1. Jasmine

1

JASMINE

F irst kiss.

Jasmine had had many of those, and most had been exciting, but none compared to the one she had just shared with Ell-rom.

None even got close.

Perhaps it was the exhilaration of finally reconciling the elusive prince her tarot had promised with the flesh and blood male she'd saved from wasting away in a nonfunctioning stasis chamber.

A stasis chamber that had been inside a crashed escape pod, which had been ejected from an exploding alien ship. It could be a great script for a sci-fi movie in which Jasmine was the star, but ironically, she had never even auditioned for one of those.

The closest she had gotten to playing a part in a fantasy or a sci-fi production was when she had gotten a callback for a zombie apocalypse film. In the end, she had not gotten that part, which she hadn't been too sorry about.

Zombies freaked her out, and she wasn't a fan, but she had watched all the big sci-fi movies. All the Star Treks , Star Wars , Stargate , and Independence Day .

The last one was her favorite, especially the president's speech. But while most remembered the famous line, we will not go quietly into the night , Jasmine favored a different one— you will be fighting for our freedom not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live, to exist .

Jasmine chuckled.

The speech was epic, but in that film, the aliens were the enemy, and humans cooperated to save the planet, while, in reality, it was the opposite. The aliens were trying to save humanity, while humans were more divided than ever, and World War III was brewing.

Well, at least she was aligned with the good guys and was now part of an alternative reality that had been running parallel to the one that had prevailed throughout human history.

Until a few short weeks ago, Jasmine had no clue of its existence, and the most out-there thing she had ever done had been to join the Wicca community and practice a bit of harmless witchcraft. In her wildest dreams, she couldn't have imagined that it would lead her to kiss an alien prince who was part god, as in the mythological gods of yore, and part a completely alien race, the Kra-ell, who drank blood for sustenance.

It wasn't Ell-rom's alien origin that had made the kiss magical, though. It was the fact that it had been his first.

Ever.

Her prince had been a priest in training when he had been smuggled onto the settler ship, and Kra-ell priests were celibate. Ell-rom was a virgin, an innocent she had tempted with forbidden fruit…

Jasmine's fingers flew to her lips. "Oh, dear Goddess. What have I done?"

Ell-rom's eyelids, which had been at half-mast until she'd spoken, popped wide open. "What's wrong? Are you not allowed to kiss me?"

The guilty look in his eyes made it evident that he had been aware he was not supposed to get intimate with a woman, and yet he hadn't stopped her.

Jasmine wanted to believe that he had been overcome by desire or didn't care about his religious obligations because he couldn't remember them, but it was more likely that he felt indebted to her.

After all, she had saved him and his twin sister from death and then pulled him out of a coma by talking and singing to him for days.

No, it couldn't be gratitude.

Ell-rom still looked dazed and euphoric from the kiss, so it had to be lust or maybe even some tender feelings that Jasmine didn't dare hope for.

Nevertheless, she should have been mindful of his situation and not tempted him. He shouldn't succumb to desire until he remembered more about his past and figured out where he stood concerning his religious convictions.

"I'm so sorry." She took his hand. "Well, that's a lie. I'm not sorry that I kissed you. I'm sorry about you being a celibate priest and for tempting you to do something that you were not supposed to."

As Ell-rom frowned, guilt made Jasmine shift her gaze away from his handsome face and look at the wall behind his hospital bed. The unadorned, cream-colored walls and medical equipment were a reminder of his vulnerable condition. She had just taken advantage of a male who, only a day ago, hadn't been able to remember his own name.

"I don't recall what being a priest entailed," he said. "I don't even remember what I was taught about spirituality. The only reason I know I was a priest is that you, Jade, and Annani told me about it." He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Jade said it was my mother's way to protect my sister and me. We didn't look Kra-ell, and we were in mortal danger if we were discovered. They didn't tolerate hybrids where we came from. The only way she could hide us was to put us in the temple where we were protected by the head priestess and the robing that veiled us from head to toe. It wasn't our choice to join the priesthood. Do I have to follow a path I didn't choose?"

Jasmine wanted to say that he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to or didn't feel duty-bound to do, but the truth was that neither of them knew what his life had been like in the temple. What if he had found it satisfying to dedicate himself to serving the Mother of All Life and helping others with their spiritual journey?

Despite her love of carnal pleasures, Jasmine could understand how giving it all up could be fulfilling when it was done in the service of others.

To internalize people's plights and offer genuine compassion, it was necessary to give up something meaningful or experience hardships.

Being a spiritual leader was about more than just leading prayers and rituals.

"Perhaps we should wait until you remember your choices," she said, even though it pained her. "I don't want to lead you astray from your beliefs. When you remember more about who you are, you might realize that you loved dedicating your life to the service of others."

"What others?" Ell-rom asked.

Jasmine looked up at him. "Jade and her people might need a spiritual leader."

He looked at her for a long moment, his piercing blue eyes holding hers captive. "I may not remember my past, but I know how I feel right now, and I know that I enjoyed that kiss far too much to give it up." He took her hand and brought it to his lips for a sweet, feathery kiss. "I enjoy you too much to give you up."

It was a relief to hear him say that, but it didn't assuage her guilt. She still felt responsible for leading him away from his faith. "I was hoping that would be your answer. Indeed, I hope it will still be your answer after your memories return. But I don't want to become your regret."

"Never." He pulled her toward him. "But just to be sure I'm making the right decision, I'll need another kiss."

His humor surprised and delighted her. It must be innate because he hadn't had enough life experience since he had woken up to learn and emulate it, and his memory loss meant that he couldn't have remembered it from his past.

Ell-rom's face fell. "I see that you don't want to kiss me again. Was my first attempt so inadequate?"

"Oh, Ell-rom." Jasmine cupped his cheek. "Of course, I want to kiss you again." She leaned in and brushed her lips over his. "It's just that my mind tends to race, even when it's not supposed to."

He frowned. "In which ways was it racing?"

She shrugged. "Just a lot of silly questions that you can't answer."

"Like what?" He leaned into her palm, his eyelids going to half-mast.

"Are you tired?" She brushed her other hand over his nearly bald head.

"Not too tired to hear you talk. I love the sound of your voice."

Jasmine chuckled. "You just want another kiss."

"Yes, that too. But I want to know what's on your mind." He lifted his head and smiled at her. "You seem to have thousands of thoughts swirling around at any given moment, and I want to know all of them."

That made her laugh. "Believe me, you don't want to look inside my crazy, busy head, although you probably can."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The immortals can look into the minds of humans, and since you share ancestors, you should be able to do that as well."

"It doesn't seem right to me." He tapped his temple. "Even though there isn't much anyone can gain from looking into the fragmented pieces of my mind, I wouldn't have wanted anyone invading my thoughts without my permission."

"They can't do that to you. You are one of them."

He looked confused. "Can they only read the minds of humans?"

Jasmine nodded. "But they don't do it unless it's necessary." She looked up at the camera installed near the ceiling and lowered her voice. "But I have to wonder how many do so despite the prohibition. It's not like anyone can find out. And without enforcement, most people will ignore it and do as they please, especially when there is so much to gain and so little to lose."

Ell-rom pursed his lips. "What about honor? If they vow to uphold the law, that should be enough."

"Not all are equally honorable," Jasmine whispered. "I can't speak about the immortals because I haven't been part of their community for long, but since they are part human, and humans are not all honorable, I have to assume that the same is true of the immortals."

Ell-rom's expression darkened. "Did any of them enter your mind?"

Jasmine suspected that one of the gods had bitten her to speed up her recovery after she'd twisted her ankle, and then had made her forget it. But even if she was right, the gods were not part of the immortal community, and therefore not bound by the same rules.

Should she confide her suspicions to Ell-rom?

It felt right to share everything with the male she was falling in love with, but he was still so weak, and it wasn't fair to burden him with too much too soon.

On the other hand, she didn't want to hide things from him, and the way he looked at her expectantly, her only choices were to tell him what she suspected or lie.

"There was this one incident during our trek through the mountains when we were looking for you."

A growl emanated from deep in Ell-rom's throat. "Who did that?" he hissed.

His sudden vehemence was in such stark contrast to his otherwise affable demeanor that it was quite jarring.

Jasmine raised a hand. "Hold on. Don't get mad yet. I twisted my ankle and was in a lot of pain. I fell asleep while taking a short rest, and my ankle felt much better when I woke up. I suspect that one of the gods thralled me to go to sleep, gave me a dose of his venom to heal me, and then thralled me again to make me forget it."

Ell-rom's brow furrowed. "What do you mean that he gave you a dose of venom? Where did he get it from, and why did he hide it from you?"

"Oh boy." She let out a breath. "There is so much you still need to learn about yourself. You know that you have fangs, right?"

Jasmine had felt them elongate when they kissed, but she hadn't been surprised or alarmed. Being with Edgar had taught her how to navigate around them to avoid getting nicked.

Ell-rom lifted a finger and touched his canines, which were back to normal by now. "Isn't that part of my Kra-ell heritage? They need fangs to drink blood. I don't, but I still have them."

Jasmine scrunched her nose. "Not exactly. They are also?—"

Her words were cut off as the door to the room swung open, and Bridget walked in.

The medic paused in the doorway, taking in the scene of Jasmine perched on the edge of Ell-rom's bed, their hands intertwined. "Am I interrupting?" she asked, a knowing smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Jasmine let go of his hand. "I was just about to explain to Ell-rom about his fangs and what they are for, but you can probably do a better job of it than me."

Bridget regarded her with a twinkle in her eyes. "I can explain while I do my checkup. Why don't you get some fresh air while I'm at it? Maybe grab a cup of coffee?"

"Good idea." Jasmine shifted her gaze to Ell-rom. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Do you want me to get you something from the café?" She turned to Bridget. "Can I get Ell-rom coffee? He's probably never had it."

Bridget shook her head. "You can give him a tiny sip of yours to taste. But you can get him some more vegetable soup."

Jasmine arched a brow. "I didn't know they had soup there."

"They do now." Bridget turned to her and smiled. "Since the clan owns this building and the café belongs to us, we can ask them to get whatever we want."

That made sense.

The clan owned half of the high-rises on this downtown Los Angeles Street, and the humans renting apartments and offices in the buildings above had no clue that their landlord was a clan of immortals.

They also didn't know that there was a vast underground complex sprawling beneath them.