Chapter 18
Horus
Charlotte’s flat is about what I imagined it would be. There are books littering every surface. I can see tea mugs stacked in the kitchen sink across the room. There are plants in the window, but one of them looks like it hasn’t been watered in weeks. The couch is plush and inviting with a homemade quilt folded along the back.
Overall it is a quant, quintessentially English flat with Charlotte written all over it. Funny that in just a short time I’ve gotten to understand her tastes. What I didn’t realize is that she has a diverse range of reading tastes.
Once we arrived, Charlotte quickly excused herself to the restroom. If her pale face was any indication, the portal travel probably made her nauseous. Since I was left to my own devices, I decide to make myself at home and snoop.
Before poking around, I hang my jacket on a chair in the kitchen and set the portal-key on the counter. I don’t want to disturb the organized mess of mainly research books but a surprising title catches my eye on the coffee table.
Sitting on the couch, I grab the book in question to find a scantily clad, muscled man in a kilt on the front. I grin, realizing that doe eyes does have a romance-loving side to her after all.
The door to the right of the couch leading to the bedroom opens and Charlotte walks out with an empty, small duffle bag. The color has returned to her face and she looks like she is back to normal.
When she spots me on the couch her eyes go wide and her face turns an adorable shade of crimson. I hold up the book and say with a grin, “I don’t think Romancing the Highlander is part of your research.”
After a moment of stunned silence, she seems to collect herself and replies, “If you must know, my friend recommended it to me and it’s quite good. It’s a beautiful romance where the hardened, gruff leader meets a sweet woman healer who helps save his village from a plague and they fall in love along the way.”
I grin at the way she tries to hold herself taller in her defense. “Well, that does sound like a beautiful fairy tale, doe eyes.”
She blinks in confusion. “I can’t tell if you are being sincere or not.”
I look back at the book and decide it wouldn’t hurt to be a little vulnerable with this woman. She is one of the first in a long time that I have felt that I don’t have to put on a brave face for. “I am being sincere. It would be wonderful to find someone to fall in love with, but for a god like me my options are limited. I’ve envied mortals for your ability to love deeply without abandon. It isn’t possible for me because there would always be an end date and I would be left behind to carry that burden for eternity.”
I can feel Charlotte’s stare, but I’m not vulnerable enough to look up and see the expression on her face. Does she pity me, or does she see my plight as ridiculous since I will live forever? But her next words surprised me. “Come here, god of forbidden romance. I need to pack and I can’t have you out here moping on my couch.”
I look up to see an easy smile on her face. She motions for me to come with her into the bedroom and I follow her into the simple space. It has the same feel as the rest of the flat with little personal touches throughout the room. It feels like a lived-in home and a safe space to unwind.
Once I cross the threshold, she takes my hand and guides me to sit on the edge of her bed. As I take a seat, she puts her hands on her hips and glances around the room. “How many women can say they’ve had a god in their bed? Never thought I could check that off the list.”
I smirk at her attempt to lighten the mood. “I haven’t even gotten you undressed, doe eyes. Imagine how electric we would be bare and in the sheets.”
When I look up, I see her pulse throbbing rapidly against her throat and her eyes are dilated. She wants me just as much as I want her, but maybe I am playing too much with her emotions. It’s not fair to lead her on when there can never be a future beyond this mission for us.
She looks away from me with a shy grin on her face. “You sure know how to seduce a woman, Horus, but I need to pack so that we can get going.”
“Of course. Anything I can help with?”
“Nope, just sit there and look handsome,” she says with a slight laugh. She turns away and starts rummaging through drawers to pack her bag. “Would you mind if I asked you some questions? They might seem a bit personal, but I’m a very curious woman.”
Charlotte has been nothing but open and honest with me. So, I want to return the favor and give her some answers to help her ease into this new world that she has found herself in. “I will answer what I can.”
While still rummaging through drawers she asks, “What was life like growing up as the son of deities?”
Her question takes me by surprise. I thought she would want to know about the history I have seen pass before my eyes or more about Cleopatria, but she wants to know about me, about my inner thoughts and opinions.
Not many ask to dig much deeper into my life. So, after a moment to think of an honest response I answer, “I was born to a loving father and mother, but also into a family of strife. Nothing about my childhood was normal by mortal means.”
“It was always assumed that I would rule alongside my father and mother. So, I was raised to put the realm before myself. No matter the decision, I was to think of how it would affect the rest of the world rather than how it might affect me personally. It also didn’t help that Set was out to kill me and my father at every turn. I had to learn the game.”
Charlotte walked over with a pile of clothes that she dumped on the bed. As she began folding items and putting them in her duffle she asked, “Whats ‘the game’?”
“You know ‘the game’ even if that’s not what you call it. You know the political bullshit that you deal with at the museum? Well, imagine that on a global scale with the powers of gods and goddesses thrown in. It is truly a game trying to navigate every alliance and hope a misstep doesn’t create the next war.”
She looks up at me with brows furrowed and says, “Well that sounds awful. Always trying to tip-toe around everyone and never getting to be yourself. No wonder you are so gruff when people first meet you. You never learned how to have fun.”
I chuckle at her. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ve had plenty of fun over the years. You know how the great sphinx’s nose is missing?”
Her eyes widened in shock. “What happened?”
“I had a bet with Anubis. We sort of grew up together since my mom raised us both. He thought he could touch the sphinx in his jackal form before I could fly to it. So, we raced to the sphinx. I’ll never admit this to him, but he almost had me. I had to thrust more momentum at the last moment to reach it before him. I wasn’t as coordinated back then and ended up crashing into it. The nose fell right off and my mother made me clean all of her acolytes’ laundry for a month because of that.”
Charlotte giggled as she finished packing her things. “So, all of those speculations are because of a young god’s brash decision?”
“As I said, I had fun but I had to learn quickly that my decisions could have major effects on the world. Apparently it’s art as well,” I answered as I chuckled.
She went into the attached bathroom and came back out with a few more items. Once she placed them in her now full duffle, she zipped it closed and looked up at me and opened her mouth to ask a question, but stopped herself. She looked back down and fiddled with the zipper of her bag.
“Do you have any other questions for me?” Now I’m curious as to what’s going through that head of hers.
She looks up at me and a beautiful blush creeps across her cheeks. “Could I see your wings?” she asks hesitantly.
It only takes a second to recover from my shock. I’ve shown my wings to plenty of mortals, but it’s typically in a battle setting, not intimate like this. Based on her increased blush, she doesn’t find that non-human part of me scary. She seems to find them alluring. I can work with that.
I nod my head and say, “Just back up a step. I don’t want to hit you.”
She complies and I send a small burst of magic to my back. It’s muscle memory at this point and I feel the weight of my golden wings unfurl at my back. I have to lean forward a little on the bed to accommodate them, but in this sitting position it’s easier to have them stretched all the way out which makes them longer than the bed.
I watch Charlotte’s reaction the whole time. Her eyes go from complete wonder to curiosity and back to wonder again. I breathe a sigh of relief because she shows absolutely no fear at the wings on my back. When people see them, it typically means battle is coming so they run the other way. It’s refreshing to show them to someone and have them want to still be near me.
She reaches her hand out to touch some of the golden feathers, but halts and tucks her hand back against her chest. “Would you like to touch them?” I ask with a small smile.
She smiles back with those big, wondrous, brown eyes and nods. I move my right wing a little closer to her and gesture with my chin for her to touch.
Tentatively, she reaches out her hand. When she finally makes contact with my feathers, the feeling is intoxicating. No one has ever just stroked my wings out of reverence. Of course I have to clean them occasionally to get blood or dirt off, but never do I just sit there and stroke them.
The sensation is even more heady than having fingers run through my hair. As her soft fingers continue to stroke and pet through the feathers, the sensation stirs my cock to attention. Gods, this might be better than sex.
I roll my head back and try to stifle a groan at how stimulating her hands feel on me. I must make a noise, because she gasps and pulls her hands back. “I’m sorry! Did I hurt you?”
Gods, if she only knew how much I wanted her to keep going. With my eyes closed and head still back I answer, “No, not at all. That feels… fuck, that feels amazing, Charlotte.”
I open my eyes and she is staring at my face. Her pupils are blown out and her heart is racing. She’s just as turned on as I am. Her plump lips are slightly parted. If I move a little to my right, her lips would be in the perfect place to be thoroughly kissed.
This woman is breaking down my defenses faster than a croc can swim in the Nile. Whenever I enter a room, I can immediately find her. It’s an impulse that I can’t shake. She has become extremely important to me. So much so that I don’t think I could bear letting her go once this is all over.
I understand that fundamentally there would always be a power imbalance between us, but surely if you love someone, things tend to work themselves out, right?
Wait… love is too serious right now. I enjoy her company because I’ve been starved of it for so long. Yes, that’s more like it. It’s not love. It’s lustful thoughts.
Before I can spiral down that path even more, I pull back my wings and magic them away. That seems to break the spell between us because she backs away and returns to her duffle bag to fiddle with the straps.
She breaks the awkward silence by quietly saying, “We should probably get to the museum.”
“Yes. Yes, we should. Do you need me to carry that for you?” I nod to her packed duffle.
“No, it’s a bit cumbersome and I don’t want the security guards who search it to mess up my packing. We can come back for it when we find the tablet.”
I smile at her self-assured statement. Not “if” we find the tablet, but “when”. “Great. Then let’s get going.” I get up and walk out of the bedroom to get my jacket hanging on the back of the chair.
While I’m pulling my jacket on, she comes out of the bedroom and says, “Let’s stop and get some tea on the way! There’s a wonderful little spot around the corner from the museum!”
“I’m more of a coffee guy myself.”
“Oh posh. That’s nonsense. You just haven’t had a good cup of British tea.” She smiles up at me and I want to drag her back into the bedroom to see if we can continue the teasing we started before. “Come on, muscles. Let me show you what you are missing.”
Before I can act on my thoughts, she walks briskly to the front door of her flat and I almost trip trying to catch up to her. I’m realizing it’s hard to derail her once she’s made her mind up about something. It’s yet another quirk that’s becoming endearing about her. I’m starting to fall fast for this mortal woman who has no idea the hold she has on a powerful god of Egypt.