Page 3 of Looking for Seth

Without thinking about it too much, I pressed the heart for Saul. He seemed like a nice guy from his profile, and that meant I should give us a chance to get to know one another.

Hopefully, he'd turn out to be just as nice in person. I could hope for as much.

Chapter 2

Seth

I glanced up at the sky, sensing an impending storm. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. That was a good sign. The clouds felt like they needed to let go, and a storm was the perfect way to do it.

I reached into the well of magic within me and used it to nudge them along. It was probably something that would be frowned upon by the other gods, but none of them were around to chastise me for my choices. And that was by design. I didn't need any of them judging me for the things I did. Or worse, for the things they thought I'd done in the past.

My hands balled into fists as the familiar anger overtook me. Even gods who had known me well had chosen to believe the rumours about me killing my brother, which was ridiculous considering the fact that he was still living and breathing among us.

I let out a long breath and centred myself using the growing storm as an anchor. It didn't matter what they thought, I was living a life that was completely unreliant on any of them, and that was the way it would stay. If I had nothing to do with any of the other gods ever again, then it would suit me just fine.

The sky darkened as I approached my front door, and the threat of rain hung in the air. It was going to be a big one, even without my help. I supposed that meant I'd have to put off walking Tut. I might enjoy being outside in the pouring rain, but my dog had other ideas about the rain.

I pushed open the front door only to almost be knocked off my feet by a blur of black fur.

"Down, Tut," I commanded, reaching out to ruffle the soft fur of his head, not in the slightest bit angry at him. "We'll go for a walk once the storm ends," I promised him, knowing he'd had one at lunchtime anyway and probably wouldn't need to go out for a few more hours.

He let out a small whimper, followed by a bark. A smile tugged at my face as he wiggled his bum and wagged his tail furiously, as if expecting me to pull some kind of treat out of my pocket.

"You know me so well," I said, pulling a carefully wrapped bone out of my pocket and giving it to him.

His face lit up as he took it from me and bounded back to his bed. I shook my head, amused by how easy it was to get him to calm down. Then again, that was the point. Tut was the companion I needed, and the reminder of the glory days when my temples had been covered by carvings of creatures who looked a little like him.

I shut the door behind me, hoping it would also shut out thoughts of my past. I knew where my mood would go if I dwelled on it, and it wasn't worth it.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the screen, smiling when I saw a message waiting from Merry. After matching on the Jinx dating app a couple of weeks ago, we'd talked nearly every day, and it was starting to be the highlight of mine. I knew it was foolish to get involved with a shifter, especially with their short lifespans compared to mine, and their tendency to take things a little too seriously, but I'd spent far too long alone, and on one particularly dull evening, I'd caved and downloaded the dating app in order to feel a little better about myself.

I'd never expected to find someone I actually enjoyed talking to on the other end. I tapped on her message, looking forward to today's conversation.

My smile grew as I typed, which was a little ridiculous. I barely knew her, and we'd never met in person, yet I still ended up feeling lighter when we talked.

I chuckled, finding it easy to imagine her laughing on the other end of the conversation.

Why was this working on me? Why did I find her charming when she was all but insulting me? It was hard to be sure, but I found the back and forth entertaining and promising at the same time.

I headed into the kitchen, briefly glancing at a happy Tut who was sitting in his bed and gnawing on his bone. At least he was as easy to please as I was.

My phone pinged, letting me know that Merry had replied.

I grimaced. Why was I avoiding meeting with her? This wasn't the first time she'd hinted at wanting to meet in person, nor was it the first time I'd avoided the suggestion. As much as I wanted to meet her, there was something stopping me, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

Perhaps it was the fact that to Merry, I was Saul, an architect who enjoyed long walks on the beach and took my coffee with three sugars, not Seth. The god who tried to murder his brother in cold blood, and then depose his nephew, just so he could steal a throne. The stories had not been kind to me on that front, and it would be much better for me if I could just forget that they'd even been told.

Dating a mortal was complicated, especially when it meant hiding such a big part of me. And that was without the added complications of having to explain why I never aged. It probably wouldn't be an issue for a decade or so, but it would still linger over me. I could make myself look older if I wanted to, but it was more of a one-time thing and not a gradual ageing process, which was bound to raise a few eyebrows. Perhaps Merry could be fooled by the relationship we'd build together, but her family and friends were bound to notice.