They were outside, Lucius in the process of building a new cabinet for Elissa to store her fabrics in, sweat dripping down his shirtless back. He almost dropped his tools, unsure of how to respond.
“I would not mind if you were my father,” she said when he did not respond.
Lucius wiped his brow, thinking carefully about how to respond. “I care for you children and your mother,” he finally said. “And I know this might be hard for you to understand, but I think you both are very wise and I want to be honest with you. Can I be honest with you?”
Ashera quickly nodded, nudging Abi, who promptly mirrored the action.
“I was once married to a woman who hurt me deeply,” Lucius explained, trying not to picture her as he spoke. “And as much as I want to forget her, she is still the one I love. There is a part of me that still hopes I will find her again, and until that part of me dies, I should not marry anyone else. If I did, then I would only be giving that person half of me, which is not fair to anyone.”
“I understand.” Ashera’s eyes were wide and solemn before they shifted to worry. “I just do not want you to leave us.”
Lucius knelt down so that he was at their level. He grabbed one of her hands and one of Abi’s, staring into their soft brown eyes as he spoke. “I am not going to let anything happen to either of you,” he promised. Abi threw himself into his arms in response, squeezing him tightly.
Lucius embraced them both in return before standing upright, squinting to place the sun’s location in the sky. He wiped his dirty hands on his tunic. “Come, I am sure your mother will have dinner ready soon and I need to wash up.”
“We will meet you there,” Ashera told him, grabbing her brother’s hand and pulling him back into the village.
It was sunset when Lucius made his way to their hut, the gentle evening breeze a welcome respite from the blistering sun. Elissa lit up when she saw him, the children already settled around the table, prepared to eat. Lucius noticed a bottle of wine next to a dish made of lamb and lentils, with fresh bread nearby. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he smelled the food, enjoying it and a few cups of wine as Ashera twittered about their day, asking him her nightly round of questions while Abi added the occasional laugh and squeal to the conversation.
“I should have the cabinet done tomorrow,” he told Elissa when they finally quieted, curling up by the dwindling fire.
“Wonderful,” Elissa smiled, her dark eyes glassy in the firelight. He realized she looked different, her hair swept back from her face, wearing a new set of robes. He smiled, grateful she was adjusting to a better life.
“I should get going,” he said with a yawn, realizing the wine was making him drowsy. He helped her tuck the twins into their bed before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Sleep well,” he said as he started to duck out of the door.
“Wait.” She blocked him in the doorway. “I just wanted to tell you how much it means to me that you take care of us like you do.”
He met her eyes and suddenly Ashera’s words echoed in his mind. He noticed she was wearing one of the bracelets he’d made for her to sell, and scented water wafted up from her skin. He started to panic. “It is no worry, truly...” he assured her as he tried to exit.
“You are so good to these children,” she insisted. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
“I am not able to have my own and I appreciate that you let me care for them,” he explained. “So there really is no need to thank me, I am equally beneficial—” But before he could finish, she rose up on her tiptoes, cupping his face with her hands and kissing him on the lips.
He broke free in alarm, pulling her hands away from him. “I am so sorry, you do not need to feel obligated to do this—”
Elissa looked confused. “I know—I want to.”
Lucius felt himself fumbling for words, wishing he could flee. “I am already married,” he blurted out, then immediately wished he hadn’t.
Elissa’s eyes welled up with tears. “You have a wife?” she cried. “Then why do you visit us, why do you care for us like you do?”
Lucius’s stomach twisted with regret. “Please, I never meant to hurt you,” he attempted to explain. “We were all sent here to help you, that was my only intention.”
“Then why have most of you taken wives, and have children who live in the hills? You have led me to believe you wanted me as your wife—my children love you like a father!”
“I do love your children,” Lucius sputtered.
“Get out,” she said with gritted teeth. “Get out of my home and do not come back here.”
Lucius stormed out of the house, furious at himself for the way he’d handled things. Perhaps he could explain things to her tomorrow when he wasn’t dizzy with wine, he thought. He could tell her he’d misspoke, that his wife was long dead to him. She was right to be upset if she thought he was trying to take a second wife while abandoning the first. These things mattered to humans—they mattered to him. He’d have to sort out the misunderstanding.
Lucius entered his home, his mind continuing to race, when he realized Michael was inside waiting for him. “What could you possibly want right now?” he growled.
Michael rose to his feet. “I come bearing good news. As of tomorrow, your job here has ended. The Holy One is sending a great flood to clean out the valley. He has decided there is no place on earth for a race of human and angel hybrids.”
Lucius blinked. “It is his decision to murder all these people? Is that not the antithesis of something a god of light would do?”
“They are not people,” Michael corrected him. “They are Watchers who chose to defy him with their grotesque offspring.”
“There are innocent women and children who also live here.”
Michael frowned. “Are you hearing my words? You are free of this place—something you have been complaining about since you arrived. You can either return to Heaven with us or retrieve your wife.”
Lucius grew quiet, a whisper of Nephthys in the wind. “You will tell me where she is?”
“As it was promised,” he confirmed with a nod. “You have time to pack your things if you choose. The day after tomorrow, the rains will come. I suggest you leave long before then, as I am certain the Watchers will begin to panic once they realize what is happening. I would not want to be caught in the crossfire if I were you. Report back to Heaven before you go and I will give you the exact whereabouts of your wife and your brother.” And with nothing more, he disappeared.
Lucius sunk down into the wood chair behind his desk. His mind spun, trying to digest everything he had just been told. His life as Set wriggled its way through, forcing him to remember who he was. He saw Nephthys and Isis standing over Osiris, pooling their magic together to bring him back to life. He saw Anubis’s cold, unforgiving eyes, and Horus as he tried to bleed him. He watched himself prepare to immolate them before she turned, her azure eyes full of terror as she screamed, “Set, no! They are my children!” The words had jolted him so hard his knees buckled, for it was in that moment he realized why she had left him. But before he had time to react, Horus leapt up and sliced his throat.
Lucius leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. His mind traveled back to the twins, their sweet faces soothing his anguish. He thought of Elissa, who he didn’t love, but perhaps should marry. Now that he was free of his duties, he could take them away and give them a life they deserved. His existence in Egypt was over—this was his life now. He was not Set anymore, he was Lucifer. It was time to stop chasing the ghosts of what was and what could be, and time to accept his place now.
He stood, freshly determined.
He hurried back to her house, noticing a crisp shift in the wind as if the skies had already begun pulling moisture into the clouds. He frowned as he arrived to see Armaros standing in Elissa’s doorway. “What are you doing here?” he asked, confused by his presence.
“She does not want to see you again,” Armaros said, crossing his arms.
Lucius scowled. “I do not see what business it is of yours.”
