44. Jasmine

44

JASMINE

J asmine let out a breath when the prince's eyes fluttered closed, and his breathing slowed to a steady, even rhythm.

He was so lost, and when he finally remembered who he was and why he had been sent to Earth, he might be even more lost than he was now.

Her heart ached for him.

She hadn't lied about not knowing all the details, but she knew that he and his sister were considered abominations in their home world and that they had been sequestered in the temple and covered from head to toe to hide who they were.

If their secret came out, they would have been killed by their people, and their mother would have shared their fate for her transgression. That was why the queen had sent her children to Earth on the settler ship, knowing she would never see them again.

She had done it to save them.

Although now that Jasmine had seen what the Kra-ell looked like, she couldn't fathom how the queen had thought to pull it off. The prince looked like the gods, not the Kra-ell; the same was true for his sister. If everything had gone according to plan and the ship had arrived when it had been supposed to, the settlers would have woken up and discovered the two hybrids among them.

Perhaps the plan was for the twins to pretend to be gods who had joined the expedition.

That actually made sense.

There had not been all that many gods on Earth, and the settlers could have chosen to settle somewhere far away from them so they wouldn't have anyone to compare the twins to.

If only the prince could remember his mother's instructions, they could have had answers to so many questions.

Perhaps his sister would remember more, although Jasmine doubted that. She hadn't woken up yet, which implied a worse condition than her brother's, so her brain might be more severely damaged.

At least the prince was coherent, and she was thankful for that.

With a sigh, Jasmine let go of his hand, rose from her chair, and made her way to the kitchen.

The enormous place was deserted as usual, but she knew where the coffeemaker was and got busy brewing a fresh pot.

What did they use this kitchen for? It looked like something that belonged in a venue. She could easily imagine a large team of chefs and kitchen staff preparing food for a wedding or some other event.

Sitting at the counter with a mug of coffee, she thought about Margo and wondered if her friend had talked with her mate about shadowing Lynda.

She pulled out her phone and typed up a message to Margo.

Her phone rang a few moments later.

"Yes, I did," Margo said. "And Negal had a much better idea than following her around. We will attach a tiny bug drone to her, and it will record everything she does until it runs out of power. Hopefully, we will get something by then, and if not, I will collect the dead drone and replace it with a new one. Lynda is so self-absorbed that she won't even notice."

"How small is that drone?"

"Smaller than a mosquito. They brought a bunch of them from their home planet, and it's precious, so they can't afford to lose any of them, but I don't intend on letting it get lost. I'll get it back for them."

"Sounds good to me. By the way, the prince is awake."

"I know. Negal told me. He also told me that the guy doesn't remember his name."

"He doesn't, and he's very upset about it. Where are you now?"

"Negal and I are collecting my stupid bridesmaid dress."

Jasmine chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "Are you going to introduce him to your family?"

Margo sighed. "Eventually I'll have to, but not yet. I told them I met someone in the witness protection program, and I'm dating him, so I can keep telling them he's on missions until I'm ready to present him. What about you?"

Jasmine laughed. "Thankfully, I don't have such problems. Even if I had someone to introduce to my father, I wouldn't. The less he knows about my life, the better."

"You have someone," Margo said. "The prince. How did he respond to you?"

"He's very sweet and grateful for my presence, but he can't stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, so it's not like we have fallen madly in love and are about to live happily ever after."

Jasmine had a feeling that the road ahead was full of obstacles, and not just because of the prince's damaged memory. Naturally, there were obvious cultural differences between them, and if she wanted to bridge them, she needed to find someone who knew about the Kra-ell culture.

Not that the prince had grown up like other Kra-ell boys. His only companion had been his sister, and the only other people he'd come in contact with were his mother and the priestess, who must have known who and what they were and had protected them.

"Well, according to the cards, you will have your happily ever after with him," Margo said.

"I was shown a prince in my future. The cards didn't promise me a good ending."

"Then do another spread," Margo suggested. "If they could tell you that Lynda was unfaithful to Rob, they can tell you whether you will live happily ever after with your prince. You just need to ask the right question."

Jasmine swallowed. "I'm not ready to ask them that question. In fact, I don't think I should."

"Why not?"

"Because not everything is predetermined, and some things need to unfold on their own."