Chapter Twenty-Six

"Why did you ask me to call you Joxeia?"

I blinked my eyes open, staring up at the ornate gold ceiling before I turned my head to Set, who was laying beside me, staring up at the ceiling as well. He was a perfect, beautiful mess, even after we had taken our play into the bathing pool in order to clean Set. His damp hair was splayed across the pillow, his lips swollen, eyelids heavy with tiredness, but not quite enough to sleep.

I turned my head away to stare at the ceiling again.

"It is a name I have not used in a very, very long time."

"Why not?" He murmured. I was quiet for a while, debating whether to confide in Set or not.

I would feel foolish, asking for his trust, yet giving him nothing in return, but carnal pleasure. He needed more than sexual gratification, and advising. He needed to trust as well, he needed information as well. Strangely enough, I felt fine with the idea of confiding in Set. There was something particularly special about this god. Perhaps it was the lingering bliss of a night well spent, or perhaps I could sympathize well with his inner turmoil. I knew not exactly, but I decided it was safe, if the Source was not warning me against it.

If anything, the Source was quiet. Not absently quiet, but quiet in the way a lake was in the early morning, unmoving, at peace.

"It brings back painful memories of a time long since passed, a time when time itself was in infancy."

"Exactly how old are you?"

"As I said, when time itself was new."

"You come from the time of Ra," Set concluded. I smiled at his train of thought. I turned my head to look at him as he studied the ceiling for a moment longer before he turned his head to look at me, quirking a brow.

"You speak fondly of Ra, yet you bear the marking of a black sun. Care to explain that to me?" I asked. Set's features pinched, not in rage, but more in distaste. It was quite adorable, actually. He turned his head away once more, feigning disinterest in the topic.

"I thought you knew who I was, therefore, you should already know the answer to that," he said drolly. I rolled my eyes and sat up, propping up a few pillows behind me to lay back comfortably upon. He glanced at me when I raised an eyebrow and he sighed, disgruntled. He shifted a little, and I found myself sinking my hand into his soft hair. He relaxed at that, allowing me to stroke his hair.

"Ra has always been good to me," he murmured, lifting one of my hands in his, tracing my fingers with his, the movements slow and thoughtful, "He never partook in the actions of our pantheon, and he long since disappeared from the meetings. He refused to attend and refused to be apart of their actions towards others and themselves... But he met with me often. For years. He was the only one who did not treat me as a beast."

"You speak in past tense," I noted. Set ground his teeth together for a moment, and shut his eyes, lowering my hand to rest over his abdomen.

"He ceased visiting. He ceased contact with the entire pantheon shortly after the first war against the Greeks. He is... He is still with us, but he is hidden. He has not been seen for a very long time." His anger and his resentment, coupled with hurt and worry and sorrow, answered my question. His tattoo was black, not in protest, but in mourning.

"You miss him," I said softly, turning my hand over on him so he could rest his over mine. He stared down at our hands, our fingers slipping together and linking. He swallowed thickly.

"I know he is not passed, I feel his presence, but... Feeling it and seeing him are two different things. I want more than just to know he is alive, and well. I want to... I want to see him, speak to him. I need his guidance. I need to know he is there for me when I need him. It is selfish, and childish, but I cannot stop the way I feel."

"It is neither of those things," I told him firmly, but gently as I squeezed his hand, and he tilted his head back to look up at me, expression doubtful, "Wanting to feel love is not something to be judged for, Set. Everyone feels it, everyone craves it. Love was created for a reason, not to be scorned." Set tensed in my arms, and I frowned as he quickly unlinked our hands, clearing his throat.

"Love is a weapon," he told me flatly, sitting up and getting something off the bedside table. I sat up with him, watching him draw his hair up off his back and wind a strip of leather about it to hold it back.

"Aye, it is," I agreed, taking his hands and forcing him to turn and look at me, "But it is not meant to be used to cause harm, to cause turmoil, agony. No, Love is meant to be the most powerful strength in existence. With it, you can face anything. With it, nothing can harm you. Love is the weapon in which we use to fight hatred, cruelty, pain, fear." Set stared at me, then looked down at our hands. He appeared to be thinking, his brows drawing up as if my words caused him pain, but I knew better-- his own inner demons were causing him pain. Not me.

"Set," I said softly, making him blink and look up, "For everyone, there is Love. You have suffered much, of this I am certain. There are days when you are uncertain if Love is truly within your grasp, if Love is truly in your heart, and I ask you on those days to think of Ra harder than you have ever thought of another creature. I ask you to think of your pets, the pets that are not pets, as you say. Think of Anka, and her mother. These are creatures that share their power of Love with you. Perhaps it is not the Love that you seek in particular, the Love of a soulmate, but it is Love nonetheless and it is a very good start to a path paved in Love, in strength and glory and beauty, and all the good things in this world."

"Let not the foolish selfishness and fear of others cloud your heart, a heart that is so pure and beautiful," I touched my hand over his heart and he parted his lips as if he were to speak, but no words escaped, only a soft gasp, "There are those corrupted by a darkness in this universe, Set. While there is Love and there is beauty, we both know very well that there is another side to this coin. There is also Hatred, fury, revenge, agony, fear. At times, it will come to you with the mask of Love and will coax you with sweetness."

"And how am I to know the difference if they wear the same masks?" Set asked.

"Love is bold and true. Love does not wear a mask. Love is naked and open. You will know and you will feel it when it is true."

"And this false Love?"

"Sweetness. False perfection. Love is flawed, and that is what makes it perfection. Should you ever smell the scent of putrid sweet language and a visage of smiles and lights, be wary, Set. For your heart is bruised and battered right now, and cannot take much more. Take time to heal yourself."

"I don't know how," Set murmured. I took his hands once more into mine and gave them a squeeze.

"I will help you begin, starting now. The process of healing will be difficult, I guarantee that you will have days where you want nothing more than to surrender to the pain and let it consume you in hopes that it will kill you, but remember. Ra. Anka. Her mother. Your pets... Me." Set blinked, staring at me, and I stared back.

The room became silent, so that the only sounds that reached my ears was the distant hum of the city and the soft thumping of Set's heart in his chest, the sound synchronizing with my own, and the beauty of it blended together in a wonderful purr in my ears, and I closed my eyes, feeling the Source warm my veins, soothe my heart, embrace me in arms so gentle and kind.

I opened my eyes and saw Set sitting across from me now, looking completely at peace with his eyes closed, lips parting as he took a breath of fresh air. I could tell he felt the Source, its power humming in the air around us, a third party here to assure Set my words were truth, to assure him that all would be well.

He was loved.

So dearly.

So powerfully.

The Source hummed in agreement.

The moment was so surreal, so mind numbing. In a blink of an eye, everything else in the universe faded away and it was just us, and the Source. The warm relief of pure euphoria, far greater than any feeling in the universe. An unseen power floating around us, carrying us away from our vessels and taking us into the cosmic void. And unlike the voids in the earth's crust, the dark emptiness that many feared, this void was lit with a billion different colors, some unknown to creatures in actuality. The lights came threading by, spiraling and dancing around us, brushing through our hair, climbing our arms and sailing off into the array of colors. Above us came a golden glow in which all the colors vanished.

The Source.

I looked to Set, his eyes still closed, for he could not look upon the Source as I could. Yet there was an ultimate sensation in him, tears sliding down his cheeks and disappearing as they fell from his jaw. His lips parted to take in deep breathes of the purity around us, and he trembled, his hands resting in mine. Streams of colored lights twirled around him, slipping through his hair, racing across his face, spiraling around his torso.

The moment of clarity. The moment of realization.

It struck him hard. He wept, but not in pain, not in sorrow, but in disbelief, relief, pure unadulterated bliss. He tilted his head back, took another deep breath, and the colors bounced with excitement, spinning around him in thin ribbons as they sailed up overhead into the blindingly bright light.

A smile spread across my lips as my vision blurred, and I blinked before shutting my eyes tight.

Thank you. Thank you.

It'd been so long since I felt the Source take me into its arms like this, and to bless Set with its presence so directly was utterly beautiful. It had come at a critical point in not only my own existence, but Set's as well.

For so long his life was darkness, pain, fury, the feeling of entrapment. He was stuck in a dark cage, unable to escape. And now here, right now, his latch was being freed, the lock melting away, and the door swinging open to give him a gateway to a new path.

It was uncertain, whether or not Set was prepared to take the path. Perhaps a new one would appear shortly after, perhaps it was a straight line. Only the Source knew, and judging from the way it reached down to comfort him, to Love him purely, the path was good. The path would lead to beauty.

He's so beautiful.

Even more so bathed in the beauty of the Source's Love. His dark skin glowed like polished bronze, his make-up, though streaked, was a mystifying black stream down his cheeks, the gold powder smudged beneath his eyes and dragged down the sides of his face. He truly looked like a god in that moment, powerful and free and so very Loved.

The sensation of coming down from the high was gentle and lulling. In fact, one moment we were floating in the never ending sea of the Source's glory, and in the next, I was waking up in Set's quarters upon the bed, laying on my side with Set tucked against me, his body bowed forward as he wrapped his arms around a pillow. The warmth of his body was comforting, a gentle reminder he was there and still asleep, still drifting from the Source.

It would be a while before he was strong enough to awaken after such a direct encounter.

I slowly rose from the bed, and he sighed softly, sensing my movement, but not waking. I moved quietly, though, I was certain he would not awaken. I stood up and went to the bathing room to rinse down. I conjured new attire, a basic white shendyt and gold bands about my biceps, from which fell white transparent sleeves, leather sandals, and I coiled my hair up into a loose bun.

I fetched a warm sponge and bowl, returning to gently bathe Set, cleaning the mess from his skin, wiping away his make-up, pausing to tend to the black sun tattoo upon his back. Touching it gifted me with a soft moan from Set's lips, and I smiled. I lingered longer, pleased with the reaction I was getting from him, then ceased my teasing to rinse out the bowl and head to the lower level of the palace.

I sought out Anka, who was once again in the kitchen, but this time lounging at the small table in the corner by the window, stirring a warm mug of tea with a silver spoon and reading a large book on the table. She looked up as I entered, her dark bob swishing about her sharp jaw line, one brow disappearing behind her bangs, then the other following shortly as she dropped her spoon.

"You slept with him," she said, awed. I stared back at her.

"I can neither confirm nor deny your assumption. In the meantime, could you prepare Set a meal? Something large and filling. He'll be extremely hungry when he wakes up," I informed her. Her mouth opened and closed for a moment before she slowly rose, her gaze turning sharp now.

"If you intend to hurt him--"

"I have no such intentions," I responded calmly, "I would never do anything against his will either. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to deal with something." Anka opened her mouth to speak, but I vanished before she could begin her protective speech to steer clear of Set.

I understood her intentions, liked where they came from, but she was kidding herself if she thought she could threaten me. Not to mention, I could now allow rage to seep into my veins, a hot blast of it tightening my chest and coiling my muscles.

I teleported to a temple closer to the city. It sat just on the edge of the Nile, a glittering palace of gold and jewels, towering high into the sky where a circle of birds appeared to dance about. The main entryway was open and framed by brilliant red drapery, and above the door was an intricately designed wedjat eye that I found extremely ironic considering the symbol itself stood for protection and good health.

I entered into the main entrance where it was dome shaped and made entirely of glass to allow a gorgeous view of the sky overhead with clouds floating by like loose hairs. In the main lobby was a round red and gold bordered pet bed of some kind, but it was currently empty. I felt no sign of threat, not that anything could truly threaten me, and began to follow the particular source of power I was searching for.

It didn't take long, for most of the palace was open and one room could be seen from another. I came upon the main chamber just two floors up, and it took up the entire floor. At the center of the massive room was a huge round bed, upon which lounged several creatures of both Egyptian and foreign origin, intertwined in a sexual dance of some kind, males and females draping themselves over a particular god, who appeared to bask in the attention.

Of course, I need not speak a word, for the moment I approached from the stairs, the god froze, staring at the ceiling for a moment as if he were hoping to the gods I was not in his presence. He turned his head, a slow menacing turn toward me, and those gold eyes locked on mine the way a bird's might when they found their prey lurking in the tall grass.

"Get out." He wasn't speaking to me. He was speaking to his concubines, who all gasped at not only my presence, but Horus's deadly tone. They leapt away from him and scrambled back before heading to the stairs that led up to the next floor. I waited until they were completely gone from the room, and Horus was on his feet, his fury mounting.

"How dare you--"

"Shut up," I appeared before him and he froze, looking caught off guard by not only my swiftness, but the anger underlying my voice, "I did not come to you to listen to your glorification of a heinous act, nor of your lies of putting the many before the individual. I am not here to sit politely while you remind me that you are a god, because I would like to inform you that there is a food chain in this universe and I'm afraid you are looking at what lies high, high above yourself." Horus's mouth fell open, and I reached up to take his jaw in my hand, snapping his mouth shut and yanking his face close to mine.

"Listen well, child, and listen hard, because I will not repeat myself... I give you only a warning in respect to Ra, for I shall love his family as I love him. If you dare make another attempt upon Set, in the name of any idiotic ideology, you will face his wrath." Horus sputtered, moving to shove my hand from his face and taking a huge step away from me.

"Oh, please," he exclaimed, pausing to rub at his jaw, as if my grip had hurt him, "Set? Hurt me?"

"You highly underestimate your bloodline, Horus," I spoke heatedly, "Set is a very special god. A very special god indeed. If anything, I'd say he's about as terrifying to you as the famed God Killer." Horus blinked, dropping his hand and staring at me for a moment, then made a rude dismissive noise between his lips. Though, his eyes darted away nervously as he retreated a step.

"The God Killer is a myth," he said snidely, but when I didn't correct him, he hesitated again, then turned to look at me, "Set would never kill me. As much as he loathes me, he adores me." I didn't bother to correct that either. For everything Horus had done to Set, I knew full well Set didn't hate him... He just wanted Horus to leave him alone for the rest of eternity. And if Horus did die, Set wouldn't shed a tear. He didn't hate Horus, but he didn't love him either. It was a bitter confusion I'm sure kept Set awake at night.

But no longer.

Set had his own life to live, one of power and beauty and strength and truth. And there was no place for Horus in a life so brilliant and lovely.

"Heed my words well," I said again, watching Horus frown, "Feel free to make the mistake of attacking him again, feel free to make the mistake of attempting to order him about like another one of your whores. Because I guarantee that Set would have no qualms in ripping your cold black heart from your chest and feeding it to Amit." Horus ground his teeth together, but didn't speak further. He didn't need to. His fear and rage was a potent stench in the room, like wilted rotting flowers.

I inclined my head to him as gracefully as I could, despite the rage still coursing through my veins. I vanished from the spot, returning to Set's palace off in the desert, taking form in the throne room, where I felt Set's presence the strongest.

He was standing in front of his throne, staring at the massive chair. He had cleaned up further since I'd last seen him, laying sprawled on the bed, draped in silk sheets. Now he wore thick black kohl around his eyes, his black hair was sheared off at the shoulder on one side, gradually becoming shorter on the other side of his head. Something about the style was odd, but fashionable, modern. He wore a delicately woven shendyt, a royal shade of blue with a gold sash to hold it in place, gold bands wrapping around his biceps, and a wide necklace resting over his pecs, the rubies there glittering fantastically.

"How do you feel?" I asked softly, approaching him. He didn't jump, didn't really react, not right away. He blinked, then slowly looked up, turning to face me.

"I feel... strangely refreshed," he murmured, and his cheeks colored pink as he quickly averted his eyes.

"You cut your hair," I commented. I couldn't imagine he could blush any further than he was now as he reached up to finger the varying lengths.

"Something told me this was the right way to go," he replied, but his voice was quiet, shy. I smiled as I approached him, reaching up to tuck a lock of his longer hair behind his ear. He took a quick breath in, looking at me briefly before his eyes darted away. I slipped my hand to take his jaw, the gesture far gentler and sweeter than my grasp with Horus had been.

"Don't look away from me, Set," I said quietly, making him swallow hard and his eyes slowly drew back toward mine, "I understand that I am beautiful, but you are beautiful also. You have incredible strength. Don't be afraid to meet the eyes of those around you, for it should be they who are afraid of you. Afraid of your beauty. Bashful of your presence." Set turned even pinker and I laughed softly.

"I did not think you could blush any harder than you are now."

"You're just too direct."

"I care not for word games. I mean what I say, and I say what I mean. You are beautiful. You are strong. You deserve to sit upon that throne with your head held high." Set swallowed at my words and he looked down for a moment, then he reached up to cup the back of my neck, leaning in and capturing my lips in a kiss.

The boldness of his move excited me, and I parted my lips against his. He moved me back a step, taking the lead until he had me pressed against the column beside his throne once more. I pushed back from it, however, leading him back toward the throne. He was so engrossed in the kiss that he didn't realize where he was at until the throne bumped the back of his knees, and he threw his arm out to catch himself before he fell into it.

He looked down at it, staring at the hand he'd placed on the armrest, then his eyes shot back up toward mine.

"Sit, let me please you here," I murmured, placing a hand on his chest. Set melted, slumping back into the throne, and I climbed into his lap, settling my knees on either side of his hips, planting myself right down on top of the bulge in his shendyt. He grunted, tilting his head back against the throne's back, and he took a deep breath.

"How should I please you first?" I asked calmly, reaching up to play with the ends of his hair. He shivered for a moment, bit his bottom lip, then his eyes flickered open. I watched, fascinated as those silver irises filled with red coloring until they were red marbles watching me.

"Between my legs," he said breathlessly. I inclined my head and knelt down before him, shoving his shendyt up. He watched, his tongue slipping out across his bottom lip, his fangs glinting in the firelights. I put my hands on his knees, then slowly traveled up his thighs, thumbs pressing into his skin, then stroking gently, closer and closer. His eyelids fluttered and he fell back against the throne again, spreading his legs wide.

I reached down, taking him into my palm, and he groaned. I rode my hand up and down, slowly, just to get a little something started.

"The peppermint salve," Set breathed suddenly. I smiled at that.

"You liked that?"

"Very much so."

Complying with his order, I conjured the salve and wet my hand with it, then went to work pumping him in my fist, the wet sounds of his preejaculation and salve slicking and licking between my fingers. Set moaned, tilting his head back further against the throne and arching his hips into my hand movement. I smiled at that, then leaned in to take a test lick at the tip of him, and he gasped.

"May I?" I asked. Set just nodded quickly. I dipped my head down, parting my lips, and taking him into my mouth, savoring the sounds of his whimpering and gasping.

"I want to pull your hair," he managed.

"Do so," I responded. He reached down, sank his hand into my hair, and twisted the locks around his fingers, yanking hard. I felt a shiver rush down my spine, felt a throb between my legs, but ignored it as I concentrated on sucking down his shaft, feeling a moment of muscles clenching in my throat before I relaxed them. Set groaned and bared his fangs, giving my hair another sharp pull and when I growled low in my throat, he quickly loosened his grasp, grimacing.

"I'm sorry, I--"

"Don't apologize, do it again," I encouraged. Set hesitated, then sank his hand back down in my hair. He pulled, but it wasn't enough, so I reached up, clenched his fist in my hair, then gave his hand a hard yank, causing my head to snap back a bit. His eyes widened and I rewarded his compliance with a purr. He pulled again and I groaned, dipping my head back down to take him into my mouth. This time when he pulled my hair, he pulled me against him, pumped his hips up hard, choked me. Saliva and salve dripped from my lips, from his cock, made a puddle on the floor.

I panted hard, breaking my lips away from him and he seemed to squirm in his seat.

"What are you doing?" He muttered, blinking past the haze. I stood up, climbing back into his lap and he grunted. I hiked the shendyt up over my waist, then leaned up against him as I reached back to finger myself. Set sucked in a sharp breath, tilting his head back to stare up at me, as if awestruck.

"I'm in the mood for something new," I told him softly, leaning down to brush my lips against his. He groaned, capturing my lips in a hungry kiss that stole my breath away. The combination of touching myself on top of him and his tongue completely dominating my mouth left me wanting more.

So much more.

I removed my fingers and poised myself carefully before dropping down on top of him. Set gasped, grabbing at me and arching his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my head against his as I sighed in relief at the instant pressure, the slight burn of muscles locking up around Set for a moment before I relaxed. Set bared his fangs, reaching up to sink his hand in my hair again, taking a grip on my head as he arched his hips up and I moaned.

"You're so tight," Set growled against my ear, nipping at my earlobe. I laughed breathlessly, reaching up along his neck to slide my fingers through his soft black hair. I nuzzled my nose into it, taking a deep breath, inhaling the scent of citrus and hot sand.

"I don't usually do this. Only truly special people can have me like this," I told him gently. Set blinked, then tilted his head back to look up at me. He swallowed, and I smiled, reaching up to touch his cheek, stroking the space beneath his eye, careful not to smudge his kohl.

"Only let special people into this place, Set," I murmured, watching his throat bob again, as if he were trying to swallow back tears, and I leaned in to kiss his forehead, "And only you can let them in." Set's eyelids fluttered and he clutched me to him as he began to pump his hips up against me, making me gasp and bounce in his lap. I braced myself on the arm of the throne and his shoulder as I tilted my head back, closing my eyes and savoring the roaring pleasure coursing through my veins.

The heat of it brought sweat to my temples, rolling down the sides of my face, flushing my white skin to pink. I parted my lips and gave Set an encouraging moan. The pounding drew me closer and closer to the edge of euphoria, so close I could almost taste it on the tip of my tongue.

Set panted harder and harder, hanging onto me tightly, as if afraid I was going to leave before we could finish. I stayed put, let him set the pace, let him control everything, and he came abruptly, making me gasp and throw my head back. The heat filled me until I hit my breaking point and an orgasm shook me to the core, my hands grasping at Set's skin, my mouth finding his, connecting in a delicious dance all on its own.

We sat there, panting and savoring the postcoital hum, the delirious bliss that sucked the power from my muscles, left me sagging against him. I loved this moment in particular, the weakness, the vulnerability, because it was so pure and real. Even though it felt dreamy and fuzzy.

"Joxeia," Set started, making me blink and pull my head back to look at him, watching his eyes roam my face in fascination, "Joxeia, I..."

"What is it?" I murmured. Although, I felt as if I already knew how he planned to finish the sentence.

Thankfully, there was no need as a power rippled in the air. Set's eyes shot wide open in horror, and I quickly left his lap, waving a hand to fix my appearance. I turned to Set, fixing his with the flick of my wrist, making him look at me in surprise and relief. A moment later, Nephthys appeared just before the throne. She appeared furious, at least, until she saw that Set was sitting in his throne, and she froze, staring at the sight as if frightened, and confused.

"Nephthys," Set greeted, rising to his feet. Nephthys blinked, then looked from Set to me, then back again, before her eyes flared with hatred.

"You slept with him," she said angrily. Set stared at her blankly. I said nothing. It seemed to only infuriate her further as she balled up her fists and took long striding steps toward the throne, then seemed to pause at the front of the dais. For all her talk of control, she seemed awfully hesitant to take Set on up close.

"We made a pact--" she started.

"Shut up," Set commanded. Nephthys's mouth fell open, her eyes bulging as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. I resisted the urge to smile, only stood to the side, watching in stoic silence as she opened her mouth, then closed it, opened it, then closed it. She was unsure of what to say, she was caught off guard. She was so accustomed to Set's pitiful submission that being told to shut her mouth did just that.

She was quick at recovery, however, because she snapped her mouth shut before opening it again, only for Set to cut her off once more.

"Shut up," he ordered again, and Nephthys sputtered this time, unintelligible babble flying into the air before Set spoke further, "We made a verbal pact that you have not upheld and I have respected your decision to not only sleep with Horus, but several others as well, including two humans. We as gods have consorts frequently. I accept this. Therefore, you should accept that I, too, have my own consort." Nephthys's eyes flared up again and she snapped her head to look at me.

"Do not look at him," Set snarled suddenly, making her head whip back around toward him, her eyes wide, "You are not allowed to look upon him, as I am not allowed to look upon your consorts. That is our new pact, and it is written, not verbal. Therefore, you cannot change the rules as freely as you wish." Nephthys bared her fangs.

"How dare you speak to me like this! What has gotten into you--"

"It does not concern you. I will not speak to you unless it is necessary. That is the terms of our agreement, right here, right now. We shall not look upon the others consort, we shall not speak nor come together, lest it be emergency or for public appearances. You will agree to these terms, unless you wish your adultery to be broadcasted to the rest of the pantheon."

"I can just use the same thing against you," Nephthys sneered, "I will tell everyone that you slept with yet another male who--"

"And I will care not," Set said dryly, making her clench her teeth, "For reputation does not rule my decisions, wife. If one should laugh at me for my decision, so be it. I have been craving blood recently and I care not whom I take it from." Nephthys appeared to be having a mini-seizure of sorts as she began to pace around the throne room, frantically wringing out her hands and reaching up to pull at her wig. Set allowed her the moment to panic freely, his eyes ever locked on her, as if daring her to look up at him.

I smiled pleasantly.

His turnaround was so much smoother than I had expected. There was a powerful god lurking beneath the facade of fear and self-loathing. I'd known that the moment I'd seen him. It was just inside the gates, waiting, clawing at its confines, desperate to escape. And Set had just opened the gates for the first time in what appeared to be centuries.

And this wasn't the end of it, no. Some days, Set would want to return to his quarters and lay there in misery, questioning himself, questioning whether or not he truly deserved love, whether he was truly powerful or simply a monster, if he could control the beast inside him or not. That was the way of things like this, creatures like Set, who suffered from an illness only seen by themselves and those closest to them. It was a depression unlike any other. Perhaps one day they would give it a name. The feeling of sadness that lurked around every corner. The darkness that lingered at the edge of our light. The doubt that held us rooted in place when all we wanted to do was run.

But Set would not be alone. He had his pets. He had Anka. And he had Ra.

And as I stood there, watching Nephthys finally agreeing to Set's demands, I swore I could feel Ra watching Set as well.