A God's Bargain (EgyptianGod!Brothers and Reader)

Chapter 4

My skin began to burn as if I was directly underneath the desert sun at its highest zenith, my mouth drying out quickly and urging me to somehow get cool air down my throat while I was wrapped up tightly in the chaos deity's grip. His fingers pinned my arms to my side, the enormous talon of his thumb roughly rubbing against my cheek as he eyed me carefully.

"Enough, Set."

A gust of wind blasted against my face before I felt a cool fabric wrap itself around me, the desert heat suddenly cut off while I regained my breathing.

"Do not take my sister away from me!" Set's voice lowered into a snarl, the sound of sand shifting violently around the area before a quiet calm overcame my hearing.

Birds called out their various songs while I could hear the sounds of the city fill my ears, coughing out in staggered breaths while pushing myself up off the floor. I felt someone's hands on my shoulders, their touch soft, before I could hear Nekhbet's worried voice.

"Ahti, please come to your senses..."

"I'm here, Nekhbet," I groaned a little as I moved into a kneeling position, my eyes seeing her worried expression partially shift into a relieved one, "I didn't mean to worry you."

"I had feared that you were touched by the deities with how you were acting..." She released my shoulders, "Your back was bent so backwards that I thought you'd never walk again."

"I...I'm sorry that you saw that," As I spoke, my voice recovered from the harsh heat that had rolled off of Set, "I have some answers now, but I will need to contemplate them before I can move forward."

"Then, Thoth was able to show you what you needed?"

"I believe so."

"If it's rest that you're needing, then know that the room you were staying in has been left available for you," Nekhbet wore a grateful smile on her face, "I know that you're still staying at the palace, but that may not be the best place for you at the moment."

"What do you mean?" I stood up from the ground with her help, barely lifting an eyebrow in worry.

"I've been praying to Thoth for your guidance and protection, and was given a vision to keep you here for some time," Her voice went quiet in the relative silence of the inner chamber of the temple, "It's not my place to ask you to stay...but I believe it's in your best interest if you don't immediately return to the palace."

I stood stunned for a moment, letting a small smile rest on my lips as she took a few steps back, "Weren't you the one that was worried about me doing something to offend Pharaoh?"

A look of embarrassment crossed her face.

Soft laughter stifled itself in my throat before I cleared it, "I'll take your warning, Nekhbet, and stay here for now. If Thoth is telling you that I should not return to the palace, then it's probably best if I heed his words."

----

As the sun began to lower in the sky, the city's hustle-and-bustle started to wane with it.

I looked up from the scrolls that contained different languages before gently lighting one of the fat-burning lamps that rested on the window in front of me, darkness falling quickly as the palace blocked out the evening's rays. Returning my focus back to the scrolls, I took in a deep breath as my vision grew tired.

"Perhaps this is a good chance for some rest."

The new voice drew my attention towards the doorway to the storage room, a man standing there with papyrus scrolls partially sticking out of a canvas bag that was slung over his left shoulder. His entire chest was bare with only a few ornaments decorating his neck and upper arms while a white bolt of cloth was wrapped around his waist, covering most of his legs and leaving his feet bare.