“Okay, Star,” Sekhmet, the goddess healer, said to him. “I want you to push. Anubis, continue to give Star some of your magical essence; it will help with the pain.”
Star had no idea what they were talking about, but the next thing he knew, he was pushing with all his might, delivering the first twin, a boy, and Anubis named him Seaphis. About five minutes later, Star delivered Amara.
Both babies were a mix of Anubis and Star, with fiery-red curly hair and red-gold eyes. They both showed to have magical powers at the age of two, which made Anubis and Star proud. Seaphis was like Anubis, a young godling of death with underworld manipulation. And Amara had elemental manipulations that seemed limitless, even at such a young age.
Star furrowed his brows when he heard a crash coming from the living room, pulling him from his thoughts. Sighing, Star put the test down and walked into the living room to see his twins and their older sister Kebechet sitting on the couch watching television.
Star didn’t know how to explain his relationship with Kebechet. The fact that she was older than him and called him dad was a bit weird; however, other than their initial meeting, no other threats had followed. The kids loved her and seemed to get in more trouble whenever she visited, which was more often than before, which made Anubis happy. In fact, for an adult, Kebechet was just as high-energy and rambunctious as the twins. Hence, the broken vase was still on the ground, and the three Ahkets were trying to look as innocent as possible.
“Okay, which one of you did it?” Star said.
All three turned their eyes on him, and Kebechet spoke up for the group. “Daddy Star, when did you get here?” she asked innocently.
“Daddy Star,” her two little parrots echoed in tone and expression, making Star’s eyelid twitch.
“Kebechet, as the adult, you should make sure they behave.”
“But Daddy Star,” she started. “We didn’t do it, honest.”
Star quirked a brow. “Really? Why don’t I believe you?”
“I’m being for real,” Kebechet said.
“For real,” the other two parroted, shaking their heads.
“One of your friends visited,” Kebechet said.
Star pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing he would need to apologize if the three were telling the truth. Star’s pregnancy wasn’t the only thing that had thrown him for a loop since he was possessed. A new power had manifested itself, which Star was still getting a handle on. So not only was he able to freeze people and objects, he could now see and speak to ghosts. Star guessed it went hand in hand with his mate being a god of death. However, just because he could see and communicate with them, that didn’t mean he liked it.
One day, he woke up early to head to the set and was shocked to see a strange woman standing at the foot of his bed. It had scared the shit out of him, and Star thought he was about to be possessed once again. But Star wouldn’t let it happen as easily as the last time and was prepared to use the amulet Anubis had given him for protection, only to be shocked when the ghost spoke and asked for help in locating her body since she was killed and didn’t know what happened to it.
Star didn’t immediately get up and help the lost ghost but ignored her for days, hoping she would go away or it was all just a dream. However, the female ghost terrorized him until he relented. The weird thing was neither Chase nor Anubis could see the ghost. It seemed they could hide themselves from the grim reaper and the god of death. For the past couple of years, Star’s life had become more exciting than anything he could have imagined.
“Come out,” Star said, waiting to see who would appear and what the hell the ghost would try to put him through. However, this time, he was in for a surprise when two figures appeared in front of him that looked very familiar. The male was tall with dark hair and eyes that were so red they looked like blood, and a petite female with long flowing curly red hair, a bronze complexion, and eyes to match. Tears welled in Star’s eyes, and he couldn’t look away for fear that he was imagining things.
“Mom, Dad,” he choked, trying to hold back his tears and failing terribly.
“Hello, our beautiful boy,” his mother said, reaching out and touching his cheek. It was the first time a ghost had touched him, but he was expecting her hand to be cold, not warm, as if she were still alive.
“How? How are you so warm?” He reached out and touched a lock of her hair that felt real.
“Maybe you should ask them,” his father said, pointing behind Star.
He turned and saw Anubis, along with his mothers, father, and a couple of other family members that Star finally got to meet. True to Anubis’s words, Star went completely fanboy over meeting the gods he used to think weren’t real. It wasn’t a secret among Anubis’s close family what Isis, Neith, and Bastet had done. The only one missing was Nephthys, who Star later found out was the woman he’d met on the bridge who now went by the name Dark Raven. Star hadn’t seen Dark Raven since the day he woke up from his possession. He’d wanted to thank them for saving him, and he was hoping to get close to them.
However, they never showed up on the bridge again. Or if they did, it was as a different person since they could change their appearance. Star liked all of Anubis’s family, especially Sobek, and he understood why Anubis called him his favorite cousin. The man had the sweetest heart, yet had a dark side that intrigued Star.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Anubis asked, pulling Star from his thoughts.
“How can I stay mad at you when you go and do something like this?” Star said.
“Why are you angry at me this time, baby boy?” Anubis moved over to him and cupped his cheeks.
“You got me pregnant, again,” Star pouted. When Anubis didn’t act surprised, Star guessed, “You knew.”
Anubis smiled. “I did.”
“And you went to get my parents' ghosts to make sure I didn’t yell at you.”
