Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos-Theo 1 by R. L. Lafevers, Yoko Tanaka

I pressed up against her face as long as I could before she pulled away. I did have six months to catch up on, you know.
    "Thank you so much for getting us a decent supper tonight." She began to rummage around the sideboard until she found enough plates and cutlery to set the table. Then we all three sat down to dinner. It wasn't steak and kidney pie, and it wasn't home, but it
was
family, and mostly it
was
lovely.

    Father bit into a plump, savory pasty and closed his eyes in appreciation.
    "So, Mum," I asked, leaning forward. "What was it
really
like? Did you have to sleep in a tent this time? Did you see any live scarab beetles?"
    Father opened his eyes. "I forgot to ask you earlier: has the Egyptian independence movement gotten any worse?" he asked.
    "Well, The Consul General definitely has his hands full with the growing Egyptian nationalist movement," Mum said around a bite of meat pie. "They're still demanding that the British evacuate the country."
    I sighed and began munching on my pasty while the conversation wandered back to Egyptian politics.
    Then I flinched as Father's fist crashed down on the table. "That wouldn't be an issue if that confounded Lord Cromer hadn't been so bloody-minded and autocratic! It could bring our work in the Valley of the Kings to a standstill."
    "True," Mum agreed, not even batting an eyelash at Father's outburst. She had nerves of steel, my mum.
    Anxious to turn the conversation to happier things, I asked, "Did you get to ride a camel this time?"
    Mum leaned across the table toward Father. "You had heard that Kamil went and formed a National Party, hadn't you? Lots of anti-British sentiment there."

    "Yes. Is there any substance to the rumor that they're being funded in part by the Germans?" Father asked.
    "No one knows. But, in response, Lutfi as-Sayyid has formed a People's Party. He'll be a bit more cooperative but is probably still aiming toward eventual home rule."
    I heaved another sigh of boredom. How my parents could make something as exciting as Egypt sound boring, I'll never know.
    "I'm sorry, dear." Mum reached over and patted my arm. "How tedious this must all be for you. Tell me, what have you been doing with yourself since I was gone?"
    Delighted that the conversation had turned to something interesting—
me
—I happily began telling Mother everything I'd been doing while she was away.
    After dinner I kept talking, trying to keep us all at the table so I could savor being together again. As we sat there, Mother suddenly put her hand to her cheek. "Oh, darling! How could I have forgotten? I brought you something."
    I perked up at that. Sometimes Mother found the most lovely presents.
    She got up from the table and rummaged around in her traveling satchel and pulled out a long, rolled-up parchment. "This is a rubbing of the tablets we found in the section of the pyramid we opened. They are Amenemhab's secret writings on the art of war." She squinted at the first line of hieroglyphics. "
How to Cast Your Enemies into Chaos,
" she read aloud, rather pleased with herself.

    "Oh, Mum! That's wonderful. Thank you." I reached out for the parchment and unrolled the thick paper, my eyes dancing over the rows and rows of hieroglyphs that paraded across the page.
    I threw my arms around her. "I'll just curl up in the chair by the fire and read now, so you and Father can talk."
    "Well, darling, your father and I need to talk business."
    "Don't worry. I'll be as quiet as a mouse, I promise."
    "Actually, Theodosia," Father said, "your mother and I need to talk in private. Why don't you go off to that closet of yours? You can read your new rubbing in there."
    My shoulders drooped. "Yes, Father. If you insist."
    "I do. Go on now."
    I shuffled toward the door, then turned to look at them over my shoulder. "You won't forget to come and get me when it's time to go home, will you?"
    "Of course not, dear," Mum said. "We won't be long."
    As I stepped out of the sitting room into the cold, dim