Page 28 of Sett and his King
With each new breath I wheezed a little less until…until I wasn’t wheezing anymore.
"Are you okay?" he asked, letting me go.
I nodded with a cough.
"You really are a god, aren’t you? I said after a moment. “That shouldn’t have worked.”
He didn’t reply. He simply put his hands all over my face as if testing my physical state.
“I’m okay. I swear,” I said when he didn’t let go.
I had to admit. It was cute. The concern on his face, in his actions.
“I’m fine. Whatever you did, it worked. For now. I just need to get home."
He nodded and helped me up. I closed my fist around the key in my hand and searched for the nearest door when I noticed.
The woman whose bag I’d just saved was staring at us. All the people around us were staring.
I didn't know how many were looking at us with hostility and how many with admiration and I didn't care to find out. I just took Sett by the hand, dragged us into the next alley and put the key in the nearest door.
"Let's just get out of here before things get ugly," I said.
"Why would things turn ugly?" Sett asked.
I stopped and stared at him.
Oh crap. He didn't know, did he? Had the soul living in his head not filled him in on homophobia?
"A lot of places in the world are not very accepting of same-sex relations," I said. "They see queer people, that is people of all genders who like the same sex or both sexes or all the genders, as wrong and perverted."
Sett grimaced and glared at the people who were stalking after us.
I opened the door back home and beckoned him inside. "Come on," I said. “Let’s get out of here.”
He stomped inside and I shut Cairo back out. That didn't stop him from glaring at the door as if it was a villain.
"That's why they erased us,” he hissed.
"I'm sorry?" I asked.
What did he mean?
He blinked and after a second’s pause shook his head. “Nothing. You need your medicine, right?"
Right. First things first. Don’t die, for starters. I could wait to interrogate the god at my doorstep later.
I walked toward the coat hanger and dug through the pockets to find one of the dozen inhalers I always had on the ready.
How the fuck did I forget it?
"So this little thing can save your life," Sett asked after I'd taken two puffs and put it into my pocket.
Didn’t need to forget it again.
"Yup. Modern medicine mixed in with a little fast-acting healing potion that prevents further attacks. But it doesn’t help if I run.”
“Or if you forget it at home.” He raised an eyebrow and my heart fluttered at his remark.
