Nefertem felt it when Sahriel was taken by Seth, not because there was any explosive anger in the wake of it but because you could only possess one seal at a time, and in taking Sahriel’s, Seth had set Nefertem free. He smiled, shaking his head at the stupidity of it. Seth was a fool to trust him so completely; to think he would wait at home, and let him just drag Sahriel to France, where Nefertem knew for a fact he didn’t want to go.
Steam billowed off the top of the mug. Sahriel watched it with grave attention, letting his fingertips play in it occasionally but mostly just enjoying the patterns it made while he made the water boil over and over so he could play with the steam. Miriam was behind him in the kitchen making dinner and Akhenti sat opposite, watching him play with the steam with a small frown on her face as if she didn’t approve of something but Sahriel didn’t care. She was his oldest friend, and he didn’t care and he knew that was probably a bad sign but it was just the way it was. Connor was all that mattered, and Connor was still washing up after another day of repairs in town.
Akhenti had slept for a long time, and Miriam had eyed her warily now and then, but made no attempt to wake her, moving softly and quietly when she had to go near. She was undeniably curious about the strange girl, but still found her rather intimidating. Akhenti was loud, bold, combative and a little bit wild – way beyond the normal bounds of Miriam’s relatively conventional world.
Eventually, however, even Akhenti had had enough sleep, and sat up yawning and blinking, cringing from the sun. “Owww ow ow ow,” she complained, hopping up and pulling the blanket over her head like a shelter as she dashed for the bedroom.
It was almost too warm. Sahriel frowned, because that seemed wrong somehow, but he was deeply wrapped in blankets and curled up against hot skin. That seemed okay…he really liked that. Not sure why it was bad, he forced himself to open his eyes just a crack and moaned, head exploding in fire as the sunlight sank through him. It was pouring happily through the windows and all over them, hot and searing and sapping the energy out of him, and he didn’t have any to give it.
Sahriel hadn’t been so nervous in centuries; not since he realised someone had unearthed his seal and he was a possession to a man he’d never met. Then he’d been nervous, but he’d at least known he was the demon and a human couldn’t get as creative as a demon when it came to ordering him about. But this was different. This was Nefertem and deep down Sahriel didn’t want to harm him, but refused to go to Seth, if that was even what Nefertem wanted.