Chapter Seven

"We should go on vacation more often."

A smile worked its way onto my face as I watched Theo recline in his seat, taking a long sip of his drink. Besides him, Adonis was leaning on the table, wearing the hood of his vest up over his head that he kept ducked down in the shadows. I'd briefly wondered how he could manage the dress up routine in such heat, but the alternative was obviously not an option. The alternative being that he gets jumped by every single person he comes in contact with. On our way out of the palace, a visitor to my father's temple got sidetracked and tried to press herself up against Adonis, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Thankfully Theo had told the female off quite clearly and scared her off, and Adonis decided to don the hood of his vest for now.

I frankly felt sorry for the male. He clearly couldn't go anywhere without someone taking one look at his face and trying to fondle him. And while my body reacted against my will, I still maintained enough control to stay off him. If I could do it, so could others. They just chose not to.

However, since pulling his hood up, he'd been mostly left alone.

"Tell me about it," Adonis responded, much to my surprise, "We need to get out more. I swear my vision is off kilter since we spend like half our lives in the dark at home watching TV." Theo snorted.

"I told you to turn on the lights, but nooo, apparently it was scarier in the dark."

"The dark is always scarier. That's why it's so fun."

"Bet. Anyway," Theo continued, making me raise an eyebrow, "I've managed to get at least one thing for each kid, but fuck, that doesn't feel like enough." Adonis gave him a droll stare as he fiddled with the straw in his drink.

"You're spoiling the shit out of them. Anymore and they're gonna turn into little entitled assholes," he scolded, making Theo shrug and wave the concern off. I smiled at that.

"I'm glad you love them so much," I commented. Theo blushed a little, averting his eyes and taking a long sip of his drink.

"They're good kids, all of 'em. Sure, Hadrian stresses me out and Holly can be a fucking nightmare, but they're great kids. They're gonna grow up to be strong. I can already tell," he said, smiling fondly now. His love and devotion knew no end. Theo, for all his chaotic nature, loved deeply and truly.

Suck not being on the receiving end of it, huh, a shitty voice said in the back of my mind. I dropped my eyes and sipped my drink, feeling uncomfortable, even more so when I caught Adonis looking at me out of the corner of my eye. Thankfully, Theo provided the right distraction by talking adamantly about his nieces and nephews. Adonis watched a lot, did less talking than Theo, but it bothered me that he kept looking at me, like he was waiting to see if I was going to do something. Was he waiting for me to fuck up too?

Too meaning everyone around me eyed me suspiciously as well. Theo didn't seem to notice because he was so caught up in the excitement of visiting. So he didn't pick up on the fact that my people hated me. However, something told me Adonis was picking up on it and it bothered me, because I didn't want him to go to Theo with that information.

"I'm gonna grab another plate of food," Theo decided at last, "Gods, ever since we started working out on the weekends, I've been eating like twice my weight. This is bullshit." Adonis snorted.

"It's normal. Get used to it."

"No, you."

"No, you," Adonis replied mockingly. Theo elbowed him and Adonis elbowed him right back, making him laugh. Theo got up and sauntered away to get more food. I watched him go, my heart aching, until I swung my gaze back around to see Adonis watching me. I dropped my eyes uncomfortably.

"My apologies," I murmured.

"For what?" Adonis asked. I averted my eyes, fiddling with the straw of my drink.

"Ah, overstepping?" I offered. Adonis smirked, like I'd amused him, and he took a sip of his drink, leaning back in his seat, but giving his hood a little tug to hide his face.

"You're not overstepping shit, Sept. Don't be afraid of me. I'm not so insecure that I'm gonna throw down over a few looks," he said, then paused and a frown worked onto his face, "Although, I gotta say, not a big fan of how everyone else around here is looking at you. What gives?" I shook my head.

"Ah, nothing. It's nothing," I assured. At the same time, someone walking by our table spat at my feet and kept going. I sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of my nose and Adonis gave me a droll stare.

"Listen," he said, "Theo's pretty oblivious sometimes, so he probably hasn't noticed it yet. But, uh, something tells me you don't want him to notice the fact that your people are kinda shitty." I looked at him.

"It's nothing, honestly. It'll pass," I assured. Adonis frowned.

"Sure. Whatever you say." Thankfully he didn't press or ask more questions as Theo came back over to the table, sucking something creamy and sweet off a spoon. He dug the spoon back in whatever it was and handed it to Adonis to try some. Adonis took a taste, smacked his lips, then made a face and looked at Theo, who was grinning expectantly.

"What is that?" He asked.

"Couldn't pronounce it to save my goddamn life," Theo answered, "But it's good."

"It's spicy as fuck. I thought it was going to be sweet," Adonis groaned, taking the top off his drink and chugging it. Theo snorted, then broke into a laugh as he leaned on the table.

"So did I. But it's good, right?"

"When you're expecting spicy, I'm sure it's delicious. When you're expecting sweet, it tastes like a fiery hot coal from Satan's ass."

"I thought you liked spicy food."

"Spicy, not inedible," Adonis deadpanned as he finished chugging his drink. Theo laughed harder, leaning over between his knees. Adonis shook his head at him, then looked at me.

"He ever pull that shit on you?" He asked. I nodded.

"Absolutely. Have you played hide and seek with him yet?"

"The fucker cheats."

"He always cheats."

"I do not cheat," Theo exclaimed indigenently, "I just find other ways to play the game. You guys just suck at thinking shit through." Adonis and I scoffed. I smiled at that, though. It was nice to get along with Adonis. I'd been a little worried, for silly reasons, of course, but it was comforting to know that Theo was in good hands. Adonis seemed to have a good sense of humor.

After we finished our meal, we headed back into the marketplace to do some final shopping for Theo and Adonis to bring gifts back. While Adonis got one thing for each kid, Theo ended up with at least three gifts for each kid and some extras for his siblings and parents.

"Alright," Theo said as we arrived at my father's place to drop off their purchases, "Time to go see your mother." I almost choked on my own spit.
"My mother? You want to see my mother?" I asked. Theo stared at me.

"You only talk about her, like, all the damn time."

"I do not."

"Do to."

"Do not."

"Do to," Theo snorted, making me roll my eyes, "Besides, I know where her feelings for me lie. I don't give a shit. I just wanna see what makes you love her so damn much. Call me curious considering my mother, er, adoptive... er... well, never mind. Call me curious." I sighed, raking a hand through my hair.

"Are you sure? She probably isn't interested in meeting you. She probably doesn't even want you in her home," I pointed out. Theo shrugged.

"Neither does my dad. But I show up anyway. Let's do it," he said with a fist pump. Adonis looked at me.

"Apologies ahead of time for anything he does to embarrass you," he said. Theo elbowed him. I half-smiled at that before I nodded and reached out, touching their shoulders. We teleported from my father's palace on the edge of Duat to my mother's palace. It was still a flurry of activity with people rolling in and out the entrance, flowing out of the main hall and even from other rooms. Theo looked around, then raised an eyebrow at me.

"I told you," I said, "This holiday is a major thing for my people."

"I should come here to celebrate New Year's more often. You guys break out all the good stuff," Theo said, pausing as a servant went by with a tray of drinks, one of which Theo stole off the tray and took a sip before he gagged and thrust the glass at Adonis, who arched a brow curiously.

"Egyptian whiskey," I said when Adonis went to take a drink, then doubled back on that and held it away from his face. I smirked, taking it from his hand and downing it real quick without even thinking about it. Theo frowned and Adonis smirked.

"Impressive. What is that stuff, battery acid?" He asked.

"It's just really strong whiskey," I assured, "Anyway, my mother should be through here." I led the way down the hallway toward the main hall, which was thankfully quite crowded so mom didn't see us right away. Of course, the moment she did her eyes clouded over and narrowed considerably.

"I can tell she likes me already," Theo said, leaning in to whisper to me. I elbowed him and he elbowed me back. I shook my head as I approached my mother, who turned away from Cha, who was standing there holding three different colored tapestries.

"Mother," I greeted, making her tilt her chin up so she could glare down her nose at Theo, not that it was easy given he was actually taller than her, "This is Prince Theo and Commander Adonis. They requested to meet you." My mother curled her lip at that.

"Meet me?" She asked dryly, clearly questioning Theo's sanity. Theo smiled at her.

"Of course. Sept spent centuries fawning over this mother of his and as someone who had a very cruel and hateful beast of a mother, I was curious. You certainly don't look like a monster. You're actually pretty hot," he responded. My mother looked caught off guard by the compliment and raised an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest.

"Ah... yes. Thank you. I know. This must be your new beau," she said, taking a moment to scan Adonis from head to foot, even though he had his hood pulled up, "A shame we can't see his face and what makes him better than Sept."

"Mother," I said, annoyed. She shifted her shoulders and gave her head a shake, glancing down at her nails disinterestedly. Theo smirked.

"He can't take his hood off. Otherwise you and yours will try and fuck him," he answered. My mother blinked, then cut him a dirty look.

"I beg your pardon. Unlike the Greeks, we're not horny animals. Literally," she added, folding her arms back over her chest. Theo gave her a droll stare.

"Ma'am. You're the anthropomorphic deities. Not us," he paused, "Okay, except Zeus. And Jo. And--"

"Don't even say his name around me," my mother said in disgust, "Joxeia is the bane of my existence."

"Yeah, I'll bet considering he saved Set's ass from you," Theo returned. My mother glared at him, then glared at me. I stepped back, not liking to be on the receiving end of her anger.

"Oh, mother! I see you're making friends!" I grimaced at the sound of Anubis's voice, turning partially to see him approaching us, flamboyantly obnoxious as usual in his patterned skinnies, lack of a shirt, but no end to his gold jewelry. He practically jingled as he walked up to us.

"You must be Theo," Anubis said, holding his hand out. Theo raised an eyebrow, looked at me and I shook my head, not sure what to make of Anubis's strange overly friendliness. Theo took Anubis's hand, then hissed as Anubis squeezed.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Anubis, Sept's brother," he greeted.

"Anubis," I warned, clenching my fists. What the hell was wrong with my family? I should've known they'd behave like this. Talk about embarrassing.

"Heh," Theo's eyes flashed and for a moment, I went still, expecting his Beast to erupt at the threat Anubis fed him, but instead, a slow smile spread across Theo's lips as he gave Anubis a squeeze back, "Hi. I'm Sept's friend."

"Friend," Anubis echoed, releasing Theo's hand.

"Sorry, bestest friend ever," Theo corrected, making Anubis raise an eyebrow. My brother looked at me and I wiped my hands down my face before clasping them together in front of me.

"You've met my family, so can we go back to my father's palace now?" I asked.

"Hell, no," Theo exclaimed at the same time Anubis snorted.

"Of course not," my mother said, catching me off guard as I turned to stare at her as she smiled one of her evil smiles, "We have so much more to show the little redheaded demon child." Theo looked pleased with that. Be it the nickname or the excitement of seeing more, I wasn't sure. I grimaced anyway and my mother patted me on the cheek before she turned back to Cha, who watched all of us with a raised brow of curiosity.

"I think we'll go with the Ra gold, instead of the Sun gold or Ray gold," my mother told Cha, who nodded and swept over to one of the servants to inform them of my mother's decision. My mother then gestured for us to follow her over to her throne, except she saw something I didn't and made a noise of exclamation, making me scowl as I almost smacked into her when she stopped abruptly.

"Tupac!" She called. I stiffened and Theo choked, looking around before he looked over at where Tupac was approaching us. Tupac approached with a smile at first, but that smile faded when he saw Theo, who was smirking at him.

"Tupac, I'd like you to meet Prince Theo and Commander Adonis of Hades," she introduced, "Ah, Theo is formerly Sept's... partner." I glared at my mother, seeing exactly what she was doing here. She was trying to make Tupac jealous, and it was clearly working. Tupac looked at Theo, scanned him from head to toe, and gave him a warm smile.

"Greetings, young prince. Welcome to Duat, land of riches."

"Now that's how you greet someone," Theo said, looking at my mother and gesturing with his thumb, making my mother's expression turn sour with disappointment, "Nice to meet you... Tupac. What a name."

"I've heard it before," Tupac replied dryly, "I'm surprised you're here. Aren't the Greeks and the Egyptians far from friendly?"

"We're working on building our relationship with them after Hades basically saved the universe," I said, then paused, "Again." My mother twitched. She hated it when I reminded her of that. She was not a big Hades fan, especially after finding out about an incident between Hades and Sept. Of course, she was taking stabs at Theo, so why couldn't I take a few jabs at her? Though, something told me I'd pay for it later.

"How about we all sit and watch some of the entertainment auditions?" My mother asked with a smile, leading us over to her throne. She snapped her fingers for servants to bring in some extra seats. Of course, Anubis and I didn't need to wait because we already had thrones on either side of my mother's. The servants set up the extra seating beside me, and I ended up by Theo and Tupac with Adonis at the end. Clearly Theo did that on purpose because he sat down with a grin, leaning back in his seat while Adonis shook his head and took his seat at the end. Tupac eyed Theo, like he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about him.

The auditions began, but it was hard to concentrate. Theo kept leaning over to speak to Tupac, and occasionally Tupac would smirk, but then he'd shake his head and say something in response. I couldn't quite hear over the music from the band that was playing, but it looked like they were getting along... mostly. Sighing in relief, I sat back and tried to enjoy the show... but I was starting to get uncomfortable.

It felt like something around my neck was tightening. I cleared my throat and sat up a little, but that didn't seem to help. I swallowed thickly, reaching up to rub at my neck. I looked around the room and my eyes landed on the last person I wanted to see.

Horus was hanging out over in a corner, with Magenta right at his side, both of them smiling at me. I pressed my lips together firmly and tried to ignore the choking sensation in my throat, but it was getting to be too much.

"You good?" Theo asked me. I shook my head.

"Suddenly feel a little nauseated. I'll be back," I assured. Theo frowned, but didn't say anything or follow me as I got up and excused myself, earning some dirty looks from onlookers. I departed from the room and made my way out into the hallway. I rubbed at my throat where the tightening seemed to get worse. It was hard to breathe. It felt almost like I was wheezing.

And just as suddenly as the tightening began, it stopped and I gasped for air, bending over and taking in huge gulps of air. I straightened, sucking in air, then stiffened as I felt the air behind me shift and I spun around, only to be slammed face first into the wall.

"When I call," Horus's voice said against my ear, his body hot and rigid, "You come. You do not fight me. Ever." I panted against the wall, glaring at him over my shoulder. He raised an eyebrow, then picked me up by my neck and slammed me into the wall again, making me gasp.

"And work on that look in your eye," he warned, "Or else I'll have something a whole lot worse for you than a bite." I gritted my teeth, then hissed as I felt Horus's hand slide over my hip and to my abdomen. He stroked the space there for a moment, then buried his nose against my throat and I tried to close off the space to no avail.

"Now... hold still and let me have another treat," he whispered.