This week's excerpt is from Mistress Of Sky And Stars, part of the Forgotten Gods: Origins series. It follows the forbidden romance of Nut and Geb and is set in Ancient Egypt.
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Copyright 2021 Laura Greenwood
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I glanced over my shoulder, checking that none of the others had followed us from the feast. Once I was certain they hadn't, I pulled Geb to me with the hem of his tunic and crushed my lips against his.
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tighter and deepening our kiss. I melted into him, knowing that the fact the others would frown upon us doing this only served to make us want it more. They'd created two halves of a whole with me and Geb, which made it impossible to fight what was between us.
Not that I really wanted to. Up until the moment we'd given in to our feelings, I'd never really considered this kind of relationship. I doubted if any of the other gods had either. It was something none of us had a need for according to our state of being.
But when I was with Geb, everything seemed so right. As if the wrongs of the world no longer existed, and everything was about the two of us and how we existed relevant to one another. It put everything else I'd ever wanted into perspective.
We pulled away from one another, and simply stood for a moment, our breathing ragged and our gazes locked. His hazel eyes bored into me, seeing the truth in my soul that no one else had even tried to find.
"You're sparkling," he whispered.
I broke eye contact with him to glance down at my arms. Sure enough, my dark blue skin glittered despite the dim light.
I sighed. "Having starlight embedded in my skin doesn't bode well for managing to sneak around," I quipped.
"I think it's beautiful." He reached out and brushed my cheek with the tips of his fingers. I assumed that must mean the stars were shining there too.
"It might be, but it also makes life more difficult than it has to be."
"Can you turn it off?" he asked.
I frowned. Could I? Now there was a question. From what I could see, the brightness of the stars on my skin varied based on my emotions, and the happiness I felt when I was alone with Geb has brought them out this time. But I'd never tried getting rid of them. Like all of the other gods, I could change aspects of my appearance at will, and sometimes create glamours. I'd made myself the same deep bronze as Tefnut once, but had turned my skin back to its natural dark blue after a matter of hours. It felt more me that way. But I hadn't erased the stars. I didn't want to. They were part of me and my role.
"I don't think so, but I've never tried," I voiced my thoughts aloud so he could be part of them.
"Never do," he responded, taking me a little by surprise. "They're part of what makes you who you are. I wouldn't want that to change."
A small smile spread over my face as warmth rose inside me. I wanted him to feel that way about me, more than I wanted to be that way about myself.
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Forgotten Gods: Origins
Fantasy Mythology Romance, Complete Series
