Page 23 of Looking for Seth

"You're also loud when you're smithing. As soon as I was close, I knew what you were up to."

"Ah, right. I forgot about that part." It was easy to get used to the noise. "Is everything all right?" I wasn't sure why she'd come to the forge, but it seemed unusual for her to seek me out here.

"I wanted to check on you," she admitted. "You said you had a date with Seth, I didn't even realise you knew him until he showed up at speed dating and then ran off. You followed him." Even though it wasn't a question, I could hear the hint of one in her voice.

"I did."

Bastet raised an eyebrow. "That's not very forthcoming." She looked at my work table and spied the knife I was working on, which only seemed to spur on her curiosity. "This looks like a set animal." She reached out to touch the handle.

"It does?" I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice. "I've never seen it in real life, so I wasn't sure if I'd done it justice."

"It's been a long time," she responded. "But it's definitely recognisable. The eyes are wrong though, you need blue, not red."

"Thanks, that's helpful." I reached out and picked up the knife, prying the red stones out of the gaps where the eyes went so I didn't forget to replace them.

"Did Seth ask you to make him a knife?" Bastet asked curiously.

"No."

"Ah, so someone else commissioned it."

"Also no." I was glad my cheeks didn't show my embarrassment as easily as hers did. "It's a gift for Seth."

She frowned. "What's going on, Menhit? Ever since you saw him at speed dating, it's been strange."

I sighed. It was probably time to tell her about the situation. And it was only fair that I did, considering that it impacted her and Ptah. "Remember that guy I was talking to on the dating app?"

"Saul, right?"

I nodded and picked up my phone, navigating to Seth's dating profile. "This is Saul." I handed my phone to Bastet.

Understanding dawned on her the moment she saw the photo. "Saul and Seth are the same person."

"Yeah, I didn't see that one coming either."

"That's why you recognised him from Baal's photos."

"Yes. Though I didn't put the pieces together until after that," I admitted. "And then I didn't know how to tell him, and he wasn't particularly happy about it when he found out who I was at speed dating."

"Which is why he stormed off," Bastet supplied. "That's all making so much sense now."

"I know." I groaned and closed my eyes. "And now I'm trying to convince him that he can trust me because I obviously hid who I was from him too, and we're taking things slow, and now I'm making a knife for him."

"You really like him," she supplied.

"Yes." It felt good to say it out loud. "But I'm scared I've ruined things by not telling him who I was when I realised he was also a god."

"But he didn't tell you he was a god either, right?"

"No, he never mentioned anything like that."

"Then you have nothing to worry about," she assured me. "Even if he needs some time to come to terms with it, he will do. Most gods and paranormals don't disclose who or what they are to strangers over the internet. Everyone knows that."

"I know, but I'm still worried that he won't forgive me."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. I saw the way Seth was looking at you when you were having your speed dating date. There's definitely something there, and I think you'll both feel better if you do something about it." She all but winked at me.

I shook my head in amusement. "This is revenge for the advice I was giving you about Ptah, isn't it?"