Chapter Text
Seth froze behind Horus at the sight of Sekhmet just waiting for them.
Horus came to a stop to look at her as well.
Sekhmet pushed off from the wall with a grin to stand before them.
It was hard for Seth to define the feeling coursing through him. Seeing her again, after all this time, in person instead of through one of her stand-ins, seemed to bring everything back in a way being back in Heliopolis hadn’t. He wasn’t afraid, not entirely, but…
Sekhmet gazed back at him for a minute, possibly seeing his hesitation, his fear. Smelling it, perhaps. They were both hunters, they knew that scent.
Seth was disgusted with himself. Horus’ soft words were washed away in the sight of Sekhmet. She knew. And she’d been there for him, but… it all felt raw being back here again, before her. Like he was back in that night.
Then he saw what might have been a nearly imperceptible nod from her, and for some reason… it was calming. He had no idea why.
“Sekhmet,” Horus said, quietly. He put an arm out before Seth, protectively.
Seth frowned. “Horus, it’s—”
“You have a bodyguard now, Seth?” Sekhmet said with a grin. “Good.”
Seth’s frown deepened. “Do I need one?”
“It can be nice to have people on your side,” she said, sidling closer, but not too close. “Isn’t it?” She tilted her head playfully at Horus.
Horus didn’t say anything.
“Just like you were on my side,” Seth said, carefully, “that night.”
“Was I?” Sekhmet said, not looking away from Horus.
Seth sighed. “Do you want him to attack you?”
“I’m surprised you don’t,” Sekhmet said, glancing at him. “You’re looking well, Seth.”
Seth grimaced. “I’m fine.”
“I can see that,” Sekhmet said, looking back at Horus. “So, the Pharaoh is finally taking a consort then? Who’s going to let Hathor know?” Then she hummed and added, “Unless she’s just going to be your second consort? I wonder if she could handle that…”
“He’s not taking me as his consort,” Seth said.
Horus twitched, but Seth didn’t react to it.
“Oh?” Sekhmet asked, her grin widening. “Trouble in paradise?”
“What do you want, Sekhmet?” Horus asked instead.
“I can’t want to check in on my dear family?” she asked, her smile all teeth. “I wasn’t at dinner yesterday, so I missed the opportunity.”
“Were you involved in Osiris’ death?” Horus asked, making Seth’s eyes widen.
“Oh-ho-ho,” Sekhmet said, clapping her hands together. “All these years and finally the baby bird is flying out with his talons.”
“Answer the question.”
“And what if I was?” Sekhmet replied, tapping a finger against her chin. “Would you lock me up? Kill me right now in this hallway?”
Seth looked at Horus’ face: his expression was hard.
Horus continued, “Are you confessing to the murder?”
“I’m not confessing to anything,” Sekhmet said. “Just curious. Besides, how would I have killed him?”
“You could have had help,” Horus offered.
“A conspiracy, then?” Sekhmet asked with a grin. “Does the young Pharaoh think he’s living in a nest of vipers?”
“I might,” Horus replied, stonily, “And one of them might be before me.”
“I didn’t kill him,” Sekhmet said, still grinning. “Why do you think I did?”
Horus frowned.
“I told him,” Seth said, quietly, looking at Sekhmet calmly. “He knows. Everything about… that night. When you helped me escape.” He swallowed. “But not to implicate you. Just to… explain.”
“Seth believes you helped him more than you didn’t,” Horus added. “I have no reason to believe otherwise.”
“Hmm…” Sekhmet said, tapping her chin again. “So you think I have some kind of motive to kill Osiris, then? To… avenge Seth, perhaps?”
“A generous guess on my part,” Horus said, quietly. “And if you were, it would be understandable.”
“Generous?” Sekhmet grinned. “You think I have some darker motive for going after Osiris? Perhaps I wanted Isis’ throne for myself?”
“You’re barely ever in court,” Horus said. “Even when I was younger, you seldom appeared. You’d be bored with a throne.”
Sekhmet shrugged. “Then I suppose I have no motive.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “And yet we have a dead God of Life, and no one else with a motive now that you’ve cleared Seth, and your sole remaining suspect is one goddess who lacks the power to kill Osiris.” She smiled. “Have you ever thought you’re going about it wrong? I’d have needed help, sure, but who would I have asked? Maybe you should start there.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “Isis, Maat, and the other investigators surely would have investigated such things. Besides, there are many powerful gods in the pantheon. Just throwing around wild accusations would get us nowhere.”
Sekhmet smiled at him. “Sometimes, Seth, you really do have very good instincts. You should listen to them.”
Seth scowled.
“…You know who did it,” Horus said, watching Sekhmet.
Sekhmet’s grin widened.
“And you want something for that information,” Horus continued. “What do you want?”
“I don’t need anything,” Sekhmet said, smiling benignly. “I am simply doing my duty and advising my Pharaoh, am I not?” She grinned again.
“You could have told my mother when the initial investigation went on, but you didn’t.”
Sekhmet shrugged. “Perhaps I wanted to! Perhaps…” she tilted her head, “I wasn’t allowed.”
“…And now you’re allowed?” Seth asked, frowning.
“A promise has come due,” Sekhmet said, turning to look at him, her expression serious for a moment. “And it hasn’t been kept.”
“What promise?” Seth demanded. “And from who?”
She simply smirked at him. After a time she replied, “Now, now, where would the fun be in just telling you?”
Seth glared at her, making her smirk widen.
“You have to be fair to me,” Sekhmet said. “I have faith in your abilities. Mostly. And I’ve given you a lot for nothing.”
“You get something out of it, even if it’s just rejoicing in other’s frustration,” Seth said.
Sekhmet laughed.
“You’ve also given us nothing to go on,” Horus insisted, glaring as well, now. “A name or names would be more helpful than knowing that my father didn’t simply lay himself out to die and had to be overpowered first.”
Sekhmet snorted at that and turned away, “Perhaps you should go to court, little pharaoh. Maybe you’ll find your answers there.” She practically skipped away.
Seth touched Horus’ elbow to keep him from storming after her – and to keep himself from doing the same. “Unless you want to get into a fight with her, you’re not going to get much more out of her.”
“She should not speak that way to her Pharaoh.”
“No. But if it helps, she spoke that way to your father and Ra.”
Horus snorted and turned to him, a touch of concern in his expression. “Are you all right?”
Seth looked into himself, wondering. “I feel… distant, I suppose. I’m not lost in things. Seeing her again… it was hard, but… I’m dealing with it, I think.”
“You don’t have to come to court today.”
Seth chuckled. “It would be an easy escape, wouldn’t it?” He shook his head. “No. I’ll go. See how it differs from Osiris’ court.” His expression stiffened. He reminded himself that Horus would be there. And no Osiris. Even the questionable presence of Isis and Nephthys was far better than that, and he did still want to talk to them. “Come on.” He tugged Horus’ elbow and stepped forward.
Thankfully, Horus followed him. But Horus also added, “There could be something waiting for us. She was overly ominous about today’s session.”
“Then it’s best to confront whatever it is head-on.”
Horus sighed, then came to a stop, making Seth stop with him, “I would, if you wanted.” Horus swallowed. “Make you my consort.”
Seth blinked, and then flushed. “I…”
“I meant it, when I said I'd do more," Horus continued. "Just… think about it.” He smiled, then moved forward again, this time with Seth trailing behind him, thinking things over. They stepped together into the open throne room.
“Horus! And Seth. You’re both late.”
They saw Isis turning in her throne to look back at them with a frown. “Come on. First audiences are soon.” She had that look that said there would be a talk about this later. Seth could remember her stern lectures of the past.
For all Horus’ words had almost made him forget his feelings about talking with Sekhmet, which also made him briefly set aside his lack of sureness that Isis hadn’t had some hand – even accidentally – in Osiris’ plot, a ludicrous idea made Seth snort.
Horus looked at him.
Seth grinned. “Perhaps he was late for a meeting. And that was the last straw.”
Horus scoffed. “Don’t even joke about that.” But there was a slight turn up of his lips as he walked to his throne beside his mother’s.
Seth sat in a smaller throne nearby and behind their thrones, and found himself near Nephthys.
She smiled at him.
Seth nodded to her. And found that, for all he wanted to speak to her, he didn't know what to say.
Thankfully, she made the leap for him. “We should talk again. I know you want to.”
“Do you know so much about me?” Seth asked, stonily. He felt petulant now, annoyed at her assumptions. Even if he was too coward to speak up first, he was tired of other gods assuming things about him, particularly Nephthys.
Perhaps he was smarting still from last night, and Nephthys seemingly assumed he wanted a child, as well.
He regretted not talking to Horus about it more. Taking a choice away from him, indeed.
Nephthys put a hand on her large belly. “I may have tried for you too late to matter, but I knew you for most of your life, Seth. You want to talk about this.”
Seth looked at her for a minute, then at her belly. “Is it… uncomfortable? Do you need anything?”
She blinked at him, then smiled. “Of course that’s what you’d worry about…”
Seth snorted. “What do you want me to say in open court, Nephthys?” To talk about how hurt he was? How he felt… betrayed? No matter what he’d say, it’d embarrass them both. He wanted to talk to her afterward, in relative privacy, for both their sakes.
She was frowning at him, though. Perhaps he’d already angered her. “Seth, I—"
“Look at this wondrous assemblage!”
Seth blinked and looked towards the place where petitioners entered, and saw, to his surprise, Ra, standing there in all her glory, walking forward and grinning widely. Tall, muscular, intimidating, and covered in gold, with a mocking gaze angled at Isis, she seemed entirely unchanged from the last time Seth had seen her.
But why is she here? Seth wondered, staring at her. She seldom ever came down from her sun boat. She kept her word to Isis, didn’t get along with Osiris, and Horus had said she wasn’t around much…
It was at that moment a flash of sunlight attracted his attention to Sekhmet standing some distance behind her by the entrance to the room, smiling in the direction of the thrones.
Seth looked at Isis, wondering if she’d known about this, and if she’d yell at Ra to leave. He was unsurprised to see she was frowning at Ra.
Something still felt off about all this. Sure, Seth knew he had a boatload of his own issues making him not think as clearly as he might have, but Ra… Ra was her own warning, particularly after Sekhmet.
It seemed obvious this was what Sekhmet had been warning about. If she just planned to watch to gain intel, she wouldn’t have been so obvious about it.
This was a statement. But… for what? Was Ra planning something? Seth looked at her thoughtfully. Ra was always planning something. And Isis would stop her if she dared anything over the line. And Ra couldn’t have moved against Osiris, because Isis would have—
“My mother is not a trickster.”
Horus had said that to him, what felt like ages ago. And Seth had replied…
“Oh? It’s hardly an insult. But did she not tell you how she won your father’s throne for him?”
It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be, but…
Isis had headed the investigation. And who would suspect her with that, on top of being pregnant, being Osiris’ beloved wife, grieving… She’d put Osiris on his throne, why would she take him off of it?
Perhaps it was just Seth’s paranoia that somehow Isis had, even accidentally, participated in that night to help Osiris take Seth all those years ago. But all his instincts said the present situation was bad. And Horus was staring down a former pharaoh with the power of creation while sitting beside the goddess who’d deposed her, on the throne of a dead pharaoh.
Seth's hands tightened on the chair arms. He’d been wrong before, though. About Nephthys. About Osiris. Even about Horus. What if…? What if he was wrong now? It still didn’t make any sense… Horus loved his mother, and she seemed to care for him.
“Sometimes, Seth, you really do have very good instincts. You should listen to them.”
He was the God of War. If nothing else, he knew combat. And this felt like combat. I have to get him out of here, he decided. If nothing else, we can talk about it and write it off as me being overly cautious. Better than dead. Seth stood up and walked quickly to Horus’ side, putting a hand on his shoulder and leaning down to whisper, “You need to get out of here, now.”
Horus didn’t move, and simply watched Ra, thoughtfully. “…No.”
Seth noticed Isis looking at him, but otherwise ignored her.
“Horus…” Seth said, frowning. He glanced at Ra.
She smiled at him. “It’s been a while, Seth, since you last visited me. I hear you had a welcome-back banquet and everything and didn’t even invite me! How rude!”
Seth swallowed. “I meant no disrespect.”
She grinned.
“I sent out the invitations,” Isis said, coldly, still watching Ra. “I chose to not invite you.”
Seth glanced at her, confused at this. He still didn’t want to fully contemplate what he’d pieced together, and maybe he was wrong, but… Was Isis shielding him or just emphasizing her power over Ra?
“You wound me, Isis,” Ra said, putting a hand over her heart. “Deeply."
“Horus,” Seth murmured again, squeezing his shoulder.
“It is good to see you, Ra,” Horus said, coolly, still ignoring him. “Do you have something you wish to petition the court for?”
“Only the chance to see so much of my family gathered in one place!” Ra said with a grin. “I figure maybe it’s time I try this whole human thing and focus on family, whatever that means. After all, you’re all doing it, right?”
None of the other gods had a response to that. Seth knew he wasn’t the only one who didn’t believe her.
Seth glanced at Sekhmet, who hadn’t moved, and was still watching the thrones.
Then Ra tilted her head. “Well, and I just noticed Osiris alive – insomuch as he can be – down in Duat.”
Seth froze, forgetting everything else happening.
“It’s time to remind you of who you belong to.”
The world spun, and everything seemed very, very far away.
“…th! Seth!”
Seth blinked when he heard his name as if from a long distance, and looked over to see Horus clutching his elbow, staring at him in concern. “Seth!”
“I…” Seth said, quietly, confused. He looked around and realized they were still in the throne room. It was daylight. Osiris wasn’t here. He wasn’t…
So he must have spaced out again.
Seth swallowed. “How long was I…?”
“Only a few moments,” Horus explained, still worried. “Are you all right?”
“…Yes,” Seth said, blinking. “Just… it’s nothing.”
“He’s not coming back here,” Horus said, quietly. Seth could hear… was that anger in his voice? “He can’t. I won’t allow it.”
“Osiris is trapped down in Duat now,” Ra said, chuckling. “He’s not coming back here any time soon.”
Seth looked down at her, wondering what she’d seen in him when he… panicked, if she relished in it. Seth hadn’t dealt with her when Isis and Osiris made their powerplay. He and Nephthys hadn’t been consulted about it, and at the time, Seth hadn’t seen an issue with it. But he’d always wondered, looking at her, knowing the ease with which Ra’s moods could change to the chaotic, what she thought of the siblings of those who had deposed her.
“It’s honestly kind of funny, considering…” Ra continued.
“Can you not even show some basic respect to this court?” Isis demanded with a glare. “This is a court session. You’re a petitioner. There are rules…”
“That’s rich, coming from you,” Ra said, her golden eyes brighter than normal, and dangerous.
“You need to close court,” Seth said to Horus, grasping for something. “This… This could get ugly if what they talk about goes around.” It was already bad. Too many people were watching. He could hear the whispers.
He selfishly wondered how many were about him, and hoped none were.
Horus frowned, then turned back to the courtroom. “We will adjourn to discuss the news of my father with Ra.”
There was a murmuring around the court, and Horus stood and held out his hand to his mother as well, which she took. He kept his other hand on Seth’s elbow, which Seth knew would start even more rumors, and together they left the room.
Despite the noted favoritism, which would lead to who knew what among the gossips, Seth was grateful for the anchor of Horus’ strong fingers.
In a smaller nearby anteroom, Horus let go of Isis and took Seth’s arms in his. “Are you sure you’re okay, Seth? You look even paler than normal.”
“I’m really fine, Horus,” Seth said. He actually didn’t know what he was, but he was… bearing through it. Osiris wasn’t here. Ra hadn’t tucked him into a pocket somewhere. He was fine. He was the God of War. He could fight. And…
And Horus is at my side, Seth thought, looking up at the man, who was still worried.
Seth smiled. “Really, it’s… It’s fine for now, Horus. Thank you.”
Horus nodded.
Seth squeezed his elbow and said, quietly, “We need to get away. And speak privately.”
“After this.”
“You’re not safe here.”
Horus frowned. “Mother can keep Ra at bay.”
Seth swallowed and lowered his voice even more. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
Horus’ eyes widened.
“What is the meaning of this?” Isis demanded, turning to Ra, who had followed them in, and was nearly swaggering around as if she owned the place. “You could have told us this in private! So we could prepare!”
“You might have stifled it that way,” Ra said, still grinning. “Besides, how was I to know you didn’t already know? I wondered why you hadn’t told me!” She sighed dramatically. “This is why I don’t do the human family thing like you all do. Even when I wanted another reunion with all my children, it seems as if they simply wish to hide themselves away from me.”
“For good reason,” Isis growled.
“Isis,” Nephthys chided. She stood near Isis’ shoulder, a worried look on her face as she looked between Isis and Ra.
Isis scoffed and crossed her arms.
“Perhaps Ra has a point, Mother,” Horus said, quietly.
Isis blinked and looked at him with a frown. “What?”
“Tell me that you weren’t involved in Father’s death,” Horus said. “That you didn’t use Ra to do it.”
Seth saw the moment Isis paled, and felt the truth of his guess become overwhelming. Thankfully Horus’ intuition had picked up on Seth’s badly hidden clues, but… to see it confirmed there in Isis’ expression…
“Horus, I don’t understand—” Isis finally began.
“How?” Horus asked, a slight shake in his voice. “Why…? Why lie to me all these years?”
A pained expression came over Isis’ face. After a long while, she responded, quietly, “To protect you. To… It was not an easy thing.”
And there it was, a sliver of the truth. Over 28 years and it was just…
Seth didn’t know what to think.
“It was not wholly her doing,” Nephthys said, stepping to Isis’ side and meeting Horus’ gaze. She looked at Seth, then back at Horus. “It was not just her and Ra.”
Seth wondered if he’d stepped on a boat while he hadn’t been paying attention, because the ground didn’t feel very stable.
Horus had an arm wrapped around Seth, and it tightened. “How many of you…?”
“Sekhmet as well,” Ra said, snorting. “She ensured everything went smoothly. But your mother made the plans, laid the spells, made the poisons… I simply… provided some of the power.”
“You were supposed to ensure he wouldn’t revive!” Isis practically snarled at her.
“As were your spells!” Ra said, keeping only a mildly affronted look on her face. But her eyes told a different story.
She’s enjoying this, Seth realized. But why? What does she have to gain from…? He blinked and looked at Horus’ glare, then back at Isis, who was distracting herself from Horus’ anger with her anger at Ra.
“He can’t come back from Duat,” Isis said, firmly holding her papyrus scepter. “That much is true.”
“…How long did you know he was down there?” Horus demanded.
She looked at him, stricken. “Not until Ra came here and said so. But even if he is back,” and she shot a brief glare at Ra before turning back to Horus, “he cannot return from there. I ensured it.”
“You are certain?” Horus demanded, glancing at Seth.
“Yes,” Isis insisted, her gaze firm. “I used some of my most powerful spells. It… wiped me out. I feared…” She swallowed, looking at him sadly. “I feared it nearly cost me you, at the time.”
Seth was trying to grapple with it all. “But why? Why attack him? Why go so far…?” He couldn’t imagine why Nephthys would do it, but Isis loved Osiris. Had done so much for him. And either this was a very good act or she still loved Horus, and didn’t plan to get rid of him to hold the throne for herself.
Isis looked at Seth and her expression became pained. And there was something else in her expression that…
Seth felt something cold in his chest.
“…You knew,” Seth said, quietly, feeling like the room was too small, like everyone was staring at him. Like they could see it. “How… how did you know?”
Isis shut her eyes. “That night… Sekhmet showed me.”
He’d always wondered if Sekhmet would, for a joke or her own games, but that didn’t make the reality of it any harder to bear. Everything seemed so distant, and then Seth’s gaze somehow went to Nephthys, who gazed back at him sadly, and… and then he couldn’t look at her as he realized…
Seth pulled away from Horus and went to a wall, touching his hands to the cold stone, trying to even out his breathing.
“I’m sorry, Seth,” Nephthys said, quietly. “It’s not enough, I know, it never will be, but…” She swallowed. “Isis wasn’t telling the whole truth. She kept it from Horus to protect him, but also to… to protect you. Telling Horus would involve telling him what happened, and Isis wanted to protect your privacy.”
Was that supposed to make him feel better?
He felt like everything was close, but also far away.
A strong hand reached for Seth’s shoulder, and Seth flinched away, snarling, “Don’t touch me!”
Seth felt… he felt like he was burning and freezing all at once. It was hard to even breathe. It was embarrassing, and all the other gods had to be looking at him like some sort of weakling, like…
And Horus wouldn’t leave him be.
“Seth… Seth if you have to go without me, please come back.” The words were quiet, pleading.
The pounding in Seth’s ears faded for a moment at that.
“I’ll be here, waiting for you.”
Seth looked at Horus, finding him easily when he thought everything should be foggy. Seth spotted the worry there, the fear… for Seth? Seth remembered the times in his tent, with Horus’ desperation to be close to him, to respect his space, his quiet, gentle words…
Seth tried to focus on that, and not Isis or the rest of their fucked up family. Not that Seth wasn’t just as fucked up as the rest of them. Thought at least he hadn’t killed his own brother…
…Just got fucked by him. And seemingly everyone knew.
Seth swallowed. He wanted to run. To summon a sandstorm and get lost in it.
“Peace can only be bestowed on the strong.”
If Osiris was standing in front of him right now, Seth would put all he had into wringing the god’s undead neck.
But would that really be better? With Isis and Nephthys and Ra and Horus and probably Sekhmet somewhere all staring at him? Showing them just how volatile he was? How out of control? With servants to see him running out – even in sand form – and gossiping, rather than the few he had in the desert who knew to keep their mouths shut and that the God of War just went out at odd times?
Did he truly care that it’d be embarrassing?
“Please come back.”
Seth looked at Horus again. At the sad, but resigned expression on his face. The worry. The way Horus was giving him room, even when Horus clearly didn’t want to.
“I’d give you space,” Horus said. “Unless you wanted me to follow you. Then I would.”
“You wouldn’t order me to stay?”
“Never.” Horus smiled. “Plus, you’re the desert. Only you can control you. It’s a fool who thinks otherwise.”
In the moment Seth had finally connected vague dots, one thing had crystallized: Ra had helped Isis kill one pharaoh, who was one of the most powerful gods in their pantheon. If they could take down Osiris, they could easily take down his far weaker replacement. Even if Isis had no reason to do that, since she held equal power with him, and had… possibly done all this for Seth for some reason, Horus was now dealing with the fact that his mother had murdered his father, and hid it from him, and had help from at least three other goddesses, all of whom had hid the conspiracy, for years.
Horus was the only person besides Seth in this room who hadn’t participated in Osiris’ murder. And though Seth felt no pity for the dead or undead god, he felt a great deal for the young god before him, who simply hoped that Seth wouldn’t flee into the night, at least not forever.
And if any of these goddesses had designs on Horus anyway… Since there was likely more to the story than what little had been revealed… Seth wasn’t going to let that happen, so long as he had the ability to do something about it.
Much as it seemed the goddesses all had it handled far better than he ever could, anyway.
Nonetheless, right now, Horus needed him. That… that would have to matter more than the gaping chasm he knew only one way to deal with.
If Horus wanted Seth at his side, then… Seth would be there. Like Horus had been at his.
Seth tried to get himself not to shake and told himself he could lose it all later. Later. At night, maybe. He’d go back to the desert or something. Maybe Horus would even come with him.
Later.
He stepped away from the wall, and took Horus’ hand, squeezing it lightly. He didn’t say anything.
When Horus looked at him, a slight smile on his face, Seth knew he didn’t have to.