Chapter 6
Ptah
Bastet shivered as we stepped out of the portal that brought us to the god realm. "Sorry, I'm still not used to that." She glanced at it.
"You don't come here often, do you?" I asked.
She shook her head. "I've mostly avoided places like this so I don't run into people I don't want to see."
"People?"
"Mostly you."
A small smirk lifted the corners of my lips. I didn't know if she'd intended to do it, but she'd inadvertently let me know how much of a chance I had with her. Though her agreeing to go on a date with me had definitely hinted at it already.
"So, where did you have in mind?" she asked.
"I set up a picnic for us in the Kush Oasis."
She frowned. "There's an oasis in the god realm?"
I could understand her confusion. The god realm wasn't like the deserts we'd spent our mortal and early immortal lives around, there wasn't any need for an oasis here. "Menhit tends to it. She calls it her slice of home."
Her eyes narrowed. "What has Menhit done?"
"Nothing," I promised. "But I saw you talking to her at the speed dating event, so when I ran into her a few days ago and mentioned I wanted to take you on a perfect date, she suggested the oasis.
She lets people come and go as they want, but closes it down when the need arises. We'll have it to ourselves."
"I don't know whether to feel touched by her thoughtfulness, or betrayed that she's been plotting with you," she responded.
"Why don't you wait until we see what she's set up?" I suggested. "I promise I asked her. She didn't suggest anything." I directed her down the path that would take us to the oasis. We'd come through the portal closest to it, but there was still a little walk to make.
"It's okay, I don't mind." The meaning of her words echoed in her tone. "So, what made you decide to plan our date here?"
"I thought it would be nice, and give us a chance to talk properly without feeling like we're being hurried out of anywhere. And it's easy to get to."
"The portals are handy for that, even if they make me feel sick."
"Have you tried taking something for that? We could stop at Heka's apothecary before we make the return trip?" I hadn't realised she reacted badly to the portals, or I'd have gotten her some for the journey down too.
"There's no need, it passes quickly. Is this it?" She gestured to the pair of tall palm trees that marked the entrance to the oasis.
"It is."
"I can feel the difference in the air."
"That's magic for you."
She stepped between the trees and held out her hands as if expecting something to land on them. "It smells like home," she whispered.
I didn't need to ask to know that she wasn't talking about her cat sanctuary. There was something in the air that reminded me of Egypt too.
Without warning, she changed forms, shrinking and changing before my eyes. Her skin gave way to dappled grey and black fur, and a tail protruded from her back. She cocked her head at me before darting off deeper into the oasis.
I chuckled, not having expected things to take a turn like this.
I should have done. We didn't often get to shift forms without drawing raised eyebrows in the process, and this was the perfect place for it.
Not only did we have the oasis to ourselves, but nobody in the god realm would be surprised to come across two shifting gods.
I closed my eyes and drew forth my bull form. It had been too long since I'd let myself roam free like this, even with spending most of my time in the god realm.
I set off through the oasis, my hooves pounding on the beaten path.
I made no attempt to follow Bastet. Her form was much smaller than mine, and she had the ability to climb.
I'd lose her within moments, and that was if I could find her over the sound of my own journey.
My plan was to head to where I'd set everything up and wait for her there.
The oasis was beautifully tended, but it wasn't very big, she'd be able to find me without too many problems.
A dart of grey fur rushed across my path, but Bastet was gone before I had to do anything. I'd forgotten how fast she was in her feline form. If I had to guess, she'd gone for as long as I had without shifting, if not longer, and was glad to be out in that form once more.
I didn't stop until I was in the small clearing by the teardrop-shaped lake. With only a thought, I shifted back into human form and took in a deep breath. I wasn't sure how shifters felt when they changed into their animal, but I always felt refreshed.
"That was nice," Bastet said.
I turned to find her approaching from the treeline without a hair out of place.
Her black dress fell just right on her body, flattering the curves that lay beneath.
A part of me wanted to rip the dress from her and worship her the way she was supposed to be, but I knew I had to wait if I didn't want to ruin any chance we had at reconnecting properly.
"I thought you'd like it."
"I did. Though I can't say it's a very conventional start to the date." Her lips quirked up into a smile, assuring me that she'd enjoyed it all the same.
"Maybe I did it to get you out of your clothes."
She let out a light tinkling laugh that made everything inside me tighten. "Then you did a bad job. Our magic keeps our clothing intact, you know that."
"It was a good theory."
She shook her head, but it didn't hide the amused expression on her face. "Why don't we see how the rest of the date goes before we talk about me taking my clothes off," she said.
My pulse quickened at the promise in her tone. That wasn't how I'd intended things to go, though I also wasn't about to complain if it did.
I cleared my throat. "I had a lot of your favourites brought down."
She gave me the side-eye as if she knew how her words were affecting me. "What if they aren't my favourites anymore?"
I froze. Somehow, I hadn't considered that. "Then I can get something different. There are a few restaurants here, or if you fancy something else, I can go back to Earth and bring it back..."
"Ptah." The way her lips curled around my name stopped my rambling and only left me more sure about how connected the two of us were. She reached up and placed a hand on my chest, the intimate touch reinforcing my thoughts.
I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. That was my fault. I was just teasing you. My tastes haven't changed much." Mischief flashed through her eyes as she dragged her gaze down the length of me.
I couldn't complain, I'd been doing the same.
She pulled away and headed towards the blanket laid out on the ground. She sat down, her dress falling away from her legs and leaving them tantalisingly bare.
If I didn't know better, I'd have thought she was trying to entice me. But I planned on being the perfect gentleman. I was going to show her how serious I was about making this work.