37. Jasmine

When Jasmine awoke, her world had transformed. Her ankle, swollen and throbbing with pain when she"d fallen asleep, now felt strangely light and almost free of pain, and her body thrummed with energy and vitality.

Suspicious?

And then some.

Taking a nap in the middle of the day had never affected her so profoundly, and certainly not when it was taken sitting on the hard ground and leaning against a hard rock.

Had one of the gods bitten her while she"d been out?

Was that why Aru had made her sleep?

That was the only thing that made sense to her. If Edgar"s venom made her heal faster, the gods" venom must be even more powerful.

She reached up to touch her neck even though she knew no marks would be left from the bite. There never were when Edgar bit her.

Still, touching the area was an impulse she couldn"t resist.

A venom bite seemed like a likely explanation for her sudden physical improvement, but it didn"t make sense. The gods were all mated, and their bites were reserved for their partners. It was a very intimate act, and as far as she knew, it could only happen during sex.

If they had wanted to give her a health boost, they would have more than likely asked Edgar to do it last night instead of doing so themselves. Not that she had been in a mood for anything with how exhausted she"d been from dealing with the pain and the discomfort. After taking three of the pills Julian had given her, she"d fallen asleep like a rock.

Should she ask Aru if he or the others had bitten her?

She would if it wasn"t so damn embarrassing. Hell, it could be considered an insult. It was like asking a dude if he had taken advantage of her while she slept.

Whatever.

She should be happy about feeling better and let the mystery remain unsolved.

"Ready to continue?" Aru asked, his expression smug.

Now, she was sure he had done something to her that he hadn"t been supposed to do. "I am. Can I have one of those energy bars? I suddenly feel hungry."

"Of course. But first, let"s put you back in the harness."

She was surprised that Negal still had it on. "Weren"t you supposed to take turns carrying me?"

"Nah." Negal crouched low to assist Aru. "You weigh less than one packed backpack, and they are carrying two. I"ve gotten the better deal."

She sincerely doubted that one backpack weighed over a hundred pounds, let alone a hundred and thirty. But she wasn"t going to argue the point.

Aru loaded her onto the harness on Negal"s back, strapping her in with practiced efficiency as if he had been doing this for years, and then pulled out an energy bar and handed it to her.

"When I start shrouding us from view," he said, "you won"t be able to see us or yourself. It can be disorienting, even a little frightening. I suggest you keep your eyes closed for as long as possible."

Jasmine nodded, but she didn"t intend to do that.

She was curious to experience being invisible and moving through the world like a ghost.

Did she have the guts, though?

As they set out again, Jasmine closed her eyes as Aru had suggested, and a few moments later, she felt the first tingle of Aru"s power washing over her. It was like a faint electrical charge that raised the hairs on her arms.

She kept her eyes closed for a few moments, but then curiosity got the better of her, and she cracked one eyelid open, peering out at the world around her.

What she saw took her breath away. Or rather, what she didn"t see. Negal, whose broad back she could feel beneath her, was invisible, and so were the two other gods.

They too had vanished, leaving nothing but empty air and the faint shimmer of heat rising from the sunbaked ground.

Even her body was not visible to her, and when she lifted a hand to examine it, there was nothing to see. She felt like a disembodied presence, floating like a specter. It wasn"t as fun as she had imagined. It was disorienting and slightly nauseating.

With a shudder, Jasmine closed her eyes again, surrendering herself to the familiar and comforting feel of Negal"s solid body.

There was nothing sexual about it, and now that Jasmine knew that Negal belonged to Margo, she didn"t feel any attraction toward him. So yeah, he was a god, incredibly handsome and strong, not to mention kind and intelligent, but he wasn"t hers and he wasn"t a prince.

The question was whether Margo would see it that way. Their friendship was important to Jasmine, and she didn"t want to lose it over something as silly as the specter of impropriety.

Come to think of it, she should probably hide how much better she was feeling to avoid the gods" mates becoming suspicious.