A God's Bargain (EgyptianGod!Brothers and Reader)

Chapter 6

The sun was beginning to set as the barque pulled back into the private docking area of the palace, the royal procession stepping off of the boat first before the musicians and navigators. As my feet stepped onto solid ground, the Pharaoh turned to me with a dismissive expression.

"You're free to stay within the walls of the palace," Her tone sounded tired, but there wasn't an ounce of fatigue in her body posture, "I will require your presence later in the night."

"Yes, your majesty," I lowered my head before watching the procession leave with her at the head.

There was no way that I was going to pass up the renewed opportunity to explore the palace. I didn't have much of a chance since I found out that I was embroiled in some godly drama, but now that I was forced to stay here until the Pharaoh was satisfied with Set's demands, I was going to take full advantage of it.

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Despite being exposed to the sun all day, the marble pillars surrounding the courtyard were cool to the touch, the pads of my fingers slowly running over the meticulously carved stone. To know that this entire palace would be ransacked and left to rot for thousands of years was heartbreaking, my mind taking in as much detail as it could as I looked at reliefs depicting the deities interacting with mortals and servants carrying out pharaohs orders.

The murals scattered around the inner courtyard were simple in comparison to the ones within the palace, revealing scenes of nature along the Nile and mimicking the plants that grew on its riverbanks.

"Does something please your eye?"

I jumped in shock before turning towards the voice, seeing a servant boy standing just to the side with a torch, illuminating the area as the sunlight quickly faded from the sky.

"I'm sorry," I looked back towards the depiction of crocodiles swimming amongst the reeds of the Nile, "I was appreciating the art displayed around the palace."

"Oh, I know you were," The tone in the boy's voice made him sound decades wiser than an eight-year-old should be.

"Thoth," The deity's name dripped from my lips with slight disdain, unsure of what the deity of wisdom wanted with me, "I thought you would be busy possessing your chosen scribe."

"He is quite capable on his own and knows what I demand of him when I send him," The boy gave a smile as his eyes partially closed, the scheming look familiar to me, "Is it wrong to check up on my guided vassal?"

"Last I checked, I wasn't your vassal."

The kid lifted up the torch to expose more of the mural to the light, "Your allegiance doesn't concern me, Ahti."

"Yet you're the one visiting me in the mortal world."

"I am merely doing my job," I heard the scoff in his voice, the boy turning back to me after examining the mural himself, "Which you are making difficult."

"I can't control Set, okay?" I huffed in annoyance as I grabbed the torch from the kid, moving towards the wall dividing the inner courtyard from the first courtyard, "It doesn't matter if I am the reincarnation of Nephthys. Last I checked, no one can control chaos."

"So you believe you are Nebthwt," Thoth's voice stilled my movement, his curiosity rolling over me in waves as I felt an enormous pressure from the kid.

"...I don't know," My shoulders slumped a little as I admitted partial defeat, "Only two weeks ago, I was studying these ruins through pictures taken by the field team in the lab. Now...I've been dragged back in time and the deity of chaos has declared me to be his sister-wife. It's too much for me."