“I’m done begging for castoffs, favors, and leftovers. The lesson the cosmos has taught me over and over is that the only way to obtain something I want is to take it. No one is going to be kind enough to simply hand it to me. So, yes, I will rule. The cosmos will be in harmony. And you will become the wife I need. If I have to shape you, fashion you into becoming what I want, then I will.”
Seth ran his fingertips from her ear down to her jaw. “You should know that I don’t blame you at all for being envious of my feelings toward Isis.”
“No.” Nephthys shook her head. “That’s not what I—”
Seth had leaned down during her protest and cut her off. “But you should be,” he murmured in her ear with a seductive voice. “I will always desire her more than you. You will know what it is to be the second choice. The one left behind. Still, you are powerful, and I aim to use your power as I see fit. After all, why should I content myself with one wife, one goddess, when I can have two?”
Hot tears stung the back of Nephthys’s eyes as she tried not to allow his hurtful words to take root in her heart. “But Osiris—” she started.
“Can be unmade again,” he said with a sneer. “In fact, I should thank you. Unmaking him a second time will prove an interesting experiment. Perhaps this time I will gain even more of his power.” Seth touched the tip of her nose. “Already the rumors of my power spread. The people of Heliopolis begin to fear me. Soon they will see that I am the most potent of the gods. They will forget all about Amun-Ra.”
“You aren’t stronger than him.”
“Maybe not yet. But after I unmake all of the other gods, we’ll see who has the upper hand.”
Nephthys shivered. It gave Seth pleasure to know that she feared him also. That was much better. He didn’t like thinking that she knew more than he did. He wouldn’t ever allow her to think she was in control.
“Of course,” he continued, “you are aware that I must punish you appropriately for having gone behind my back. It simply won’t do to have all of Heliopolis know that I have no authority over my wife.”
Nephthys straightened stiffly as he strode arrogantly in a circle around her, assessing her from every angle. The color drained from her face and her lower lip quivered. She knew exactly what was coming. She’d hoped that her words might sway him to pursue a different course, but in her heart of hearts she knew that there was no diverting him from his desires. Her eyelids drooped and she gathered her wings around her as if to shield herself from what he was going to do.
Seth then murmured the words that would change her forever, and she gasped at the loss even as it happened. The cut was brutal and swift, the pain of it more psychological than physical, and yet her nerve endings tingled as if a sharp knife still rested upon her skin. Her eyes swam with tears, and she pressed her palms against her face to quell the sobs that racked her frame.
“There, there,” Seth said, with a pitying look as he pulled her hands from her face and roughly swept away the tears. “It’s your own fault, you know.”
“How could you?” Nephthys asked, her voice catching.
His eyes sparked with righteous indignation. “I didn’t want to, Nephthys. You forced my hand. It’s a shame, too.” Leaning closer, he murmured, “Your wings were the only thing I found beautiful about you.”
Her expression dulled. “I would think that someone who has suffered so much at the hands of others would have more compassion.”
Seth grunted. “Yes, well . . . perhaps next time you’ll think twice before attempting to thwart me.”
Turning, he flexed his hands, shaking them out as if he’d touched something unpleasant, and strode toward the door.
“I wasn’t thwarting you,” Nephthys countered softly at his retreating back. “I was saving you.”
If he heard her, he didn’t acknowledge it.
Nephthys crumpled to the floor, and it was there Amun-Ra found her.
His angry expression blazed with the light of a thousand suns as he gathered her in his arms. “He will die for this,” Amun-Ra promised.
Nephthys pressed a palm against his cheek. “No. He cannot. Not yet. We need him.”
Gently, Amun-Ra lifted her and carried her slight form to a settee. Instead of placing her upon it, he settled against the soft cushions himself, positioning her so she lay against him. His arms were strong, and she rested her cheek against his chest. He didn’t speak until her fresh tears subsided.
“Tell me what we must do,” he said.
“He’ll go after Osiris,” she said faintly. “If we remove him from Seth’s sight, he will focus his energy on pursuing Isis.”
“He will threaten her,” Amun-Ra said. “Bend her to his will.”
“You will limit his reach. As long as he believes he can rightfully persuade her with charm, it will provide sufficient distraction.”
“And if she succumbs?”
“She will not. Her love for her husband is sure.”
“Let us hope you are right. Together they could accomplish Seth’s desires.”
“Seth’s desires are not those of Isis.” She turned her face up to his, and Amun-Ra’s breath caught. Wet tears clung to her dark lashes. He had never thought her so beautiful. Even with her shorn hair and without her glorious wings, Nephthys was lovely.
“And what is it that she desires?” Amun-Ra asked huskily.
“What all women desire,” she replied. “A man who loves her above all else. Who would sacrifice everything for her.”
“You deserve such a man, too,” he said.
Reaching up, Nephthys traced the arch of the great god’s brow. “And I will have him someday.”
Amun-Ra frowned. He wished she trusted him enough to share what she knew. She startled him from his thoughts when she said, “You must allow Isis to have the other wish of her heart.”
“What wish is that?”
“A child.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You know why this is forbidden.”
“Nevertheless. He must be born.”
“He?”
“Yes. When Seth unmade Osiris, a part of his energy was lost. His power has been diminished. He can no longer be the god he once was. If a baby is born, the piece of Osiris that Seth stole will be given to the child.” Turning in his arms, Nephthys clutched his hand. “It is right and natural for parents to grant their children something of themselves.”
“As the baby grows in power, he would diminish his parents,” Amun-Ra protested. “They might not even survive the birth. Even with Osiris’s remaining life force, there’s not enough energy left to create another god. Perhaps if he was mortal . . .” His voice trailed off.
“Two gods cannot conceive a mortal child. Besides, Isis and Osiris will survive if you grant the boy a small piece of yourself as well.”
Amun-Ra rubbed his jaw.
“The baby will serve as a distraction for Seth,” Nephthys added. “He will waste countless decades in the pursuit of regaining the energy he will lose. He’ll try every means at his disposal to unmake Isis and Osiris’s child, but with the strength you lend him, Seth will remain unsuccessful.”
“Nephthys, are you certain about this?” Amun-Ra asked, his eyes flickering with an unvoiced emotion. She knew he was asking about more than Isis’s future son.
She beamed. “With your help, I can handle this.”