Serpent Of The Crown: Forgotten Gods, #11

By Laura Greenwood

The goddess of Lower Egypt is searching for her counterpart.

 

Wadjet might have returned to Karnak, but she knows that she needs more in order to regain a fraction of the power she used to wield.

 

After calling in a favour with Kherty to use his barge to travel the Nile, Wadjet sets out in search of the thing she's missing.

 

Can she find it before it's too late?

 

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Serpent Of The Crown is part of the Forgotten Gods series and is based on Egyptian mythology. It includes a dash of adventure, a m/f romance, and can be read as a standalone.

 

If you enjoy Egyptian mythology, gods and goddesses, quests and adventures, and a modern setting, then you should start the Forgotten Gods series!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Drowlgon Press
• Release date: Sep 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201555252

Laura Greenwood

Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy romance. When she's not writing, she drinks a lot of tea, tries to resist French macarons, and works towards a diploma in Egyptology. She lives in the UK, where most of her books are set. Laura specialises in quick reads, with healthy relationships and consent positive moments regardless of if she's writing light-hearted romance, mythology-heavy urban fantasy, or anything in between. You can find a full book list and more information on her website, or in The Paranormal Council Facebook Group. Happy Reading!

Book preview

One

I made my way through the halls of Karnak, drawing hardly any attention from the priests and priestesses who were going about their daily duties. A small part of me wanted to transform into my naga form in order to give them something to stare at, but I wasn't sure that was the wisest use of my magic. I could already feel the amount within me starting to slip away.

That was the problem with the world forgetting my name. It affected my magic in ways I didn't want to imagine. I wouldn't die, but I'd also lose the ability to talk to snakes and transform into one myself.

I pushed the thought to the side. In all likelihood, I just needed to find Nekhbet and reaffirm our bond as the Two Ladies of Egypt. Either that, or I'd need to return to my place of creation to regain some of my powers.

It had been too long since I'd spent time in Lower Egypt, though that was partly due to my unintended stay in Seth's compound as his distinguished guest.

A soft hiss escaped me even at the thought of the other god. I had no idea what had been done with him since he'd been brought back to Karnak, but I couldn't imagine he was walking free.

If he was, then I would be leaving the first chance I got.

I turned a corner and came to a stop outside the temple of my old friend. I sucked in a breath, trying to still the nerves rising inside me as I faced it. Did she know what had happened to me? Or did she think I'd abandoned her?

There was only one way to find out, even if I was loathed to do it.

Slowly, I raised my fist and knocked on the temple door. Waiting was excruciating, and with every moment that passed, I found myself worrying that Nekhbet was punishing me for leaving her when that was far from the truth.

There was no way she'd know it was me on this side of the door without looking. And I was assuming the worst of someone who had stood by my side no matter what.

The door swung open and a young priestess with a sleepy expression on her face looked out at me. What can I do for you, Your Eminence? she asked.

I raised an eyebrow. She was either guessing that I was a goddess, or recognised me.

I'm here to see Nekhbet, I said, though that much should be obvious considering I was standing at her door.

An uncomfortable expression crossed the woman's face. I'm sorry, Your Eminence, she's not here.

Ah. It was as I feared, she didn't want to see me. Will you tell her...

I can't, the priestess responded a little more forcefully. She hasn't been at Karnak in about five years. I don't know where she is.

I frowned. What happened? There was a slight hiss to my words, probably as a result of not spending much time speaking. I always found that to be the case. Once I was used to being around others again, I'd be able to get rid of it.

She shrugged. She said she had to leave to tend to her duties elsewhere. We thought she'd be gone for a day or two at most, that's normally what happens, but then she didn't come back.

Did no one look for her? Worry settled within me. What if Seth had caught Nekhbet too? She hadn't been imprisoned at the compound, but that didn't mean there weren't other places he used to detain his own kind.

Of course. We sent word around some of her temples. The last I knew, she was in Nekhen about six weeks ago, but no one has reported seeing her since.

Six weeks, I echoed.

She nodded. Does that mean something?

Only that she couldn't have been captured by Seth. Not when he was already detained here at that point.

Not really, I responded instead of voicing my thoughts. Thanks for your help. I offered her a tight smile, being careful not to reveal my fangs in the process. She'd probably guessed who I was, but there was still no reason to scare her. I could retract them, but that took up precious magic that I didn't truly possess right now.

Unlike most of the other gods, I found it difficult to maintain an appearance other than the one I was created with. Which meant it was green skin and fangs most of the time. It was only when I was in human company that I changed into a less threatening persona.

The priestess dipped her head and closed the door, leaving me staring at the intricate carvings decorating it. That complicated things a little. If I wasn't able to see Nekhbet, then there was less chance that a simple reaffirmation of our roles towards Egypt certainly wouldn't be enough to fix the lack of magic inside me.

Which left me without many options, and certainly without any easy ones to achieve. Unlike in years gone by, I couldn't just charge some of my priestesses to help me travel across the land. Nor did I have the energy to transform into a snake and use that form to travel undetected. There were too many people around these days, and none of them had any idea about who I was.

Or if they did, it was just as a vague figure who they sometimes recognised in a painting, not as the powerful goddess I used to be.

It was hard to reconcile the truth of my reality with what I wanted. I knew some of the other gods were happy that they got to live their lives on their own terms now and not on that of the humans who we were created to serve and protect. But if anything, I felt that our presence in the world was more important than ever. We were supposed to safeguard and nurture. When the humans knew our roles, they would