Chapter 1: That First Night

Apophis had finally been defeated (A/N: with a little help from our Manhattan friends, PJO fans!), and Ma'at had been restored. Osiris, in the form of my father, Julius Kane, now ruled the underworld completely, and Ra had been restored as the king of the gods. A new peace had been created with the gods of the Greeks, and together, that peace restored the Earth.

My brother, Carter, and I, now sixteen, had taken charge of the 21st Nome, and we're responsible for all the new magicians that appeared in the US. Bast had decided to stay with us, which was great, and Carter and Zia had finally gotten together after much pushing on both sides (mostly by me and Bast).

But, despite all this, I couldn't help feeling a little down. I suppose it was Carter and Zia that made me feel this way; I felt lonely, and more than a little sad. Don't get me wrong, I loved the fact that they were together (except for when they constantly made out in the corridors and got in everyone's way) and I was really happy for them, but it made me realise my feelings for the one boy I now knew I had fallen completely and fantastically in love with: Anubis. From the moment I saw him, I knew I was attracted to him, which is very unusual for me, but now I knew that my life would never be complete without him.

I was laid out on the sofa one afternoon, reflecting on this – on him – when one of the new kids came up to me – Alice, I think her name was.

"Sadie?" she asked me timidly.

"Yes?" I responded kindly.

"This just came for you." She handed me a papyrus scroll, with my name written in flowing calligraphy along the side.

"Thank you," I said, opening the scroll while Alice ran off to her other tasks. The message was quite short, and written in hieroglyphs, but my heart ballooned when I read it:

Sadie

Meet me in my quarters. I've opened a secret portal in your room to bring you here.

Anubis

I quickly tucked the scroll into my jacket pocket and casually ran towards my room, barely containing my excitement. There, as promised, was a portal that would lead to Anubis. I closed and locked my door, so anyone would think I was just taking a nap, then entered the portal.

I came out into Anubis' room. It was simple, a wardrobe set into the wall in one corner, a desk covered with letters and scrolls, a four poster bed with black silk curtains, a table with two chairs in front of the fireplace, set for an obviously romantic meal and – wait a second.

Before I could investigate further, Anubis came in from a side chamber and approached me.

"Anubis," I said, seriously hoping this was what I thought it was. "I got your message."

"Good." He looked nervous as he spoke. "Sadie, during the war with Apophis, I barely got the chance to see you. Osiris and I were too busy trying to restore Ma'at down here. But, when I first saw you, when you came down to the underworld, I couldn't help but be charmed by your spirit. And now, years later, it is only ever matched by your beauty. I realised, last night, in my sleep, why my thoughts are so dominated by you." He paused and looked straight at me, my heart doing somersaults. "Sadie, I love you. I love you more than life and death itself. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I -" I stopped him with a finger. Then, my heart threatening to burst with joy, I kissed him. If he was surprised, it was clearly overridden by his happiness in the moment. He kissed me back, putting one arm across my lower back and another behind my head, gently stroking my hair. I flung both arms around his neck, wishing that moment could last forever.

When it finally ended – hours, days, weeks later, I don't know – I looked at him, our eyes dazzling with joy. "I love you too, Anubis. I always have. And nothing is ever going to come between us." He gave me a rare smile, clearly overjoyed, and then kissed me again. After that, he showed me what he had planned. He had thought of everything; a romantic dinner, candlelit in front of the fire, it was beautiful. When we finished, he gave me a single rose that had appeared out of nowhere. He tickled the back of my neck and made me giggle, before kissing me again. Honestly, I thought Zia and Carter were romantic, but Anubis could give lessons to Aphrodite herself.

He let go of me for a moment, and turned to a CD player I had failed to notice earlier on his desk. When he pressed the play button, I almost laughed when it started playing A Whole New World. "What?" he asked, worried he had done something wrong.

"Nothing," I answered. "It's just that I always loved this song." He smiled, and the pulled me close to him. We danced slowly on the spot, my head in his shoulder, his arms wrapped lovingly around me. Then he leaned in for another long kiss.

Slowly, it became more heated, and my heart started to pound in my chest. His hands went around me, one to my back, and the other to my neck. He rubbed the small of my back, and I melted in his arms, the happiest girl in the world. His other hand stroked my hair, and he led me to his bed, before slowly lowering us down onto it, him lying on top of me, still kissing and still rubbing my back. Seeing where this was going, I moved my hands around to unbutton his shirt. When he realised what I was doing, he smiled and slipped his hand under my blouse.

He moved around to kiss my neck, and I finally undid his shirt. He was lean and his muscles were toned, but they weren't pumped up or prominent. It made him look like the guy that always stands in the corner at parties, good-looking, but never enough to stand out. That was exactly who he was, and I loved him all the more for it.

I lifted his arms up and took his shirt off completely, before working on his black jeans. As I undid those, he unzipped my shorts and pulled them down, before undoing my blouse, showing the tankini style bra and slim pants I was wearing. I took my blouse off as he removed his jeans, leaving us in nothing but our underwear. The tent that was developing in his boxers showed his arousal quite clearly, and I nearly giggled at the sight of it. I made to take them off, when his hands moved to stop me. He looked at me with concern.

"Sadie, are you sure you want to do this?"

"I've always been sure."

"Then there's something you should know." He paused, figuring out what to say next. "The Egyptian gods are not like the Greek ones. Love is a far more serious concept. Whoever we first make love to becomes our eternal soulmate." I smiled.

"That's fine by me." I said.

"You don't understand. Our soulmates stay with us forever. You will become immortal, just as I am, and everyone else you know from the mortal world will be left behind. You will outlive everyone you know. Carter, Zia, the other magicians. Could you give them up, for me?" His eyes shone as he looked at me, clearly desperate for me to say yes. But I hesitated; the thought of giving up everyone I knew for Anubis - that was pretty damn big. I would watch Carter and Zia grow old together, have kids, grandchildren and die in a flash. Could I really do that to them? To me?

But then, I looked back into Anubis' eyes, and I realised; living with him forever was exactly what I'd always wanted, since I first laid eyes on him when I was twelve. And besides, my father was the host of Osiris, lord of the underworld; even after death, I could see Carter and Zia whenever I wanted.

I looked into Anubis' eyes and smiled. "Of course I would. You would give up everything for me, and I would always do the same for you." He smiled, and I swear his eyes literally lit up.

" I love you Sadie, forever and always." He kissed me again, and I knew I would never feel lonely again.

He broke away, and I slowly pulled his boxers down. "Alright then, Jackal Boy," I teased him. "Show me why I should keep you." He grinned, and then took my pants off. He positioned himself over me, and gently eased himself inside me. It was my first time, and I suspect it was his as well, so we knew it would hurt me slightly, so he took it slow and gentle, but when he had finally eased himself in completely, I gasped with pleasure, and nodded at him to continue. He gently started to thrust in and out; I was already in heaven. Slowly he increased speed, but didn't go too fast. We stayed that way for hours, he brought me to orgasm four times. As we enjoyed each other, I started to feel my soul change. I realised that I was becoming immortal, and he must have sensed it to, for he smiled and kissed me deeply. Several sunlit days later, or so it seemed, I felt him begin to climax. I put my arms around him and kissed him, and sent us both over the edge. A wave of pleasure cascaded through my body, and he literally howled with pleasure.

He crashed down beside me, panting like a jackal (A/N: Yes, I know, it's done on purpose). When we recovered, he wrapped his arms around me, and I snuggled into his chest, and we lay like that for a moment before I reached up and kissed him. When I pulled away, I noticed his ears had become pointier and longer. "Your ears have grown," I told him.

"Oh," he reached up and felt them. "I guess it's just the jackal in me coming out." He smiled, then we both burst out laughing. Eventually, we fell asleep, me still in his arms. The last thing I thought was about having to tell Carter about me becoming immortal. But I was sure he would be happy about me and Anubis.

And besides, I've caught him and Zia doing much worse than this.