred, and he moaned, weakening against my hold and once more becoming a languid kitten on the bed, "I will bring you right to the edge, and I will pull you back. Right to the edge... and back again. And when you think I will tease you once more, I will give your world a whole new meaning." Set sighed, as if my words pleased him greatly.

I drew myself down his body, dragging long wet kisses down his chest, down his abdomen. I reached his cock and gave the tip a kiss. He groaned and wrenched his fists in the sheets until I heard a tearing sound, and I laughed softly.

"You are going to ruin your bedding, Set."

"I care not."

"I do," I answered, watching his expression tighten in annoyance, "How about I assist you?" I waved my hand and silk scarf glittered into place around Set's wrists, holding them tight together. He stared at them, then looked at me. There was a moment of hesitancy in his eyes, until I kissed the head of his cock once more and he slumped back against the bed, moaning softly. I curled my arms around his thighs, hoisting them up as I parted my lips and took him into my mouth.

The taste of him was so strong, and strangely sweet. I allowed my tongue to linger against him longer than necessary, imprinting that unique taste in my mind's eye before I swallowed him deep into my throat. He moaned long and low, reaching down with bound hands to clutch at my hair.

"Your hair is so soft," he murmured absentmindedly, stroking my hair. I smiled, then pulled back to lick the tip of him and he growled. He pulled at my hair to continue, but I refused and reached up to lace my fingers with his, drawing his hands from my hair so I could sit up on my knees. He looked at me curiously as I conjured a small container of peppermint salve, uncapping the thing and dipping my fingers in.

"Why peppermint?" Set asked.

"You'll see," I assured. He appeared fascinated as I set the container aside. I leaned down and met his lips in a deep hungry kiss. He moaned pitifully, arching his back up off the bed. I reached down with wet fingers and stroked the pucker of his entrance. He hissed, put his bound hands against my chest. I stopped immediately.

"Did you not ask to be taken?" I asked. Set pursed his lips tight, staring down at my hand between us. I could see him reconsidering his words. I raised an eyebrow, started to bring my hand back, but he immediately hoisted his arms up and around my neck, yanking me down for a kiss so hard, my bottom lip split and blood ran down my chin, only for Set to lap it up and meet my eyes.

"I asked to be fucked. So do it," he commanded. I inclined my head.

"As you wish," I responded. He met my lips again and I reached down once more, teasing him for a second, to ensure this was what he really wanted. He arched his back, spread his legs wider in invitation, so I accepted and inserted my first finger. He growled.

"That feels disgusting."

"I assure you it won't remain that way," I said, then paused for a while, keeping my finger in place, watching Set shut his eyes tight and tense his arms around my neck, "Set. Do not shut me out. I will not have you thinking of another male." His eyes popped open and he stared at me, his mouth open for a moment before he shut it tight, his jaw ticcing. He clenched his fists against the back of my neck.

"He didn't do this," he seethed at last. I frowned.

"What happened between you and the other male was not what is happening between us."

"What makes it so different?"

"You want this, do you not? Did you not ask for me to do this? Would you prefer to take me?"

"No," Set snapped, then took a deep breath and dropped his head back against the pillow, "I... I want this. I want to be normal again. I want... you." Pink surfaced to his cheeks and he started to shut his eyes again, but I leaned down and nipped his bottom lip, at the same time curling my finger and he groaned.

"You want this," I repeated his words back, and I felt his muscles relaxing, "You want to feel good again. You want to have sex, like a normal creature. You want to feel my cock inside you, you want me to fill you up inside, you want me to fuck you so hard that your legs tremble, and you want to see what I left inside you dripping down between your legs--"

"Fuck," Set moaned, tilting his head back as his cheeks flushed nearly red, "Gods, you're... You're too direct."

"But you like it," I purred, stroking him inside and he trembled, his breathes turning into excited pants, "You like it when I talk to you. You like the sound of my voice. You like knowing what to expect from me. You like that I am treating you well. And you deserve it, Set. You deserve to be worshiped like this, nice and slow and just the way you want it. Am I right?" When he didn't answer, I ceased moving my finger inside him and he pushed his hips against me, throwing his arms back over his head, his toes curling.

"Yes," he pleaded, "Yes, I like it-- I want it."

"Should I add another?" Even though he didn't answer, I added another one anyway and he squirmed, pushing down against me, his eyes fluttering open, pupils dilated, gaze glued to the ceiling as he pushed his head back, letting out desperate gasps for air.

I played around inside him with one hand, using the other to reach between us, taking him into my palm and making a slow ride... up, and down... up, and down... He whimpered, and I ceased toying inside him, bringing my hips close to him now as I grasped his hips in my hands.

"What do you want now, Set?"

"Do it," Set gasped, sweat creating a lovely sheen on his dark skin that enticed me to bite it, "Fuck me. Make me scream again." I smiled and obeyed his command, and he cried out, throwing his head back and his body bounced on the bed as I planted myself deep inside him. The warmth, the tightness, sent electrical shocks up my arms, down my spine, straight to my toes.

It'd been far too long since I enjoyed something like this.

Set was absolutely stunning. A beautiful wanton panther spread out before me, mewing and pawing for more, his inky black hair splayed across the bedding. His legs opened wide, toes curled, arms out over his head, chest rising and falling, skin glimmering with sweat, his massive cock bouncing as I slammed my cock home.

I drew back, a split second, and rammed back inside. He cried out again, his eyelids fluttering and his lips parting, the faintest glimpse of his pretty little fangs gleaming in the dim light. I began a rough piston against him, the sound of sweaty skin smacking together, his moans and gasps music to my ears, and his occasional curse as his body shuddered and trembled around me. I reached out for his cock, began to tug, watching his body spasm and shake as he drew nearer and nearer to that euphoric explosion--

And it happened so suddenly. He arched his back and he threw his head back, screaming a curse word I don't think I'd heard before. He shot a heavy load into my hand, and I laughed quietly, savoring the feel of that twitchy organ in my palm, before I spread that same hand out across his abdomen, wiping everything in a path toward his chest.

He was panting hard, still dazed, legs limp on either side of me. I had only stopped briefly to admire the look of pure ecstasy cross his handsome face, his open wet lips, his silver eyes glowing, his tongue reaching up to tease his fangs.

I wanted to see that again.

And again.

And again.

So I began to move again, and he gasped, clutching at the sheets.

"St. John--"

"Call me Joxeia," I interrupted without thinking, and he blinked in confusion for a moment before I hit a particularly good spot and he cried out, "Do it."

"Joxeia!"

"Again."

"Joxeia!" Set bounced on the bed as I thrust harder and harder, nearing the brink of my own release, and I was deliciously delighted as Set came a second time, his release landing in the mess I'd left behind on his torso. Suddenly thrilled by the thought of seeing him bathed in my own essence, I yanked out at the last minute, hearing his surprised gasp before I tugged at myself, feeling the build climbing up my spine, boiling my blood until I felt like I was going to explode.

I came with a sharp gasp, lapsing forward onto one arm, tugging at my cock with the other hand, spilling myself out on Set. He shut his eyes as it hit his cheek and dripped down over his lips. It felt like an eternity, riding that wonderful cloud of release, until I finally slid back into my body and fell on both hands, propping myself up over Set, who blinked up and me, looking entranced. My hair fell down around my shoulders, hanging down to frame Set's wet face, those silver eyes lighting up the space between us.

"You're beautiful," I murmured, and his eyes widened slightly, "You are so incredibly beautiful. To the depths of the Great Beyond with those who dare question you and your beauty, Set. Will you allow me the honor of spending the rest of this night with you? Will you grace me with your beauty for an entire night?" Set's eyes flickered, his lips parting, then closing, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. Then his tongue darted out, caught the drop of fluid in the corner of his mouth, and he licked his lips with it.

"Let us continue."