Chapter Text
Seth woke to the realization that although Horus had removed his blindfold at some point, he still couldn’t see anything: all around him was darkness. For a moment he panicked, thinking he’d been blinded, but after taking a moment to breathe and studying himself – as gods were able to, even if they were being punished – he didn’t find anything different than the usual bruises and injuries from Horus’ ministrations. Unless Horus had somehow blinded him in a way he couldn’t detect. He realized he was somehow in some small, enclosed space without a light source. He reached out and discovered the part he faced was barely a hand’s breadth from his face, and the sides were only fingers apart from him. His wrists and ankles were bound before him. He banged into the ceiling with his bound hands, thinking to break it, forgetting again in his desperation that Maat’s punishment and Horus’ control over it meant he couldn’t break stone easily anymore.
The lid didn’t budge, and his hands actually hurt from the attempt, but he could tell from the sound that it was a relatively thin barrier, like a stone coffin lid, and it didn’t seem to be trapped under anything else. This was abnormal even for Horus. Seth would take getting fucked all day to getting trapped in a coffin.
“Horus, you fuck, let me out!” He assumed Horus wouldn’t go far. The man refused to leave Seth alone.
“Uncle Seth, you’re going to attract attention that way,” Horus said from the other side of the lid. Seth pushed down the rush of gratitude that Horus hadn’t abandoned him to rot away in a box he couldn’t escape. “This is only temporary.”
Seth tried to calm his breathing. If he could hear Horus, he thought there was a high chance he was still trapped in the office. He’d been too out of it from Horus’ ministrations the previous evening to be aware, but he should have woken for however Horus got him in here. Had he really been so out of it that he’d missed Horus drugging him or something? And dragging him to this box? “Let me out!”
“Just wait a while, Uncle. It would be poor form for you if you were found in this state, and I’ve got a surprise for you.” After a moment, the voice was closer. “I highly suggest you remain quiet while you wait.” There was a threat in that voice, and a hint of amusement. So this was yet another of Horus’ games. Of course, Horus didn’t say how long Seth had to wait for whatever it was.
Seth refused to panic further, and shut his eyes, calming his breathing. During war campaigns, he’d learned how to meditate to pass the time, as a way to focus himself. He hadn’t done it in many years, but it used to be a skill he was good at.
Eventually, he either figured it out again or came to accept the reality of the situation. His breathing calmed. He was still.
After a time, he heard a faint knock, likely on a door, and Horus said, “Enter.”
“I have more reports from Isis for you.”
Seth stiffened. Horus, you asshole…
“Some of the temples are asking for more supplies to accommodate refugees,” Anubis added.
“Yes, that makes sense,” Horus replied.
Seth’s heart raced. Why is Anubis here? It made some sense he’d work for Horus now, since Horus was king, but why was Anubis meeting Horus here? Horus seldom, if ever, met anyone here, save Isis, on rare occasion.
Seth’s face burned, wondering if Horus had cleaned the room up. What would Anubis think if he saw it? And even if it was clean, Anubis had trained his senses under Seth. Could he smell anything? He was still a demigod, but… What would Anubis think if he saw Seth like this…? Seth didn’t even dream of trying to get Anubis’ attention. Anubis couldn’t help him, even assuming he’d want to. And Seth couldn’t bear Anubis seeing him like this…
Seth had made a mockery of himself over the centuries, burning away what little goodwill he had left in alcohol, incense, and drunken tantrums. But being Horus’ toy was another level of degradation he couldn’t stomach Anubis seeing him in.
“How are things otherwise with you?” Horus asked with a little bit of warmth. Seth knew that Horus was aware that dragging this out was wrecking Seth’s nerves and ability to remain still, so he was clearly doing it to hurt Seth. Taunting Seth with what he couldn’t have and what Seth himself would be afraid to have.
Seth hated the asshole even more.
“I’m well. I appreciate you and Isis giving me more duties.” After a moment, Anubis continued, “I didn’t really have any under… Father.”
Seth winced. That’s because Anubis was young and still a demigod. Seth had trusted him with relatively little in order to allow him to grow into who he wanted to be. Once Anubis was a god, his life would be nothing but duties. Why spend his youth that way? But from Anubis’ tone, it seemed like Anubis had disliked that. Seth recalled Anubis’ desire to helpful, to be around Seth, but Seth had always pushed him away, not wanting Anubis to follow in Seth’s footsteps. And then after Osiris, Seth had been too ashamed of what he’d done, and didn’t want to contaminate Anubis with his own filth.
But Anubis hadn’t known Seth had pushed him away out of shame. All Anubis would have seen was rejection.
“You were a valuable help during the trial,” Horus replied. “Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat your father during the second match.
Seth scowled, but reminded himself not to move. He knew that Horus had cheated! But it also meant Sekhmet was right…
The pain of a confirmation of another betrayal from Anubis was lessened because Anubis had already helped bring the Ennead to Heliopolis to unseat him. Seth had been cruel to him any number of times. It was mostly surprising that it’d taken so long for Anubis to try unseating him properly.
He must truly hate me. Seth’s throat felt tight. Perhaps it would save him from going down Seth’s path. Under Isis’ tutelage, he’d be stronger. She’d raised Horus, which, well… Seth just had to hope enough of Nephthys was in there to supplant whatever produced Horus.
Seth shut his eyes, thinking of Nephthys, or any of his family, was a mistake of a different kind.
“How is your mother?” Horus asked.
Seth nearly bit his lip.
Anubis sighed. “She’s still staying in her cell, refusing to leave. She still thinks she’s better off serving penance there. As if Father isn’t serving his own penance on the sun boat.”
Seth scowled. Horus was such a liar. A part of him hated that Nephthys still stayed this way, but another part of him wanted to laugh. What good did her sitting in a cell do? It hadn’t done either of them any favors in all these years… And Seth had no room in himself to feel sorry for her self-enforced isolation. All he felt for her was emptiness.
“We all have our burdens to bear,” Horus said, cryptically. “Thank you for these. I’ll call if I need you.”
“You’re welcome.” After a time, the door closed again, Seth knew that Horus was alone.
Horus of course waited a while, making Seth try to glare a hole in the lid, before saying, “Well? Did you like that?”
Seth hated Horus even more, somehow. He didn’t care for this little nonsense, whatever it was, and he wasn’t going to reward Horus by explaining as much. Horus just liked goading him for reactions.
“Did you fall asleep?” Horus asked. His voice drew closer. “That’s terribly rude if you did, Uncle Seth, when I had Anubis come here just for you. I can call him back if you wish.” There was a heavily obvious layer of false hurt in his voice.
“I’m awake,” Seth finally said, a bit worried Horus might actually call Anubis back, and not wanting him to. “And that was hardly meant as some kind of present.”
Horus laughed and the lid was removed, revealing Horus’ smiling face under his bright blue falcon headdress with its golden beak in the lamplight. From this angle, Seth could see Horus’ bright blue eyes, and the hint of obsession always present in them. “Ah, there you are, Uncle Seth. Are you comfortable?”
Seth glared at him. “Get me out of here!”
Horus laughed and reached out to pick Seth up and out of the coffin. “I’ll admit, I dislike keeping you in there because it means I can’t see you, which is such a pity.” Horus settled Seth on his lap on the floor.
Seth couldn’t even really kick Horus, bound and held as he was, and he knew that hitting Horus never did much good other than antagonizing him a little.
Horus rested Seth’s head against his own left shoulder and lightly carded fingers through Seth’s red hair, almost like a lover. Seth had gone through the same thing with Osiris, and Horus had done it even more often at this point.
Although Seth hated it all the same, he knew there was little he could do about it. So he simply avoided biting his lips because he knew that would either infuriate or please Horus somehow.
“Do you miss him?” Horus asked. He squeezed Seth’s right thigh, making Seth’s hands twitch.
Seth didn’t reply. Yes, he missed Anubis, a little, in times when he was sad. But he hadn’t been able to be around Anubis properly since the night Osiris had nearly killed him. Seth hadn’t even been able to look at Anubis properly. It was an old ache, one he’d adjusted to with time.
Horus grabbed Seth’s chin, making him meet Horus’ gaze. The king’s eyes shone. “Answer me.”
Seth glared at him. “No.”
Horus laughed and let him go. “See? That wasn’t so hard.” Horus’ right hand drifted over Seth’s calves. “He speaks of you a bit more than he believes, you know. He likes to think he’s made a big deal of himself and shown off his abilities by betraying you, but he has a great many grievances against you and that’s just about all he talks about.”
A part of Seth was surprised Anubis even talked about him more than they’d heard here, but it wasn’t surprising. Seth was the God Supreme, and one of the gods who raised Anubis. Of course thoughts of him would take up a lot of Anubis’ time, even after Anubis was free of him.
“You were quite cruel to him,” Horus said. “Why, because he was an easy target? You do so enjoy targeting the weak, and those who trust and care for you.”
Seth’s cheeks warmed. Yes, the cruelty another reason for Anubis to talk about him. Perhaps to complain. Seth didn’t care if Horus thought about him this way. Horus already thought of him as dirt or a cock-warmer, depending on his mood.
“Even cruelty to your son doesn’t get a rise out of you,” Horus said with a quiet laugh. “How unsurprising.”
“You’re the one cradling the evil god you despise to your bosom,” Seth muttered.
“Because you’re being so obedient,” Horus said, squeezing Seth even closer. “You didn’t even try to escape once the lid was off. Have I tamed you after all?”
Seth tried to pull away then, but Horus held him tightly. Seth moved his head back to bash Horus’ head in, but Horus moved, so that Seth only lightly knocked Horus’ headdress askew.
“And you were being so good,” Horus said before he stood up and carried Seth back to the coffin.
Seth struggled as he realized what Horus was doing. “No! Stop it!”
Horus dropped him inside and shut the lid.
Seth again refused to panic or injure himself further. He knew it was useless. He tried to calm his breathing.
“Well,” Horus eventually said. “It seems I found something you’re afraid of, after all.”
Seth shut his eyes and tried to focus. He was still a god, he wouldn’t die here. And at least here Horus wasn’t raping him. And no one would see him.
But then for some reason, Seth recalled when Osiris had drugged him, making him fall to the floor, feeling helpless as Osiris gloated over him. The whole situation with Horus was too similar, but something about this coffin, being trapped in the dark, or some mix of fear and thinking about Anubis in particular… it got to him in a way that Horus’ other torments hadn’t.
Seth forced himself to count, to try and calm himself. His breath was loud, shaky, and damning. He wondered if Horus was listening, waiting for him to beg for mercy, and Seth was tempted.
But he realized he couldn’t ask. He didn’t know how to beg for help. Osiris hadn’t helped him, after all. Isis had rejected him. Nephthys had seen a problem he didn’t know of and hadn’t even told him about it, using it for her own gain.
No one other than Sekhmet had helped him. And she hadn’t seen him since the second match. He doubted she was interested in rescuing him after he ripped her arm off. Too much effort.
His eyes watered, and he felt distant from himself. It was almost like defeat, or at least acceptance. If Horus left him here, so be it. He deserved it, and no one would care. Anubis, Nephthys, and Isis were better off.
His breathing quieted.
Eventually, Horus opened the lid again, and Seth was so buried in himself he almost didn’t notice that Horus’ headdress was gone, better revealing his bright blue eyes and short hair. If things were different, Seth might have said he was attractive. Horus raised an eyebrow at Seth. “Calmed down, have you?”
But if Seth knew anything about his family, it was that beauty hid the worst monsters imaginable. But Seth had also learned that compliance – to a degree – got people to stop attacking him, at least until Seth could make a proper move. So Seth only glared, but didn’t fight when Horus reached for him again.