Page 12 of Sett and his King
“That lasted all of two seconds,” I said. “He freed me only to enslave me and my brother. And his demands were far, far worse than my last master’s.”
Sett looked up and narrowed his eyes. I didn’t know if he could read thoughts like his brother, but he wasn’t going to get anything out of me. Not unless I wanted to share. My body’s ownership may be up for debate but my mind? My mind was mine and only mine.
“He…he hurt you, didn’t he?” His voice surprised me. It came out as a whisper. A whisper that chilled me to the bone.
Why does it sound like he cares?
“He did,” I said through gritted teeth. “But I don’t care about myself right now. I don’t want him to touch my brother. I’ve managed to keep him at bay until Gene turned eighteen. Now that he has, I don’t know how long before he lays a finger on him. If he hasn’t already.”
It didn’t matter what it sounded like. It didn’t matter how it felt or how he looked at me. I wasn’t going to be tricked again. Never again.
I needed Sett. He was my only hope at freedom. But I would never—ever—be his prisoner.
“I’m so sorry, Drew. I thought…I thought I got rid of him once and for all.”
Well, he hadn’t.
“It-it’s not your fault,” I said, because I didn’t need to anger another god. Not before I was rid of the one that had chained me.
“I can’t help but feel responsible. I thought our great battle resulted in his death. I see now he cheated me and my son somehow.”
His son?
What did his son have to do with anything?
And who was his son? My knowledge of Egyptian mythology wasn’t terrible but even then it didn’t mean it was accurate.
“But make no mistake, Drew. This time, when I kill him, it’ll be real.”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to put my faith in him but the last time I’d done that it hadn’t gone so well.
“How? How can you stop him?”
He inhaled, making his chest puff up and dark hairs peek through the robe.
Why did he have to be so hot? And why did my body have to react like that in his presence? Maybe I could concoct something new, something to keep this strange desire at bay. I couldn’t let my carnal desires mess with my head.
“By stealing all of his power from him. But in order to do that, I need to find his scarab.”
I cocked my head.
“Scarab? What do you mean?”
Sett sat up and put both his elbows on the table, his expression hardening as he spoke of the game plan.
“A scarab is capable of containing a god’s powers. We thought we’d contained it all back then, but like he cheated death he must have cheated the power the scarab. But this time I’ll be prepared.”
A sliver of hope dared flare inside me and my heart skipped a beat. My breath caught at the promise of his words.
“Where do we find that scarab? Don’t tell me you already have it?”
“I don’t. I hid it a long time ago. I didn’t want to risk him finding it. But we simply need to retrieve it.”
I set my coffee cup down and bit my lip.
“Where did you hide it?” I asked.
“Home. It’s back home.”
