Chelsea
Baal squeezed my hand and smiled at me as we passed through one of the no entry gates at The Horus Sanctuary.
“Are you sure we’re allowed back here?” I asked.
He chuckled. “We have an appointment, it’d be difficult to get to it if we weren’t.”
“Right, it just feels weird to be ignoring all the signs like this.”
“So now isn’t the right time to tell you that one of the keepers is going to take us on a tour after we’ve spoken to Horus?”
A squeal of excitement stole out of me. “Are you serious?”
“It was going to be a surprise.”
“It still is a surprise,” I pointed out. “And the best kind. I thought we were just here to talk about the calendar.”
“Did you really think that was going to take all afternoon?”
“Of course not, I assumed you’d want to spend the rest of it in bed,” I admitted.
“I thought we’d spend some time out of it today,” he responded. “I want you to know that I’m interested in more than just sex.”
“I know you are.” I went up on my toes and kissed his cheek. “You don’t have to prove it.”
“But taking you on a tour of the animals here helps?”
“Absolutely.”
We entered one of the buildings and he knocked on a door inside.
“Come in,” a voice I vaguely recognised called out.
Baal opened the door and gestured for me to step inside, giving me the first look at the man I assumed was Horus.
“Ah, good, you’re here.” He gestured for the two of us to take a seat. “I don’t have long, one of the cheetahs needs to see the vet and we’ve only got our newest hire around today.”
“We can keep this quick,” Baal responded, taking my hand the moment we were seated.
“There’s not much to it,” Horus said. “I just thought you’d want to see the final proof of the calendar before it goes to print.” He handed two copies across the desk.
I took one of them, my hands shaking slightly as I considered what I was about to see.
I flipped through each of the photos, surprised to find that they each had the god’s name next to them, though I supposed what Baal said about no one believing they were actually the gods was true. Why would anyone think that we had the real thing in front of us?
“This one came out beautifully,” Baal said, gesturing to the photo of Huxian. “The rock was a good choice.”
A flush of pride travelled through me. “Thank you.”
“And this one.” He paused on Asterion, whose muscles somehow seemed even bigger than before now they were on display in a photo.
“This is my favourite,” I responded, stopping on the photo I’d taken of Baal.
He raised an eyebrow. “I wonder why.”
“Maybe it’s the by-line,” I mused. “Photograph by Chelsea Stewart.”
“Stewart?” Horus asked, picking up the version of the calendar on his desk and flipping to the page in question.
“Is that a problem?” I glanced at Baal, worried about what was happening.
“No, just strange. My new vet is Doctor Stewart.”
“Wait, Adelaide Stewart?” I checked.
To my surprise, Horus nodded. “A relation?”
“My sister.”
“Did she not tell you that this was where her interview was?” Baal asked.
I shook my head. “She said she didn’t want to jinx me by telling me. She’s not long out of veterinary school and I think she was nervous about the job.”
“She came with great recommendations,” Horus responded.
“She loves animals,” I said. “Even more than I do.”
“That says something,” Baal responded. “You never told me how that came about?”
“Oh, it was our mum, she always used to put animal shows on for us after we finished school. She said that we might be able to do spells and brew potions, but the real magic in the world was nature. I think it stuck with us both, though we’ve gone very different ways about approaching our careers. So photos from Dad, animals from Mum.”
“Then it seems like I’ve made a good hiring choice,” Horus said. His phone chimed and he let out a loud sigh as he checked it. “I’m needed. Take as long as you want to look over the calendar and leave me anything you want changing.” He got to his feet as he spoke and grabbed his jacket before heading out of the door.
“Can you believe that talking to a god isn’t crazy to me now?” I mused.
Baal chuckled. “You’ve spoken to a lot of them recently.”
“And they’re just so normal.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” he countered. “But yes, they’re just people.”
I leaned back in my seat and flicked through the calendar again. “I took these. Well, I know not all of them, but I did.”
“Yes.” Pride puffed out his chest. “And I didn’t pull any strings either. I didn’t tell Horus which photo was taken by which of us and just gave him options of them all. The ones that are yours in the calendar are there because he thought they were the best, not because I asked him to include a certain number of them.”
“Thank you.”
“I just said I didn’t do anything,” he responded.
I gave him a knowing look. “Which is what I’m thanking you for. You knew I’d never respond well to that.”
“I guessed.”
“And for letting me do this in the first place. Ignoring the fact that all of the people in these photos are literal gods, there’s no other way I’d ever have been able to do something like this for my first shoot without your help.”
“I’m glad I could help. And for what it’s worth, I look forward to working with you again.”
“Because you enjoyed the results of it the first time?” I teased.
“Because you’re an amazing photographer, Chelsea. Anyone would be pleased to work with you. And maybe once you’re a bit more established and ready for it, we can start working together under one business.”
“You’d seriously want to do that with me?”
“Absolutely. But I know that you’d never be comfortable with it until you’ve made a name for yourself.”
“You’ve gotten to know me very well in a short space of time.”
“I take a lot of care and attention over the things that matter to me,” Baal said with a deep sincerity in his tone that left no room for doubt. He meant his words, and his actions proved it.
“Thank you.” I leaned in and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. Despite the fact that Horus wouldn’t be back for a while, I knew that this wasn’t the right place for more than that.
“We should go through this and then we’ll go on our tour,” Baal said. “And perhaps I’ll even get to meet your sister.”
“I’d like that,” I responded. “I haven’t actually seen her since she moved in a few days ago, she’s been busy with all her work orientation stuff. At least now I know why, this is her literal dream job.”
“She’s always dreamed of working for an Egyptian falcon god?”
I let out a small laugh. “That would be a very specific dream.”
“Maybe too specific.”
“Mmhmm. She always said she wanted to work with animals who didn’t have anyone else, especially those who had been badly treated. This is exactly where she should be.”
“Horus is a lucky man.”
“How so?”
“Because that’s precisely the kind of person he’s looking for to work here,” Baal said.
“I have to admit to being relieved, I thought you were going to say that Addy is just his type.”
Baal chuckled. “I’m not sure he even knows what that is any more.”
“Reassuring,” I muttered. “But off-topic.”
“Right, let’s focus on this and then we can get on with our date.”
The way he smiled at me made my heart flutter and a sense of peace settled within me. Even if this had started out as a small flirtation, there was no doubt that it had become something big. And that I looked forward to uncovering more of our relationship as it progressed, with all the ups and downs life had to offer.