Set by Alessa Thorn

6

Set gritted his teeth and forced the flood of his power back into its cage. He could've handled the police better. He could've followed them and taken them out as soon as they had stopped.

But no. Ayla had cried out for him to save her, and he kissed centuries of self-control goodbye.

She's dangerous to you. Her gods' damned lips were, that was for sure.

Set hadn't thought the kiss through either. She was going into meltdown, and he wasn't the type to shake a woman, so kissing her seemed like the best option.

Set could still taste her on his tongue and wanted to know if the rest of her would be just as delicious. Even covered in street dirt and blood, she had smelled like honey myrrh, the sweet and sacred scent of her clawing at his insides. It made him want to do more than kiss her.

Set shook himself and refocused. There would be a time when they weren't in danger that he would be able to focus all of his attention on seduction, but it wasn't now.

They passed by a school and a coffee shop, and when they rounded the next street, Set spotted docks. Rows of feluccas were ready to take tourists out to the islands, people lining up for deals and captains hawking discounts. He spotted one that had a cabin and went straight for the captain.

"You own this boat?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, would you—"

"How much do you want for it?"

"Excuse me? The boat isn't for sale!"

"Kader Ayad needs it, good sir," Set countered. The man's expression changed. "Look, I just need to take it to Cairo. I'll make sure you get it back in one piece, or I'll replace it." Set took out a thick roll of bills and handed it to him.

"Do you know how to sail? Or do you require my services?"

"I'll be fine. Go and have a nice holiday. Your boat will be back in no time," Set said. He took the keys to the boat and the man's phone number. The captain was wise enough to take his money and walk away.

"Does everyone give you what you want like that?" Ayla asked.

"They know better than to cross your father." Set lifted her up and into the boat. "Or me, for that matter."

"Except Moussa."

"Moussa will get what's coming to him, that I can promise you."

Set did a quick check of the sails and the backup engine. He knew the Nile well and was pleased that the captain took care of his boat.

There was a small cabin with a tiny bathroom and a gas fridge and cooking facilities. It had been stocked for day trips and would suit them well enough. He untied them and made sure they quickly cleared the rush of morning boats.

"I don't see anyone looking for us," Ayla said, her eyes on the docks and shop fronts.

"Stay out of sight, just in case. If they believe we are hiding in the city, it will give us a few days to get to Cairo." Set swore under his breath. "What a pain in the ass you're turning out to be, doctor. This was meant to be a day job at the most."

"One would think a god of war would relish the challenge," Ayla replied from where she sat on the deck of the boat. "That's who you are, isn't it? Set, god of war and chaos?"

"Amongst other things," Set said over his shoulder.

"Like what?" Ayla asked. "Come on. I need the distraction, and it's not every day you get to meet a god. Or get rescued twice by one. Or kissed by one."

"I had to get you to stop having a meltdown somehow," Set replied.

Ayla tucked her messy curls behind her ears. "It was wildly inappropriate."

Set smiled. "Trust me, you'll know when I decide to get wildly inappropriate with you, Ayla."

"Don't bother. You're not my type," she huffed.

"You know, in Upper Egypt, my name used to be invoked for love spells and carved into charms."

"Your point being?"

Set gave her a long look that made color flash on her cheeks. "I'm everyone's type. When I seduce you, I'll become the only type you ever want."

"You mean if you manage to seduce me," Ayla corrected.

"When," Set reiterated. That one kiss was enough to make seduction a certainty.

It didn't matter that she was Kader's daughter. That most of Egypt would be trying to kill her for a bounty. The doctor made the ichor in his veins burn, and he would find out exactly why.

Ayla gave him an unamused look. "If you say so. Now, I'm going to freak out in privacy and see if this captain has any coffee. Getting shot at isn't how I like to start my day."

"Better brew for two. I didn't exactly get any sleep last night," Set said.

"So much for the legendary stamina of the gods." Ayla was below deck before he could give her a witty reply to that barb.

"Now that's a challenge I'm going to be happy to accept," Set said under his breath.

* * *

After the previous evening,Ayla didn't think she would have the energy to have a breakdown.

Woken abruptly, shot at, kidnapped, and kissed, all in one morning. And you were worried that life was becoming tiresome. She was never going to complain about the mundanity of paperwork again.

Ayla went through the cabin and found a clean gallebaya that she could wear as a dress and pulled off her ill-fitting pants and shirt. She did her best to braid back her messy curls and wash the dirt from her face. Her hands started to shake, so she tightened them into fists.

"No. You can get through this." She had worked in war zones, where the sounds of gunfire echoed all night long. None of those guns had been pointed at her before, but she wasn't going to let the fear make her fall apart.

Keeping her hands busy would keep her calm. She brewed coffee and raided the stores of food the captain had to give to the tourists he’d planned to take out that day.

Ayla couldn't remember the last time she had been on a boat, sailing on the Nile. With a god.

She was naturally curious, and if she was going to be stuck with Set for the unforeseeable future, she was going to get every question she had answered.

He certainly kisses like a god. Her lips tingled with the memory of stubble and heat. She hadn't been kissed in a long time either. Not like that.

Not like that ever, her subconscious corrected unhelpfully.

Pushing all uncomfortable thoughts away, Ayla put together a pot of hot coffee and a tray of fruit, fresh flatbread, olives, and hummus.

Up on deck, Set was watching the water and sending messages on his phone. Ayla wondered if it was to her father. What would she say to him if they met?

Ayla set the tray down on the flat area arranged with cushions for the boat's usual tourists. She took one of the cups of coffee and moved to give it to Set.

"Here you are," she said.

"Nice outfit." Set took the coffee, rough fingers lightly brushing hers. "You seem okay after the morning of excitement."

"Just trying to be calm."

"You're not afraid of me?" he asked.

Ayla sat down on a cushion. "Because you're a killer, a gangster, or a god?"

"Pick one." Set put his phone away and got comfortable opposite her.

"You said I have nothing to fear from you."

"You don't. That doesn't mean your human mind believes that."

"Cutting a car in half with a khopesh was something I won't forget any time soon." Ayla pulled apart some flatbread and offered him a piece. "I can believe that you're a god because of that, and it's not like humans don't know that gods walk amongst us. I can stream Medusa's channels from my laptop whenever I like, and Hades has never hidden what he is."

Set's lips curled in a sneer. "Those attention-seeking Greeks are children compared to me."

"They live openly with what they are. Why don't you?" Ayla asked.

"Because I don't want to be harassed, and I have no interest in building an empire again. It's too much work." Set stretched out onto his side. "Kader knows what I am, but he's good at keeping secrets. Just look at yourself."

"I'm starting to think it would've been better to think I was an orphan. I could understand that."

"Letting you believe he was dead is probably the best thing that man has ever done. You might not understand it or like it, but it's the truth."

"My mother Amara and I were abandoned by him. She was sick for nearly my entire life and needed the support, not some deadbeat dad who never bothered to help," Ayla replied bitterly.

"I think if you dig deep enough, you'll find that he helped when he could and when it was safe to do so. It might not have been perfect, but you grew up normal and safe. Something you would never have gotten if he had claimed you. The past twenty-four hours would've been your average day," Set replied.

Ayla chewed on a grape, hating that he was right. Logically, she knew it, but emotionally, she was like a wounded child because her father had left her.

"Let's hope we can get you back to your old life soon," Set continued. "For now, enjoy the time off."

Ayla laughed. "Some holiday. How long do you think it will take us to get to Cairo?"

He gave her a lazy smile. "A few days if we pretend to be tourists taking in the Nile in all of her glory. Feel free to sunbake naked to keep in character."

"You first," Ayla said with a laugh. She choked on an olive when he sat up and pulled off his shirt and boots. "Wait! Stop, I take it back."

Set lay back in the sun, putting his hands behind his head. "You're such a tease, Doc."

Ayla stared long enough that Set asked, "Like what you see?"

"Sorry." Ayla shook herself. "I didn't realize gods could scar, that's all."

Set's dark brown skin was covered in marks of all shapes and sizes. A golden ankh shone on his sternum. "How do you explain that to people?"

"Fancy tattoo that I got in Singapore," Set replied without opening his eyes. "People tend not to ask further questions."

"Then they are stupid. Does it do anything?"

"Press it and find out."

"I'm serious. You're the first god I've ever met. I'm going to ask you questions. Deal with it."

Set let out a pained sigh. "All the gods had them as a mark of their divinity. It is a representation of the power we have over life and death. It is also a key to entering the lands of the Duat."

The Duat, the lands of judgment and darkness in the afterlife. Ayla laughed nervously, "The Duat really exists."

"Of course it does." Set rolled over and tapped his right shoulder where a circular scar the size of Ayla's fist marred his skin. "See that? That scar is from where Apep got me with his fang once."

Ayla had always liked the story of Ra sailing his barge through the Duat every night. The gods went with him, each taking a turn sailing through the twelve gates of the demon-infested underworld.

When all of their power was at their lowest, Apep, the demon serpent, and the devourer of souls would attack. Set, the most hated and feared of the gods, was the only one strong enough to save them from Apep's fangs. They would fight until the Duat was behind them, and they went back into the world of men, Ra, the sun, rising the next day.

"The stories of you fighting him are true too?" Ayla asked, resisting the urge to touch the scar.

Set rolled back over. "Some of them. Most of the stories about me are just that...stories."

Ayla frowned as her mind filtered through memories. Her mother used to love myths and legends from all over the world. Ayla grew up with her telling stories, and when Hades had returned to Greece, Amara had squeezed her triumphantly and said, "See? I told you the gods are real."

Ayla couldn't imagine what her mother would think of the villainous Set, currently sunning himself like a great cat beside her.

"What about the story of you and Horus fighting over Egypt?"

"We fought after Osiris was bound to the Duat, but the story they tell now is all wrong. Neith, not Isis, settled the matter of rule for a start."

"So you didn't seduce Horus and eat a salad covered in his semen?" Ayla asked. It was the one part of the story that always had Ayla cringing.

Set opened a large golden eye. "Have you tasted semen recently? It's not exactly something you would mistake for a salad dressing and keep eating."

Ayla laughed again, and some of the tension in her body eased. "I can't argue with that. You know, I think my mother would have liked you."

"Mothers don't like me. I'm trouble."

"Without a doubt." Ayla recalled Amara's mischievous streak. "It's probably why she would've liked you. She was so excited when the gods returned, despite the fact she was an Eastern Orthodox Christian. She was Greek, from Megara, so she was proud that Hades stepped in to save her country."

"If she was Greek, what brought her to Egypt?" Set asked, propping his head on a hand.

"She used to say that her blood was Greek, but her heart was Egyptian. She had traced her ancestors to Alexandria, and the way she told it, it was like coming home." Grief made Ayla's heart ache. "She said she stayed in Egypt to be close to the memory of my father. I suppose that was just another lie."

"Maybe it was true. Love is a strange force that makes people do crazy things. You don't know, Kader could have seen her whenever possible. He's a private man, and I know for a fact he traveled to Alexandria a lot before he went into prison."

Ayla tried to imagine her mother having a secret affair for over thirty years with a gangster. "I'm eating breakfast with a god, so I suppose anything is possible."

"If they did, it's more romantic than I thought Kader capable of."

"High praise from the god who people used to invoke for their love spells," Ayla replied, trying to lighten the mood again. "Although why anyone would ask a god of war to help out their love life is beyond me."

Set smirked. "I only became known as a war god in the New Kingdom, Doctor. Before that, I was a hero-god of protection and love too."

"Then how did you change to a war god? It's the exact opposite of love."

Set's laugh was silky enough that heat curled inside of her. "If you believe that, Ayla, then you've never been in love."