"Are you alright?" he asked. "You seemed flustered."
I bit my lip, thinking of the best way to say this without sounding paranoid. "I think Seth is planning something for when you leave," I whispered.
"What kind of something?"
I shook my head. "I don't know, Amun chased me off before I could hear anything else. I'm sorry I don't have more, I just thought..." I trailed off, not wanting to put the rest of my thoughts into words. Even if I wanted to hurt Seth's cause, I didn't make it easy for me to go against the things I'd been trained to do my entire life.
"That I'd want to know," he finished for me.
"Yes, maybe you can do something about it." I closed my eyes, not wanting to see his reaction to how lame my words were. Maybe I should just have stayed quiet.
His finger brushed against my cheek.
My eyes snapped open, meeting his adoring gaze.
"Thank you." He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.
I relaxed into him, enjoying the kiss and everything it stood for.
"Abu?" someone shouted.
We jumped away from one another, and I let out a nervous giggle.
"I'm sorry, I have to go." His expression switched from one of desire, to one almost of pain.
"It's okay, I understand," I assured him.
"I'll meet you by the oasis next week?" he asked.
I nodded eagerly. Even though I was pained at the idea of him leaving already, the thought of meeting him again out in the oasis was reassuring. Comforting, even.
"Then I won't say goodbye." He kissed me again, but this time it was fleeting.
He disappeared back to the banquet, no doubt to answer the call of whoever it was that needed his attention.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DUST FILLED the air as Ra's retinue filed away. Sadness sat heavily in my stomach, knowing that Abu was heading away from me. My one chance at being happy, and I was no longer able to do anything about it.
Seth stood not far away from me, a knowing smirk on his lips. He leaned over to whisper something to Motep.
The sadness inside me twisted into rage at the sight. They were plotting something that could take some of Ra's retinue to the land of the dead. Not the gods, though, I wasn't sure what he planned for them. It should reassure me that Abu wouldn't join Osiris' realm, and yet, it didn't. He could still be hurt, even maimed, and that wasn't something I wanted to think about too heavily.
When nothing happened, I started to get confused. Had I misunderstood what the two of them had been plotting? Were they not trying to hurt Ra and his priests? I still didn't know why they'd come here in the first place. Maybe that was something I should have asked Abu when I had the chance. It was too late now. I just had to hope that whatever it was, Seth didn't want to ruin the chances of their agreement sticking.
I didn't look around me to see who else was watching the departure. There wouldn't be many of us. No one cared that they were leaving except that it meant we could now tidy up the temple. Except for me. I had to watch my heart walk away, or I was going to regret it.
In my mind, it didn't even matter that I was planning on seeing Abu again in a week.
The only other people I thought were around were Seth and his direct advisors. No doubt they wanted to see whatever plan they'd made in action.
Dust rose up from the sides of the caravan.
"No!" My hand flew to my mouth even though I knew that would give me away.
Sand swirled up and around them all, obscuring everyone from view. But, as far as I could tell, Ra's men weren't doing anything to counteract what was happening now. How could they be so foolish? Didn't they know they were being attacked? I'd told them in advance. They should have been ready.
A manic chuckle broke the tension. I turned to look at Seth. The amount of glee in his eyes was nauseating. He enjoyed this. I wasn't too sure why that surprised me. He was the god of chaos. I'd known that for as long as I'd been here. Longer, even. I wasn't sure what I'd picked up on as a child versus in the slave market, but I'd already known who Seth was when someone told me I'd be serving him.
He turned, his eyes latching on to me and a sinister smirk twisting at his lips. "Are you enjoying the show?" he asked.
I held my head up high, even though that felt like it was a dangerous thing to do. He'd already tried to break me once. I didn't want to give him a reason to try again. Not when I wasn't sure if I could take it or not.
And yet, a part of me still wanted to defy him.
"Your lord asked you a question," Motep prodded. The emotions in his eyes were even worse than in the gods. I suspected it was cruelty I saw there, as opposed to Seth's love of chaos. It would be easy to mistake the two, but Seth hurt people out of a different motivation.
I wasn't sure if that was better or worse.
"Hush," Seth ordered his priest. "Let her speak. How are you finding the show?"
"Chaotic," I answered, not letting the fear I felt into my voice. He wasn't going to manage to scare me. I wouldn't let him.
"Just the way I like it. But you know that, don't you, Rhodopis?"
I held back the scowl that wanted to break free. I wouldn't let him know that he had the better of me. I couldn't.
"Of course, my lord," I said evenly.
"Didn't you take a liking to one of those gods down there?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly knowing the answer to his question. He just wanted to make me say it.
"No more of a liking than
