Reconciliation by Lisa Oliver
Chapter Twenty-One
“I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to check on Aziza.” Ra came into the room as though facing a rampaging lion – cautious, but at least his hair was clean, so he’d clearly had a shower. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but Seth…” Ra bit his lip, tears in his eyes. “I can’t believe you never told me what your brother did.”
“Would it have made any difference?” Seth kept his eyes on his half-sister – so young, so innocent.
“How can you say that? Of course, it would’ve made a difference. If I’d known what Osiris had done, I could’ve done something.”
“What? What would you have done?” Seth kept his voice low in deference to Aziza. “Mortals were erasing the memory of you even then, pairing your name with their kings as though it would give them the powers of the gods, and you did nothing. Horus cheated against me, and you rewarded him by making him King of all Egypt. Even you believed I acted against Osiris because one wife wasn’t enough for him, and he had to get my wife pregnant too. What would you have done if you learned instead he stole the wolf I loved more than my life, violated him, and then ensured that same wolf could never return to me, not even to say goodbye?”
Seth did look up then, fixing Ra with a harsh glare. “And now Osiris has shifted his focus to my mate, the one wolf gifted to me by the Fates and claimed with my mark. Osiris has already taken Luka to the Realm of the Dead once, right out from under my nose, near my home, and there was nothing I could do about it, because you banished me from his realm, supporting Osiris’s claim he needed to be kept safe from me. What are you going to do about that?”
“Don’t forget Horus,” Luka said quietly. “But perhaps you two need to talk privately. Did you want me to leave…?”
“No,” Seth said quickly. “No, my love, don’t leave. I have no secrets from you. You’re the one good thing I have in my life. My one ray of sunshine in a pantheon that hates me for actions that were fully justified at the time. You wear my mark, and because of that, it is you who is targeted because no one stuck up for me when I did what I did to Osiris. You, who was the only one to see my pain and care about it. You are truly my joy and only comfort.”
“Oh Seth.” Ra sat down on the chair across from the couch. “It would’ve made a difference if I had known back then, I swear. And I will do something about your troubles now. I just wish… I wish… things were so different back then. I was so different.”
“He was.” Seth dropped a kiss on Luka’s head. His precious wolf only had eyes for him. “Ra was golden, worshipped as the god of the sun and about as feeling as a blade of grass.”
“Whereas you loved with all your heart.” Luka was marking him, rubbing his cheek against Seth’s shoulder. “You loved and laughed, and was loyal to a fault, and in the end, it was you that was punished for it all. I’m so glad we found each other.”
“This is what you meant, isn’t it, young wolf?” Ra was watching them, but Seth didn’t care. He refused to feel ashamed of his feelings for his wolf. “Seth was hurting all this time and I never saw it. I’m gutted I was so unfeeling towards your plight. If I’d have known…”
“I’m still not sure you’d have done anything.” Looking down at his sleeping sister, Seth sighed, as he ran his hand softly over her mop of hair. “I didn’t handle things well either, I’ll admit that. But now Osiris and Horus both seek to drive a wedge between me and Luka, and thanks to the limitations you’ve put on me, I can do nothing. Your tendency to turn a blind eye to the faults of others has led many in this pantheon to feel they can act with impunity. Now Luka is threatened, purely and simply because he makes me happy, and what’s to stop Osiris from doing to him what he did to Malacai? He’s got no protection against the spells of the dead Osiris employs.”
“I shouldn’t have stopped you killing Horus,” Luka said quietly. “I know it was my omega power that stopped you, and when I think about it now, I realize if I’d let you do what you wanted to do, then that might have at least made Osiris pause for a hundred years or so. How long did it take Osiris to get all his body parts back last time?”
“No, no. Please, no talk of killing anyone while Aziza sleeps so soundly.” Ra shook his head. “I can’t allow you to kill Horus, or Osiris, and I’m not saying that to favor them over you,” he added quickly. “Isis and Nephthys still have strong feelings for Osiris and Horus both, and while I’m sure they’d be horrified if they knew the depths Osiris sunk to when violating your Malacai, this situation is different, and I don’t want to cause them pain when they’re innocent in this.”
Seth’s heart sank. I fucking knew this was a waste of time.
“But,” Ra continued, tapping his chin with his forefinger, “that doesn’t mean I can’t use my powers to solve this problem. My powerful lord of the deserts and storms deserves an equal consort by his side, one who might not be feared, but would at least be respected. If you’re willing, as Father of this pantheon, I can grant your young wolf the same powers I gave you at inception. However, this will mean you’d be bound by the same interference laws as the rest of us, Luka.”
And Seth’s heart hoped again. If that can be done…, but Luka looked troubled. “I’m a doctor,” he said firmly. “Interfering when a mortal is sick or dying is what I do. I’ve trained for decades on medical techniques from all over the world. I can’t turn a blind eye to suffering when I can help.”
“I’m not saying you can’t help people,” Ra said simply, a small smile skirting his lips. “I’m saying you can’t use any additional godly powers to help mortals. It’s a difficult rule to live by, and what Seth and others might have seen as my indifference in the past, stems more from me not wanting to upset the Fates by saving those who were meant to die at a specific time or place. I had to learn to shield myself from so much, and in the process, I missed the grief my own son was plagued with for eons. I was protecting myself and for that I’m deeply sorry, because it was selfish of me. I was blinded to the pain others were feeling, including you Seth.”
There was an awkward silence. Seth wasn’t sure what he could say. He wanted to see if Ra meant it about giving Luka powers similar to his, but Ra rarely apologized, so that should probably be acknowledged.
“I can’t imagine what life must’ve been like back in ancient times.” Luka broke the silence. “I haven’t got a clue how anyone can cope with being adored all the time and having to have a public face on all the time. Just thinking about it… the mind boggles. No privacy, no chance to be your true self…”
“I appreciate you making excuses for me, young Luka, but there’s no need,” Ra said. “The fact is, I was a royal shit. I should’ve paid more attention back then and I didn’t. But here we are. I am changing. My mates and my daughter, who trusts you so much already, has made me rethink a lot of things, including the way I use my power. Hence the mess you walked into today.” He gave a bit of a shrug. “Apparently household mess is normal for people trying to cope with a newborn.
“However, thanks to you both, my house is clean, I’ve had a shower which was almost better than sex; my vampire is currently curled up with my wolf in our bed getting the best of sleeps, and the smells coming from the kitchen are tantalizing. It’s not going to make up for past wrongs, but Seth, you deserve a happy future with your mate. Luka, do you want powers that equal your mate’s?”
“Shouldn’t Osiris be punished in some way for what he did to Malacai?” Luka asked and it made Seth’s heart yo-yo up again to hear the caring in his wolf’s tone.
“He should be, yes, the same as he deserves punishment for taking you to the Realm of the Dead. That’s a clear abuse of his power and not acceptable in any way.” Ra shook his head. “The problem with immortal beings, as Seth found when he hacked Osiris up at the time, is gods can’t be killed, and the most I can impose on him is banishment or confinement to somewhere like I did with Thoth. Seth, if I recall, you hated what I did with Thoth even though at the time, and even now, I truly believe it’s the best place for him.”
Fuck. “I didn’t hate what you did to Thoth. The old bat deserved it, stalking his son the way he did. I used him too.” By the Fates at this rate, I’ll be sleeping on the couch. “I was angry and hurting and I didn’t trust your mates not to break your heart. I just wanted them to see an example when you were less than perfect.”
“They’ve seen that now, believe me.” Ra tugged his fingers through his hair, his cheeks bright red. “Running on fumes, snapping at Kirill and Arvyn if they made a sound while I was trying to get Aziza to sleep – having this little one has made me realize just how lucky I am to have fated mates who do love me even when I’m being a controlling asshole.”
“I can understand that feeling now.” Seth ducked his head then, knowing his own cheeks were probably slightly pink. “So, can you really do it? Give Luka my powers…”
“Not your powers,” Luka broke in quickly. “I’m not having you powerless. I’ve never had any, so I’m okay. But I don’t want Ra giving me anything if it takes anything away from you.”
“I’m not taking Seth’s powers.” Ra shook his head. “But it does my heart so good to see evidence of your caring nature, Luka. Can you come close to me, without jiggling my daughter? It won’t take a minute to do this.”
