73. Jasmine

Jasmine"s heart ached at the distance that had grown between her and Edgar. She knew that she needed to end things, to set them both free to find their true paths in life. But the thought of hurting him, of seeing the pain and heartbreak in his eyes, made her want to recoil, to retreat into the safety and comfort of the familiar.

Except, they both deserved better than this.

Strangely, it wasn"t about love or lack thereof. Jasmine cared for Edgar, and in time, she knew she could have learned to love him, but deep down, she knew that he was not her forever. He was not the one she was meant to walk beside through eternity"s long, winding road.

As much as it pained her to hurt him, she knew that she had to let him go. They both deserved to find their true soulmates, the other halves of their eternal being.

But as she looked at him now and saw the hurt and confusion in his eyes, Jasmine felt her resolve waver and her courage faltering.

How could she do this?

There were no easy answers, no painless paths to follow, but she had to find a way to end things with grace and compassion, to part as friends rather than enemies.

And so, with a deep breath and a silent prayer for strength, she turned to face him, ready to speak the words that would set them both free, but a knock on the door stopped her before she could open her mouth.

"Come in." She put the pair of pants she had folded into her suitcase.

Julian opened the door and walked in. "We need to load up this chamber." He tossed a length of rope to Edgar.

As she watched Edgar and Julian carefully maneuvering the prince"s stasis chamber out of the hotel room, Jasmine felt a pang of unease. It wasn"t about the unfinished business between her and Edgar. There was something unsettling about the way the chamber seemed to shimmer and then fade out of view as Julian wove his shroud to conceal it from prying eyes.

She understood the necessity of it, but that didn"t make it any less disconcerting to watch two men carrying a metal sarcophagus simply vanish, leaving what seemed like empty air in their wake.

Following close behind them, she navigated the narrow hallway, keeping a watchful eye out for any unsuspecting passersby who might stumble into the invisible procession.

Julian had said she didn"t need to tag along and should stay and pack her things, but she wanted to ensure they made it safely to the truck.

Not that they needed her. She was the weak link among them, the one who could not see past the shroud and followed them blindly, hoping she was heading in the right direction.

When would she stop being the outsider and become part of their world?

What would it be like to be one of them? To have endless years, enhanced senses and strength, and the ability to thrall and shroud?

Would it change her, transform her in some fundamental way?

Or would she still be the same Jasmine at heart, just long-lived and powerful?

Power was corruptive, but it could also be used for good. The immortals and gods she"d gotten to know were good people, but she"d heard that others like them were not good, which made sense. Humans were good and evil, so immortals and gods were probably divided similarly.

What if she wasn"t a Dormant, though?

She wouldn"t know until she let an immortal induce her, and right now, it didn"t seem like it was going to be Edgar.

When they got to the waiting truck, Julian dropped the shroud. As he and Edgar hefted the chamber and placed it in a spot that seemed to have been reserved for it, Jasmine tried to figure out which chamber belonged to the princess. Since they were all identical, she guessed it was the one next to the prince"s, but she didn"t know whether it was the one on the right or the one on the left.

"Are you going to mark them?" she asked Julian. "Otherwise, how are you going to be able to tell them apart from the others?"

He motioned for her to get closer. "Do you see the seam here?" He pointed.

"I do."

"Now look at this one." He lifted a tarp. "Can you see a seam?"

She got closer to take a better look but couldn"t see it. "There is none."

"There is." Julian lowered the tarp and tucked it under the chamber. "You can"t see it because the chamber is sealed. I left the ones containing the royal twins unsealed so their bodies could absorb nutrients from their environment."

"I see." She smiled at him. "Thanks for explaining it to me."

"You"re welcome."

Julian was such a great guy. He had a gift for explaining complicated things in layman"s terms that she could easily understand. He didn"t try to dumb them down for her, which would have made her feel like a simpleton.

The doctor went back to working with the gods and Edgar, securing the cargo with tarps and ropes, but Jasmine barely registered the details. Her mind was too caught up in the swirl of emotions that churned within her.

With a final glance at the truck, Jasmine turned and made her way back to the hotel room.

As she pushed open the door, the familiar scent of Edgar"s cologne wafted over her like a bittersweet memory, and Jasmine felt a pang of sorrow for what could have been but wasn"t.

With a sigh, she reached into her bag and pulled out her tarot cards, their worn edges and faded images a comforting weight in her palm. She had always turned to them in times of need, seeking guidance and clarity in the face of life"s challenges.

Until now, Jasmine hadn"t dared ask the one question that would determine her future more than any other. In fact, it was much more important than whether the prince was her one and only or not.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she shuffled the cards, her fingers moving with a deftness born of years of practice. And then, with a whispered prayer to whatever gods or Fates might be listening, she laid them before her, her eyes scanning the spread with hope and fear.

The first card she turned over was the Star. The image of a woman pouring water from two jugs symbolized renewal, healing, and hope. The second card was the Wheel of Fortune, a reminder that life was ever-changing and that good and bad fortunes were fleeting moments in the grand scheme of things.

And then she turned over the final and most important card and gasped.

It was the World card, depicting a naked woman hovering above the Earth, holding a baton in each hand and surrounded by a wreath. She was being watched by the four living creatures: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.

The World card represented the ending of one cycle of life and the beginning of the next.

The cards had spoken, and their message was as clear as if shouted from the rooftops. It was a new beginning—the closing of one chapter of her life and the start of a grand new adventure.

Jasmine felt a rush of emotion wash over her, a dizzying mix of relief and elation.

She had her answer. She was a Dormant, and she would become immortal.