The Queen Of Gods

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Thankfully, Khonsu had been right about Horus not bothering with an amulet to protect against me entering his temple. He probably couldn't put one up without blocking people he wanted to visit him, the moon god included.

I sauntered in, trying to project as much confidence as I could into my movements. It wasn't that hard. The moment I'd become goddess of dance, my body had become fluid and graceful. There was no way to feel insecure in it. Especially when my beauty aspect had been added to it. That one hadn't changed me in the slightest, instead, it had filled me with the knowledge that every person is beautiful in their own unique way, and that flaws didn't hide that beauty. The opposite was true. An imperfection was part of what made someone them, and it gave a chance for their true beauty to shine through.

Not that all the people who had prayed to me for help with their beauty understood that. Most of the time, when someone asked for help with their appearance, all I had to do was gift them a small amount of confidence, and then they shone on their own. It was one of the things I most enjoyed doing, and it was a shame I didn't get to experience it any more. The gods and demis mostly didn't need the help in that department, and hardly any humans asked for mine. And without the requests, there was nothing I could do.

"Your Eminence," Horus' priest said, surprise in his tone. I should learn the man's name if I was going to keep turning up here. It was rude of me to keep thinking of him as the man.

"I'm here to see Horus."

"He said..."

"I know what he'll have said," I cut him off. "But I'm not going to listen to him."

The man sighed, as if he'd known what I was going to say before I had. As I'd noted before, he was smart.

"I'll make my way through," I said.

The priest nodded, no doubt resigned to the sparring match between two deities he'd managed to get himself caught in.

"You again? I was hoping for someone prettier," Horus drawled from where he was lounging on his throne.

"Unfortunately, Khonsu is busy right now," I said sweetly. "So you'll have to put up with me."

"I told you not to come here again."

"And I decided not to listen. I can be annoying like that."

The expression on his face was impossible to read, even as I got closer to him. Was he more bemused or annoyed? The truth was, I'd probably never find out.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that," he muttered.

"I know what I want, and then I go get it," I informed him. "And right now, I want you to agree to Ma'at's plan."

I was level with his throne now. I could have climbed the platform it was on and stood next to him, but I didn't need to. One thing Horus still had to learn about me was that I didn't take kindly to shows of power that didn't mean anything. Which was exactly what he was doing right now.

"I'm not going to do that."

"Why?"

His surprise at my question cut through his carefully configured mask, revealing that hadn't been the question he'd expected me to ask.

"Isn't it your job to protect the people?" I asked.

"The people don't want protecting any more," he responded.

"And that means your job no longer exists? I didn't think that was what it meant to be Pharaoh." I started to pace back and forth, tapping my chin as if I was thinking while I did. I wasn't sure if this line of reasoning was going to get through to him, but I had to hope it would.

"The time of the Pharaohs is long passed." He leaned back in his chair, not seeming to care about anything. "Now is the time for me to relax. You should try it some time, Hathor. It might stop some of those wrinkles from forming."

I snorted. "You're going to resort to telling me I look old?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "We both know I don't look a day over twenty-five at the most. Nor do you. Or any of the others. That kind of insult isn't going to work on me."

He crossed his arms and glared at me.

"Besides, I have been relaxing. I've done nothing but enjoy myself for thousands of years. But enough is enough. The people may have forsaken us, but that gives us no excuse. We have the power to protect and serve them, and just because the humans have forgotten us for now, it doesn't mean we don't still have that responsibility. We should be doing our best to save lives despite how the humans act about us."

"Do you actually believe the nonsense you're spouting?" he asked.

"Yes." The word surprised me. At first, I'd thought it was nothing more than an argument I wanted to use to convince him, but now I'd said the words out loud, I realised how true they were. I really did feel that way. And a small part of me hated myself for being so complacent for so long.

But self-loathing wouldn't change anything. The best way for me to undo any of the damage I'd done was to move forward and start living by the words I'd said. I had to protect people. That was why I was doing Ma'at's bidding, after all. Simply because a child moved out of their parents home, it didn't stop them being a family. That was the same for the humans of the world. They'd moved on from us. There was no way to deny it, and I wasn't going to try. But that didn't mean I shouldn't still help them if I could.

Once this was over with Seth, I was going to do my best to find ways to help people without them having to ask for it first. One must exist. I just had to figure out the how.

"You're deluded, Hathor," Horus shot at me, breaking through my thoughts.

"And so are you," I responded. "Do you really think Seth is going to leave you alone once he's done with the rest of us?"

He shrugged. "I've defeated him before, I'll do it again."

"Yes, you defeated him once. When you were at the height of your power, and he had less of his. But things have changed, Horus. He's spent all of this time recruiting followers and doing what he can to consolidate his power. And what have you done? Nothing but sit on your throne and enjoy life's pleasures."

He scowled at me, but made no move to leave the room. Perhaps he saw the truth in what I was saying after all. It wouldn't matter today. I didn't think there was anything I could say or do to convince him that he needed to join us right now. But when he'd had time to think about it, when he couldn't see my face and be annoyed by my very existence, then perhaps he'd come around.

I sighed dramatically. "I came here to blackmail you," I admitted.

Surprise flitted over his face. "And?"

"I'm not going to bother."

"It wouldn't have worked anyway," he pointed out.

"Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. You hate the rumours that we're mother and son. I could have said something to make them worse."

"Which would affect you too," he countered.

"Perhaps. But also, probably not. I'm the goddess of motherhood, remember? Which would probably be less weird if I had a child." How was I getting dragged into this again? "But it doesn't matter. I'm not going to do it."

"Why?"

I let an amused smile lift the corners of my lips. "Because you're going to join the cause yourself. You don't know it yet, but the thoughts are already circling your mind. Wouldn't it have been easier to defeat Seth all those years ago with dozens of other gods and goddesses standing behind you? That's what we can offer this time. You don't have to do it alone."

I considered waiting for him to respond, but decided against it. There was very little point when he wasn't going to accept the way things were yet. And I didn't blame him for that. It wasn't as if I'd come around straight away myself. Which made my decision simple. It was time for me to leave and let him think about it.

I spun on my heels, and stalked off back through his temple.

His priest stepped forward as I passed him, but backed off when he saw the determined expression on my face.

I wasn't sure how I knew, but this visit to Horus' temple meant I had two down, and two to go. Those were better odds than I thought they'd be when I'd woken up this morning.