47. Jasmine

47

JASMINE

T he prince looked so puzzled that his expression was almost comical, but the last thing Jasmine felt like was laughing.

Did she really say that?

I wanted you to like me.

"I don't understand," he said.

"No, of course, you don't." She grappled for words to explain what she'd said without sounding ridiculous, but before she could come up with something profound, Jade strode into the room without bothering to knock or announce her presence in any other way.

Evidently, there were significant cultural differences between what Jasmine considered polite and what the Kra-ell considered acceptable behavior.

"Greetings, holy brother." Jade lifted a fist to her chest. "I am Je-Kara, first daughter of the tribe of Thar'ok, a former member of the queen's guard."

The prince's eyes widened, a flicker of recognition sparking in their depths as he struggled to push up against the back of the hospital bed.

"Greetings, Mistress Je-Kara. Do I know you?"

Jasmine wasn't surprised that Jade wasn't the female's real name, and Je-Kara was much more fitting, but why had the prince prefixed it with mistress?

The female made him nervous, which Jasmine could understand. Jade was intimidating as hell, but she couldn't be his superior if he was the prince, and she was just a guard, right?

"No, you do not," Jade said. "I have seen you and your sister from afar, but you've probably never noticed me."

Some of the tension in his shoulders released, and he offered Jade a tentative smile. "Even if I did notice you, Mistress Je-Kara, the first daughter of the tribe of Thar'ok, I am afraid that my memory is malfunctioning, and I cannot even remember my own name. If you know me, I would very much appreciate it if you could tell me what I am called."

Jade inclined her head. "In our culture, priestesses in training are called holy sister in training, and in your case, holy brother in training. You were the first Kra-ell male ever to enter the priesthood." She smiled. "And please, call me Je-Kara or Jade, as I prefer to be called here on Earth. Je-Kara was never a name fit for a warrior."

His eyes sparkled with amusement. "Perhaps I should also adopt an earthly name until I remember the one that was given to me at birth. What would you suggest?"

Jade glanced at Jasmine. "Any ideas?"

Jasmine chewed on her lower lip, thinking hard. The prince was gentle, sweet, and polite. What kind of name would fit him?

"Would you like the name Cedric? It means kind and loved." She turned off the teardrop and repeated the name so he could hear it as it sounded and not translated.

Jade grimaced. "That's a soft name. The prince needs a strong name. Something like Kor-rug or Or-gul." She slanted a look at Jasmine. "Kor-rug is a lion-like creature on Anumati, and Or-gul is a bird of prey."

"I like Cedric," the prince said.

Jade looked like she had just sucked on a lemon, but she inclined her head. "As you wish, my prince. I hope your memory will return soon, and you will remember the name your mother, the queen, gave you when you were born. I am sure it is a powerful name."

Jasmine exchanged an amused look with the prince and swallowed a chuckle.

Jade turned to her. "I must ask you to leave us for a time. The prince is about to receive several visitors, and we need to discuss some matters privately. You can wait in the penthouse or the kitchen for me to tell you when you can return."

Jasmine knew that Kian was on his way, so it made sense that he wanted to talk to the prince in private.

"Of course. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. I could use another cup of coffee."

Jade nodded in approval.

Jasmine looked at her prince. "I'm not going far. I will be just down the hall."

She gave him a reassuring smile when he nodded and stepped out of the room.

As usual, the kitchen was deserted, the counters clean and gleaming under the strong fluorescent lights, and it reminded Jasmine how much she hated to be alone, especially in a room with no windows. This whole underground structure was depressing.

Perhaps she should go to the penthouse after all?

She could drink her coffee on the terrace and enjoy some fresh air. Even in downtown Los Angeles, the air was fresh so high up.

But she'd told Jade that she would wait in the kitchen, and if she went back to the clinic to tell her that she was going upstairs, it would seem as if she was snooping.

With a sigh, Jasmine set about making herself a fresh pot of coffee, her hands moving through the familiar motions with mechanical precision. She measured the grounds, filled the carafe with water, and watched as the dark liquid dripped and hissed into the waiting pot.

As she worked, her mind drifted back to the prince and the moments of connection and understanding.

He liked the name she had given him.

Cedric.

Did he look like a Cedric?

The name evoked an image of a British lord, someone who had graduated from a classy university and spoke with an upper-class diction and vocabulary.

Yeah. She'd read way too many historical romance novels.

Come to think of it, maybe that was where her obsession with royalty had begun.

Half of the heroes in those books were princes. Or maybe it was the other way around, and she'd always known she was destined to meet a prince, and that was why she'd been drawn to those kinds of stories.

As the coffee finished brewing with a final, sputtering hiss, jolting Jasmine from her reverie, she poured herself a mug and sat on one of the barstools next to the polished, stainless steel counter.