"I'd like to thank our guests for their visit and wish them well on their journey home." The glint in his eye made me uneasy, but I had no idea why. Maybe this needed to be the first piece of information I slipped to Abu. Though I wasn't sure how useful the vague assertion that Seth was up to no good would be.
Ra stood up in response, and it was only then I noted how little I'd seen him during this visit. Had he been closeted with Seth? And if he had, then what would that mean for the rest of our society? Or the world. I didn't think the general population of the world would be saved if the gods went to war, even when they no longer believed in the gods' existence.
"I would like to raise a toast to Seth, our gracious host," Ra's voice boomed out as he dipped his head towards the other god. "To Seth."
His cohort lifted their goblets, and the priests and priestesses of Seth's temple raised theirs in response, but it was clear to anyone watching that their hearts weren't quite as in it. I'd long ago learned that they were only one step above us slaves. Most of them didn't want to serve Seth, but had been tricked into it. Though there were a few exceptions, just like Charaxos was the exception from the slaves.
"To Seth," they all mumbled.
To my surprise, the god of chaos dipped his head. Humility looked odd on him, and only convinced me further that he was plotting something.
The two gods sat back down and the general chatter of the banquet started once more. On the pretence of going to get more wine to serve, I moved away from the table I was supposed to wait on, and crept behind the main dais. No one noticed me. They had no reason to. Even if Seth had whipped me in front of everyone, I was still a nameless, faceless slave. The only thing they cared about was that he'd shown his power and control. Though the slaves and lower priests may have noticed.
"Is everything set?" Seth asked his high priest.
Motep nodded. "Just as you instructed."
I paused for a moment, trying to work out what they were talking about and hoping they were going to say more.
"I wouldn't linger long, if I were you."
I startled at the sound of Amun's voice. Trying to hide my shock, I looked up at him.
"I was just going to get some more wine." I lifted the mostly empty jug as if to illustrate my point, badly. We both knew that wasn't why I was here.
He raised an eyebrow. "You know where it is."
I let out a breath I wasn't aware I held. "You're just going to let this go?" The question slipped out without me wanting it to.
He chuckled. "You've stayed out of trouble for millennia, what's with this sudden determination to get yourself killed?" He seemed more amused by my plight than anything else, but I didn't want to focus on what that could mean.
"I don't know what you mean," I tried.
"And neither do I. But don't let me catch you again," he warned, pretending he had no idea what I was up to. "I won't ever get you into trouble, but that doesn't mean other people aren't watching."
I blinked a couple of times, his words not making any sense. "But why help me at all?"
Amun shrugged. "Maybe I'm not as bad a man as you think I am."
The assurance that I didn't think he was a bad man anyway settled on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. I had no idea why Amun was doing what he was, and I knew better than to question a god, particularly one who was still believed in enough to have his powers.
He gave me one last smile before returning to his seat at the feast. Amun confused me. There was no doubt about that. But I didn't think he was involved with whatever it was that could threaten Abu and the rest of Ra's retinue. Their safety was the first thing on my mind right now.
I hurry away from the dais, knowing that if Seth caught me, I was going to end up in more trouble than just some whip marks on my back, and then Ra's people would suffer the consequences.
Turning left on my way to the kitchens, I do my best to catch Abu's eye. I hoped he'd pick up on my signal and meet me on my way back. For now, I needed to go and get some wine in case anyone questioned me on my way back. I didn't want to be caught without the one thing I was supposed to have.
It only took a few minutes to have my jug refilled. It wasn't enough time. I doubted that Abu would be able to get away from the people he was sat with and find me in it.
I walked as slowly as I dared, aware that I could be called over to serve someone wine at any point. That was one of the many disadvantages of being one of the many slaves here. People expected things from me. Far more than I wanted to give, especially when I had an agenda.
"Rhodopis," he whispered.
I jerked, sloshing wine over my hands. I didn't care. I set the jug down on a plinth. It would either be there when I got back, or one of the other servers would pick it up and use it. That hardly mattered, I had more important things I needed to do.
Slipping into the shadows, I let Abu cage me in his arms. If anyone passed, they'd dismiss us as nothing more than a couple having a tryst. Even better, people would probably think he'd requested my attention, and so long as no one figured out who
