Set by Alessa Thorn

8

Edfu was a town that Ayla had always passed through and never had the time to stop and explore. From their docking place on the river, she could spot the tall pillars of the Temple of Horus that was already filling with tourists in the early morning.

"We'll be here for a few hours and pick up some supplies. We better find you some clothes that fit too," Set said, tying off the boat and helping her out onto the jetty.

"Why? You don't like my super fashionable gallebaya and boots ensemble?" she asked.

"I like how see-through it is when the sun hits it a certain way," Set replied with a smile.

Ayla stared up at him, horrified. "It's not, is it?"

"Not in this light."

"And to think I was starting to like you. Take me to a clothing store right now," Ayla demanded.

"Bossy little bird when your feathers are ruffled, aren't you?" Set led her through the busy streets until they neared the temple and encountered markets. Set leaned down and whispered, "Don't forget to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious."

Ayla gave him a long once over, from his scarred boots up his all-black clothes to his soft grinning mouth. "You are the most suspicious person in this place."

"Can't argue with that." Set pointed to a stall selling clothing and gave her a roll of notes. "Go and get something else to wear. Grab me some clean shirts too. I'm going just to that food stall and will be back in five. Don't leave here, Ayla."

She fluttered her lashes at him. "Don't you trust me?"

"If I didn't trust you, you would be tied up on the boat," Set replied. "Actually, that idea has merit." His golden eyes shone hot, and excitement zinged up her spine.

"I'll see you in five," Ayla replied, turning away from him and heading inside the patchouli-scented tents. She had enough to deal with than having him look at her like that.

Ayla had been more than a little surprised to find that Set was interesting and easy company to be around. She found relaxing around people tricky at times and talking about herself even harder, yet she did both with him. That he preferred to walk around without a shirt on was a pleasant bonus.

Way too pleasant. Ayla hadn't bothered with men since she had broken up with her last boyfriend two years ago. He had been another doctor at the private practice she had worked at. He had been nice, safe, and dull, just like her boyfriend before him.

She thought that was her type, so it was a shock to her system to learn that she was attracted to someone who was the complete opposite.

It's just the stress of being shot at. You're fascinated because he's a god.

Ayla searched through the clothes on offer that tended to skew towards western fashions with knockoff brand items and gimmicky tourist Egypt shirts. She grinned. If she was going to play tourist, she was going to do it in style.

Five minutes later, she walked out wearing new jeans and carrying two bags of clothes.

Set was waiting for her, smoking a cigarette and watching the crowds with suspicious eyes. He took one look at her shirt with dancing cartoon pharaohs and mummies and burst out laughing.

"That's hideous," he said, choking on his smoke. "I love it."

"I'm glad because I got one for you too," Ayla replied, offering him the bag. "In black, of course."

"Yeah, I'm not wearing that." He fished out a shirt in a deep red and swapped it for the one he was wearing.

"The color looks good on you," Ayla said.

"It's a bit small," Set complained, pulling it down where it clung to every groove and dip of his impressive chest.

"Is it?" Ayla replied innocently. Set caught the smile she couldn't keep in and raised a brow. "What? It was an honest mistake."

"Whatever you say." Set tucked some of her loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Only you could make such a terrible shirt look cute."

"It's a gift," she replied, fighting the urge to look at her boots. "So what's the plan?"

"I need to make some calls, but I thought I could do that while you looked at the temple. You being a tourist and all."

"I'd like that. I thought that you wouldn't want to because it's to Horus," Ayla said as they walked.

"Why would it bother me? He's dead, and I'm still alive. Besides, mine was bigger than his. Temple that is," Set corrected.

"Is that so?" Ayla tried not to giggle when he turned around, and the back of his shirt shone with a big 'I LOVE EGYPT' slogan in gold. She wondered how long it would take him to find it.

* * *

The temple was moreextensive than Ayla thought it would be. It was dedicated to both Horus and Hathor, the goddess of sky, sun, and sex.

Ayla was awed by the carved reliefs and statues, admiring the craftsmanship and ingenuity it would have taken in its construction.

Set gave her space to explore but was never out of eyesight as he spoke on the phone. Ayla knew at least one of those calls was to her father.

She tried to ignore the mix of curiosity, pain, and longing when it came to Kader. She had no idea what she would say to him if they ever met. Set told her that he was a guest of Cairo prison, and perhaps that was a good thing for her heart.

Ayla glanced over to a pillar and spotted a man watching her. He held himself different from the other tourists, and he didn't seem remotely interested in the monuments around them. His dark eyes flicked away to the phone in his hand. The hair on the back of her neck lifted, her intuition warning her.

Ayla tried to spot Set, but he wasn't where she expected him to be.

Shit. Her body tensed, readying for a fight. She moved through the crowd, careful to keep the mysterious man in eyesight without directly looking at him. He was talking on the phone now, following her.

Where the hell did Set go? He wasn't exactly hard to miss, even in a crowd.

A hand came down on her shoulder. "Ayla Neilos?"

Ayla whirled, knocking the man's hand off her and driving the heel of her palm up into his sternum. He gasped, reaching for her as she kicked him hard in the knee with her boot. She didn't wait to see if he went down, just turned and ran.

Tourists gasped, getting out of her way as she shoved through the groups, trying to get outside.

"Ayla!" Set shouted to her, and she spotted him behind a large pillar. There was a man on the ground, face bleeding. "Are you okay?"

"There's another one, I hit him pretty hard, but he won't be down long," she said, taking his outstretched hand.

"We've worn out our welcome in Edfu. I'm sorry we'll have to cut our visit short." Set led her back out into the streets.

"Do we head for the boat?" Ayla asked.

"No, if they know we are here, they know about the boat. We are going to have to find a car. There's no way around it. Shit, there are more of them." Men were moving purposely towards them, guns drawn.

"They wouldn't open fire in front of people, would they?"

"Yes. Keep close. They will want us separated."

"Set, we need to get away from all of these people. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me," Ayla said.

"If these assholes open fire, it's not on you, Ayla. It's on them." Set picked up his pace until she was jogging to keep up. They skirted down an empty side street, and Set stopped as men blocked the end. They turned to find another four standing in the way they came. Set backed Ayla up against the wall of a building.

"When I say drop, you hit the dirt," he whispered, passing her the bag of food he bought. He turned to the men closing in on them. "You guys don't want to do this. Turn around and go."

"Set Akhom, hand over the woman, and you'll walk away from this. We have no fight with you, but she's coming with us," one man said, his gun trained on them.

Set laughed, a chilling sound that filled Ayla's belly with ice. "You pulled a gun on her, which means you have a fight with me."

"You are outnumbered. You can't kill us all."

Heat radiated from Set, golden light starting to shimmer around his hands. He didn't have to tell Ayla to drop. She felt his power rising and hit the ground, curled into a ball, and put her hands over her head.

Chaos erupted. Through cracks in her fingers, Ayla watched as Set tore through the men like they were paper dolls.

Armed with only a dagger, he ducked and weaved, dodging bullets and fists. Each blow he struck hit its mark, sending men down screaming as they died. Set was a shivering blur, trailing golden magic and hot sprays of crimson.

"Ayla, get up," he commanded, and her legs obeyed. She grabbed the bag off the ground and followed him.

Set opened the door of the white transit van, and she ran to the passenger side. He searched the car for keys before swearing and placing two fingers on the ignition. Magic sparked gold, and the car started.

"Put your seatbelt on," he said gruffly. They drove out of the street and into the busy flow of traffic. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No. Are you?" Ayla asked, her voice small.

"No." Set swore and swerved around a truck. "I don't know how they tracked us here. We have only been ashore for an hour."

"Abasi said that the bounty for me has gone out to everyone, right? Maybe they spotted us by chance."

"A pretty spectacular chance." Set changed gears, checking the mirrors and the cars on either side of them. He made a growl of frustration. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I don't want you having nightmares because of me."

"You did try and warn them," Ayla replied. Set had been violent and magnificent at the same time. He was a god of war, and he'd slaughtered them all to keep her safe. Her heart rate was slowly dropping back to normal, the adrenaline pumping in her veins easing.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"I'm going to take you somewhere where no one will ever find you," he said, his golden eyes not leaving the road.

"At least I had the chance to fight back this time." Ayla didn't know why that made her feel better.

"You shouldn't have had to fight at all." Set looked furious, but Ayla couldn't figure out if it was at their enemies or himself.

Summoning her courage, she put her hand over his and gave it a quick squeeze. When he didn't say anything, she made to move away, but his hand turned to capture her fingers gently and hung on.

* * *

Set didn't like surprises.He didn't believe it was chance that had men turning up for Ayla in Edfu. Had Kader or Abasi said something to the wrong person? They needed to find the damn mole so Set could put his blade through them.

The easy smile that Ayla had been wearing that morning was now gone, and for that, Set would happily murder the bastards all over again.

She wasn't afraid of him, even after what she had seen. That made her a truly unique woman.

As if I needed more evidence of that.

Set resented not being able to sail with her up the rest of the Nile. He had been enjoying that. He scowled at the desert on all sides of them. This was the opposite of how he saw their day going.

He'd had enough of people trying to take Ayla away from him, so he was taking her home to Naqada. He'd been using his apartment in Cairo for months, and no one knew where his true home was. It was a secret he protected more than his god status.

Ayla would be safer there than anywhere in Egypt. He could leave her there while he hunted all the bastards that were after her. He couldn't be the monster when she was around, and the monster was straining to be let loose on their enemies.

A drive that would usually take three hours from Edfu to Naqada took all day because Set was driving on every back road possible. He didn't trust that there weren't scouts on the main roads, and he wanted to limit Ayla getting shot at as much as possible. She hadn't broken down like she had the last few times, and Set didn't know if that was a good sign.

It was late afternoon when Ayla had curled up on the bench seat and fell asleep, her head on his lap.

So utterly trusting. His hand drifted down of its own accord to gently stroke her hair. The ugly t-shirt she was wearing made him smile despite the truly disastrous morning.

This can't end well. He knew it, and still, he left his hand tangled in her curls.