Destiny Waits for No Man

Foolish Things Lead to Foolish Prizes

Summer classes were a lot easier than her regular classes. Smaller even and it felt good to be back in her classroom instead of hiding in her library.

Okay, hiding in her library wasn't what she was doing. That was a strong word. She was...okay, she was hiding. With Amis in the library, Set couldn't get in. Couldn't see her. It meant that she had time to think about their last time together. She'd finally given him her body. After centuries, she'd given up in a moment of absolute weakness.

Being alone was hard on anyone, she assumed. She wasn't in her right mind. That had to be it.

"Now I can all assume you know who the god Loki is?" She asked as she turned back towards her students.

A few of the girls giggled. "Only the hottest man on Earth. Tom Hiddleston is fine!" One of them called out.

Keeta laughed. "Ah, no, not the actor but I'm inclined to agree," she said with a wink. "I'm talking about the Loki from Norse Mythology, not the villain in a movie."

A few sighs of disappointment left her with a smile. "Oh, come on, it'll be great plus with the summer extra credits, you'll be closer to that degree." Keeta turned back to her board. "Now Loki, the trickster God, had several different children. Some you know, but the one we're going to talk about today is Jörmungandr, the giant serpent."

"Jörmungandr was thrown into the sea in Midgard and grew so large, he could wrap around the Earth with ease. It became known as the World Serpent and when or if he is able to release his tail, they say Ragnarok will begin. Obviously, we don't want that to happen, so we? Now the God Thor is one of his greatest enemies."

"Ms. Khonsu, why would Thor be his enemy if Loki is his father?" A young man from the back asked.

Keeta sighed. Movies would be the death of her. They really would. "In true Norse tales, Thor and Loki aren't brothers. In fact, Thor is a bit of a jerk much like Heracles."

A wave of confusion went over them, but she shook her head. "A story for another time."

"Now," she continued on, "in a lot of tales you will hear the many fights that Thor and Jörmungandr go through. None so much as Ragnark where they are foretold to kill each other upon the ending of the battle."

Keeta turned back to them. "I want you all to read The Viking Spirit by Daniel McCoy. It was a part of your book requirements at the beginning of the term so no excuses. In two weeks, I want a detailed timeline of these battles and what happens."

"PowerPoint slide or graph, Ms. Khonsu?"

She shrugged. "Whatever you feel is the better representation of the timeline. You are to use what you deem is the most detail orientated format. The extra credits for this will definitely go towards your next semester and let me assure you, it's going be a rough semester as we get down to your final projects here."

With that, everyone groaned and left the classroom. Once again, she was alone in her thoughts. Gods, how she wished she could get lost in text for two weeks and not her own head.

Why? Why had she let him touch her? Obviously, she knew the answer. She was lonely. Spending thousands of years without really living left her tired. She wanted to live for the day. Even if she had many days before her.

"You think you won something don't you?" A raspy feminine voice spoke up.

Keeta turned at the sound and found a woman standing behind her desk. Long and beautiful, the woman stood tall with a flowing green gown. Long golden hair fell way past her hips. She was beautiful. Unlike any human she had ever seen. This bringing her to one conclusion.

"Goddess, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Keeta squared her shoulders and talked as if she were speaking to Isis.

The woman snorted. "You know what I am and still act so impudent. I've killed for less."

Keeta shrugged. "I've had my fair share of dealings with your kind. Why should I be afraid of you?"

The Goddess' eyes blazed with fury. "He was mine. Mine before you were ever born and yet you think you can take him from me? A pathetic cursed human?"

Now she was absolutely clueless. "I'm lost, who are you talking about?"

"Don't play coy with me, whore. You have lain with Set have you not? He had taken your body, the body he has desire for eons over mine!" She shrieked.

This wasn't Set's wife, Nephthys. So, who...? "Who are you?"

She turned the corner at Keeta's desk, whisking a strand of her golden locks out of her face. "I am the Goddess Sif. Wife to Thor, lover to Set."

Well, okay then. A goddess from an entirely different pantheon. No wonder she didn't recognize her. Thor's wife was said to be regal and graceful. Generous really and yet, this being was anything but. Vain, clearly. Enraged, undoubtedly. How ironic was it that she had woken up this morning with a detailed plan of Ragnarök in the works?

"Look, I don't want your drama. It was one time and it's never going to happen again. Have at it." Keeta sighed.

"Don't you dare dismiss me! You have no idea the kinds of things I could do to you, mortal." Sif seethed.

She tried not to roll her eyes. "Sif was it? Listen, if he wanted you, he would be with you. I know rejection hurts but four thousand years. I'm not as naive to think that what Set, and I did had any lasting meaning to him. I may be human, but I've lived a lot longer than any other being, I'm not stupid."

"Clearly you are." Sif laughed harshly. "He's wanted you from the moment he saw you. I was cast out with nothing. Thrown back to my husband without so much as a glance. For a human!"

Hang ups on her being human were coming in clear. Keeta was sure that, as a goddess, that had to hurt. "Not my monkey, not my circus."

"You bitch!"

All at once Sif ran at her with fury in each step she took. Keeta braced herself for the blow. While she couldn't die, she could still feel pain and Sif was a warrior Goddess married to the God of thunder. It was going to do more than hurt.

"Enough!" A voice roared before Sif could make her blow.

Keeta opened her eyes to see Set's dark form in front of her. She couldn't see his face but in the way his shoulders were rising and falling she could assume that he was angry.

Gods above, even from behind he was stunning. His naked back rippled with each furious breath he took. It made her mouth water, and her thighs squeeze together.

Focus, Keeta, angry goddess wanting to rip you to shreds. No time to be a lustful whore.

Set and Sif stood facing off with one another. Her fury still evident but softened by his appearance. "My love..."

Set held up his hand to stop her. "We have not been together for many years, Sif. You have no claim to me or any hatred towards her." His commanding baritone voice sent shivers down Keeta.

Her face now twisted into agony; Sif tried to plead with him. "That's not true. I know you love me. Whatever this is, I know I can be better. I know I can love you more. She doesn't even want you! I've watched for thousands of lifetimes. She rejects you always while my arms have always been welcoming."

Set glanced back at Keeta over his shoulder as if the truth of that affected him. "You're right, she has rejected me over and over. Each time I have come to her, she has rejected me." Sif smiled triumphantly. "Doesn't make my love for her any less real."

Sif roared in outrage. "You reject me again...for this whore?"

Set's hands clenched into fists at his side. "I reject you for the woman I love. Go back to your husband, Sif. End this now."

Keeta looked past Set to see the goddess in tears. Her beautiful face masked in fury. This wouldn't end. Not by a long shot.

"Never. I will see her dead, Set. Mark my words." Sif vowed before disappearing.

Set turned to her without hesitation and began searching her. It took Keeta a minute to realize what he was doing. He was checking her for any wounds or damage. "I'm fine, Set. She didn't hurt me."

Not physically. Just reminded her why a relationship between them was impossible.

"Don't, don't do that." He growled.

She blinked up at him. "Do what?"

Set narrowed his eyes on her. "I know what's going through your head. You know it's wrong."

Wrong? No. Sad? Yes.

"It's just another reason why this shouldn't have happened."

He cursed. "No, no that's not true. You gave me everything that night and I'm not going to let you do this. We're meant to be together. Thousands of years have gone by and I still only want you. I still only love you."

Keeta shook her head as tears burned her eyes. "It won't work. You know this."

His big hands cupped her head and forced her to look at him. "What more do I have to show you? What can I do to prove to you? I am the God of War, but for you I would gladly get on my knees and beg."

"Set.."

"Please," he whispered into her hair, "don't..."

Keeta pulled away from him. "She won't stop, and I won't be pulled into another war. I can't do this."

Set's head fell back against his shoulders as his face tightened in agony. His chest rose in tight breaths. For a minute he stood like that until he finally looked down at her. "You're mine as I am yours, but I know I won't change your mind this time. A man, even if he's a God, can only take so much from the woman he loves before he finally gives up."

Keeta's tears fell as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. When she opened them again, he was gone. And just like it had the night she was branded, her heart broke.