76. Jasmine

76

JASMINE

J asmine listened to the goddess in stunned silence, her mind reeling with the weight of all she had just heard. The tale Annani had woven, the history of the gods and the Kra-ell, of the Eternal King and his boundless ruthlessness, which he had so masterfully hidden behind a convincing act of benevolence and the love of a father for his son.

In a way, it was such a human tale that she had no problem understanding the players and their motives, but the vastness of it made it hard to wrap her head around it.

She felt small and insignificant in the face of such cosmic forces and ancient conflicts. What was she, a mere human, in the grand scheme of things? It was such a tangled web of politics, evil schemes, and subterfuge.

So far, Ell-rom had been handling everything the goddess had told him remarkably well, but Jasmine could see that he was growing tired.

Annani must have realized that he was reaching his limit as well because she stopped talking and rose to her feet. "You look exhausted, Ell-rom." She kissed his cheek. "I will return tomorrow, and we will talk some more."

Ell-rom nodded, his eyelids heavy with fatigue even as he fought to keep them open. "I'm looking forward to it. Thank you for being so honest with me."

"Of course." She leaned to brush a kiss over his forehead. "I will stop by Morelle's room on my way out and kiss her cheek as well." Annani's eyes had a sheen of moisture that glittered in the room's soft light. "Rest, brother of mine."

He held on to his sister's hand. "Tomorrow, would you tell me about Areana? Our other sister?"

"I will. Areana is the sweetest person I know, and she has done much good in her life, but she deserves more than a couple of sentences uttered in passing. I will tell you more about her tomorrow."

He nodded. "I have three sisters. It is hard to believe."

Chuckling, Kian rose to his feet. "As someone who also has three sisters, I can tell you that it is not a walk in the park. My sisters are all wonderful people, but I can't help but worry about them all of the time."

Ell-rom smiled tiredly. "That is a lot of responsibility."

"That's right." Kian patted his shoulder and turned to follow his mother. "Goodbye, Jasmine," he said as he left the room.

"Goodbye. Thank you for letting me be here for all of this."

"You are welcome." He closed the door behind him.

With a sigh, she walked over to the bed and smiled at Ell-rom. "How are you feeling?" She took his hand and twined their fingers together, her thumb tracing soothing circles over his knuckles.

He let out a shuddering breath, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment. "Overwhelmed, confused, and grateful. Annani gave me a tremendous gift. She gave me a family and a community."

Jasmine nodded, a lump forming in her throat at the wonder in his tone. "It's a lot to take in."

He was silent for a long moment, his eyes searching her face as if looking for some sign, some hint of the thoughts and feelings that swirled like a maelstrom beneath the surface. "Tell me about how you found me."

He had taken her by surprise, and she hesitated. "You are so tired. Do you want to hear about it now? After all you have learned?"

He nodded. "I need to fill in the missing pieces in this picture."

"Okay," she said. "But only if you promise to rest. Don't force yourself to stay awake. If you fall asleep, I'll continue the story when you are awake."

As he nodded and closed his eyes, she hoisted herself on the bed and sat beside him. "It all started with the tarot cards my mother left for me."

"What do you mean left for you?"

Jasmine sighed. "She died when I was a little girl. She left me a jewelry box with the tarot hidden in a secret compartment. My father disapproved of them, so she hid them where I could find them."

"Why didn't he approve?"

Jasmine chuckled. "If I tell you my entire life story, we will never get to the part of why and how I found you."

He turned on his side and looked at her. "I want to hear your life story."

"And you will, but not right now, back to the tarot. I learned how to read them and got good at it. Since about a year ago, I started getting the same cards over and over again. The cards promised me that I would meet a prince."

She told him of Alberto the scumbag, and the ill-fated vacation that had led her into the clutches of the cartel. And she told him about Margo, the woman who had saved her life and had brought her into the fold of Annani's clan.

Ell-rom listened silently, his eyes never leaving her face as she spoke. She could see the emotions playing across his features: anger, sorrow, gratitude, and wonder.

She somehow managed to tell him about the scrying stick and the trip to Tibet without mentioning her relationship with Edgar, but she knew she would need to tell him sooner or later.

Just not right now.

Ell-rom already had a hard time processing all that he had learned today, and adding a former boyfriend who was a clan member might be the last straw, so to speak.

When she told him about hiking through the Himalayan mountains and the Chinese military base, his eyes began to drift closed, and then his breathing slowed and evened out into the gentle rhythm of sleep.

For a long moment, she sat on the bed and gazed at his handsome face, her hand still clasped in his, and her heart full to bursting.

She was in love with this male and desperately needed him to love her back.