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

Chapter 12

The word 'unconditionally' didn't settle well in my stomach, my hands trembling as I struggled to take a breath in while under the frenzied gaze of the chaos deity. Set remained in front of me, his eyes barely twitching as he switched between my twin hues while he regarded my presence.

"Reign yourself in, Set," Khnum scoffed as he took strides to place himself between us, his gloved hands now holding a clay doll, "Your temper will not earn you any favors with Thoth's guided."

"And you will learn to mind your own business, ram," Set's focus settled on the other deity, the angered expression slowly melting into annoyance, "I keep my deserts away from your shores in accordance to the balance."

"Satet, Anuket, and Hapi are grateful for your reverence to the scales," The ram-headed deity gave a partial bow, "But my wife, daughter, and the flood are not part of this discussion. I am rather fond of this bend of the Nile and don't wish to see it lost to the desert winds."

With a gentle gesture of a free hand, Khnum motioned towards the sandstorm gathering in power at the horizon, the dark clouds and swirling winds sending warnings to the townsfolk who began to verbally alert those indoors.

Set only grunted in response, his pale yellow eyes laying on my form as if silently inquiring what my thoughts were about the exchange.

"Three days," I reaffirmed, folding my arms across my chest, "I'll fight you tooth and nail if you try to take me before that."

"Do you not have plans to stay here?" His eyebrow twitched upward in complete annoyance.

"Not anymore," With a shake of my head, I bent down to pick up the water jug before walking towards my home in Djedet, "Neithhikret will hunt me down the moment she finds a hint of me still remaining, which means I need to retreat into your domain."

"The red land?" Set's voice lilted with interest, his divine visage moving alongside me while remaining human-sized. The sand flowing from his waist seemingly regenerated as he 'walked', the yellow and black tattered fabrics that rested against his pelvic bone revealed the long set-animal tail I never noticed until now, "Why do you wish to hide there?"

Walking past the edge of town, I could see a change in the people as they relaxed from the rush to prepare for the sandstorm. A glance over my shoulder confirmed that the storm had been suddenly choked out, revealing a clear horizon.

"The Pharaoh worships you, so I thought it would be best to avoid any largely populated areas," Pushing open the front door to my little home, I set the water jug down near the doorway before fully entering. Set didn't try to enter the hovel, "I figured that with only three days remaining in our deal, I wouldn't have any time to find shelter along the Nile river. So, why not try to survive the desert that you love so much?"

"You're tempting fate by doing that."

"It's not like I'm asking you to bend over backwards for me," I sent a condescending look towards him as I lashed my rudimentary bedroll together, wrapping the feathered sack with a simple sheet made from the same linens that I wore, "I know you're not going to help me, even if I did ask for a small favor. You're the same deity that slaughtered his wife."

Set only huffed.

"Why did you kill her? Not the reason why, but...why make that decision instead of something else?" I paused in gathering a spare bolt of cloth to wear, my hands resting on the partially folded material.

"You question me when you already know about myself and Osiris?" A chiding look fell over his expression, the wide grin back with a vengeance as his pale eyes swept over my form.

"I know of your volatility," Rolling my eyes in irritation, I continued to pack a rucksack for the journey, "I'm asking why you chose to kill your sister-wife when there may have been other options available to you."