Mistress of Sky and Stars by Laura Greenwood

Author:Laura Greenwood [Greenwood, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Drowlgon Press

Chapter Six

Geb put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him. I leaned against his shoulder, grateful to have his support. Not that there wasn't more of it coming from gods and goddesses all the time. Other than Thoth and Taweret, none of them offered to help us directly, but I kept returning to my rooms and finding gifts for either me or the babies. They wouldn't be doing that if they didn't want to support me.

"We don't have to witness this," he whispered to me.

I sighed loudly. "We do, and you know it. We can't ask either of them to risk themselves for us if we aren't even willing to watch it happen."

He nodded, and the two of us lapsed back into silence as we waited for Thoth and Khonsu to arrive. I wasn't sure how much the moon god had agreed to already, but I doubted he was going to say no if he was already on his way to meet us.

Thoth entered the room first, giving us a tight-lipped smile as he did. That was about as good as it got from the god of wisdom, being stoic was in his nature. I hoped he never changed, there was something very reassuring about his presence and the way he acted. I liked it.

"Good evening, all," Khonsu said brightly as he walked in.

I raised an eyebrow. That wasn't the greeting I'd expected given the circumstances, but I wasn't about to question my good fortune when it was clear a lot could depend on the outcome of this meeting.

"I'm given to understand we're wagering for days outside the normal year?" he asked the three of us.

"Yes," Thoth answered.

"Then I suggest we play senet," Khonsu announced lifting up the arm under which he carried a large board.

He met my gaze and winked, letting understanding dawn on me. Tears sprang to the corners of my eyes as it sunk in that he was doing everything he could to help, without getting himself into trouble. Khonsu was well known for enjoying playing the board game, but he was notoriously bad at it. As far as I knew, he hadn't beaten anyone at it, and if he had, it was only the once.

Had Thoth even managed to plan this?

The god of knowledge avoided looking at me, which suggested he had.

"Very well. You shall play against me," Thoth said. "Best of five?"

"A day for each won game?" Khonsu responded.

"That sounds good to me, why don't you set up?" Thoth gestured to a pair of reed mats already positioned on the floor with two goblets of wine waiting for the gods.

He'd definitely planned this. Or the two of them had together. It didn't matter anyway, for the help they were giving Geb and me, I was going to be eternally in their debts.

I bit my lip as the first game began. It quickly became clear that the rumours about Khonsu's game playing ability weren't at all exaggerated. It was impressive how badly he

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