Chapter 205: Chapter Twenty-Three

Kyra

I didn’t sleep.

Instead, I sat in that room, with my arms hugging my knees to my chest, wondering what was wrong with me.

I’d always been a loner growing up—never really had any friends. Though I tried really hard to connect with people, it always just seemed like people either ignored me or were afraid of me.

My own parents even kept their distance, saying that they just weren’t like that.

I remember hugging my mom’s leg only to have her give me a sad smile, a pat on the head, then pry my arms from her body.

It stung when I was small.

Who was I kidding? It stung even now.

The worst part was that I had a perfectly gorgeous man—god—rummaging around in the kitchen, and I, Kyra, had sent him away.

Sent him away!

I guess he kind of offered but still! Was I insane?

My stomach was in knots, and my chest hurt.

I wanted to believe he was kissing me because he wanted me, yet I couldn’t help but think it was because we were destined.

And for once in my life, I wanted someone to just, want me, no matter what. No souls, no being reborn, no weird cosmic time travel involved.

Just me.

Maybe I was asking for too much.

Maybe I was just going crazy—at this point, who could really blame me?

“I didn’t sacrifice thousands of years of my life for you to pout alone in a bedroom without my brother.” Horus’s voice stunned me out of my pity party.

I frowned as he braced himself against the door. He was wearing jeans that looked way too tight and a black band T-shirt I’d seen on Tarek once.

“You’re back.” I gave him a forced smile. “Going into shock yet?”

He shrugged. His dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. “I almost got run over by a car. Then again, Mason was driving it, so I’ve been told that’s completely normal. The world is a vastly different place from what it used to be.” A wry half-smile tugged up one side of his mouth. “In some ways better, in others much worse.” He walked all the way into the room and then sat on the bed. “I expected the door to be locked and the house shaking. Instead I find my brother downstairs grilling a sandwich, whatever that means, and attempting to see if it’s possible for a god to get drunk.”

I winced. “He tried…”

“Ah, but did you?” Horus fired back. “Did you try or were you afraid?”

I gulped. “It wasn’t fear necessarily, more like… okay so it was fear, but he doesn’t know me, I mean not really, he can’t love me if he doesn’t know me.”

“Humans.” Horus groaned and pressed hand to his temple. “So simple and yet complex. Do you even know what a soul is?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Yes, it’s the essence of every person, the only thing that lives, I hope, beyond death.”

“Correct, and Anubis, in all his years would weigh souls in the palm of his hand, he would test them, bargain with them, keep them safe, he was the Keeper of Souls. At death, he would weigh a feather against a person’s heart and soul and see what won out. He has touched millions of souls. To touch one is to know that person intimately. Imagine the cost on your sanity, imagine the burden he bears. It’s not like every soul he touches is good, and yet he takes that in.”

My mouth went dry. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

“He was made for it,” Horus said simply. “The gods were made in a similar way to humans, given dominion, given souls, and each of us has our job, the one thing that we were told was to never fall as the Watchers did—never involve ourselves with the human races, specifically females.”

“That’s a lonely existence.”

“Absolutely,” Horus agreed. “And then you came along, a human with the essence of a god in her blood, the soul of a god in her body, not only did he touch your soul and recognize that you were his other half—but he could actually have you.”

“Except I was promised to someone else.”

“Exactly. He was willing to die in order to have you, even if it meant his time would suddenly be limited, even if it meant he would be struck down for interfering. He was willing to give up everything for you—and did. The moral of the story is this: What have you sacrificed for Anubis? What have you given him other than his life back? You have given him your trust, you have even given him part of your heart, but you have held the one thing he wants more than anything and hidden it away.”

I frowned. “He wants my soul?”

Horus sighed in impatience. “He wants you, his other half, you and only you, Kyra. He could take your soul if he wanted, he could take your very life, he could force you to love him, yet he doesn’t. He wants you. And he’s eating a sandwich, do you understand me?”

I nodded. “Maybe he likes sandwiches better.”

Horus laughed. “Nobody likes food better than sex, least of all a god who’s been celibate as long as he has.”

My ears perked up. “I’m sorry, what?”

Horus frowned. “Were you listening at all?”

“Yes, and I’m pretty sure you never mentioned that.”

“Save me from humans,” he put his hands on his hips. “Regardless of the ridiculous stories you may have read about, gods don’t just run around creating demigods. Like I said, we have rules. Your other half will always have the blood of the gods running through their bodies meaning you can mate with them—anything outside of that, we don’t touch.”

“Oh.”

“Your cheeks are turning red.”

I glared.

Horus just grinned. “I’m off to watch TV, Mason said it’s the only way for me to get caught up, though he was going on and on about Lion King—”

“No.” I held up my hand. “Log onto Netflix and—”

“Log? You have logs in the house?”

“Er, no, just…” I sighed. “I’ll help set you up.”

And that was the story of how I helped a god binge-watch Orange is the New Black. What can I say? He was invested after one episode. I left him in Timber’s study and made my way into the kitchen.

A bottle of wine was opened.

A half-eaten sandwich next to it, but no Timber to be found.

Frowning, I went back to the master bedroom and heard the shower. I was just about to leave the room when Timber walked out in nothing but a white towel.

My eyes widened.

He jerked to a stop, water dripping from his hair down his body, his eyes flashing gold while I drank my fill of his perfect muscle tone. Even his feet were sexy—how was that fair?

“Sorry,” I blurted. “I didn’t know that you were showering.”

“I felt dirty,” he shrugged and then winced. “That came out wrong.”

“Or right,” I offered. “However you want to look at it.”

The corners of his mouth moved into a dazzling smile. “I thought you were going to nap.”

“Yeah, well, your brother needs to catch up on a few thousand years of history so I turned on Netflix for him.”

Timber rolled his eyes. “And you thought that was a good idea because?”

“Because, he needs to learn, and watching TV is probably better than taking a stroll downtown and pointing out things while people take pictures of him and weep with ecstasy.”

Timber stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“You know…” I waved my hands in front of him. “You guys don’t really blend in.”

“I blend in just fine.” Timber actually looked offended.

I laughed. “Um, no you really don’t.”

“Do.”

“Don’t!”

“Do!” He threw his hands up. “I’m the same person!”

“Really?” I grinned. “Care to prove that?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” I crossed my arms. “Because we’re headed to Soul.”

His eyes narrowed. “And when I win and everyone recognizes me and nobody runs away screaming or worse, starts humping my leg, what do I get?”

I licked my lips and answered. “Me. You get me.”

“And if I lose?” He took a cautious step toward me. “Do I lose you too?”

“No, you just have to sleep on the couch while I take your glorious bed.” I winked.

“I feel like I’m being tricked.”

“I would never trick a god.” I held up my hand. “Scout’s honor.”

He chuckled. “Little yet absolutely terrifying. Remind me why we hired you again?”

“Oh, you didn’t. Tarek did.”

That earned me a grunt. “Fine, I can’t sleep anyway, may as well check in… maybe I’ll get lucky and the girl of my dreams will buy me a drink.”

Heat bloomed across my face. “Maybe she will.”

“Let’s just hope she remembers what I like.”

“How could I forget?” I licked my lips.

And then I stood there like an idiot, my body pulsing with the need to be next to his.

“I need to change.” He grinned. “You’re more than welcome to watch if you think you can handle it.”

“Oh!” Flames licked at my already hot face. “No, no, I mean, I’ll give you some privacy and just,” I almost ran into the door in an effort to escape and felt his laugh like a direct arrow to my heart as I smiled the entire way down the hall.

Progress.

We were making progress.