Dark Awakening: Echoes of Destiny (The Children Of The Gods #88)

43. Jasmine

43

JASMINE

J asmine stirred slowly, consciousness returning in gentle waves. The familiar post-venom haze clung to her mind, remnants of the euphoric trip gradually fading. She blinked, orienting herself in the dim pre-dawn light filtering through the curtains.

Beside her, Ell-rom lay motionless, his eyes fixed on the ceiling the same way she'd found him before coming up with a way to distract him.

Evidently, though, her plot had failed, and he hadn't had a wink of sleep.

She turned onto her side, propping herself up on an elbow. "Hey," she said softly, her voice still rough with sleep. "You're still awake?"

Ell-rom's gaze shifted to her, a weak smile tugging at his lips. "Hey." He leaned and kissed her lightly. "How was your trip?"

"Awesome as usual. It's a shame they are getting shorter, though. I wonder if there is a way to prolong them."

She was trying to distract him with idle talk. Maybe occupying his mind with something else would do the trick.

He gave her another weak smile. "The only thing I can think of to keep the trips long is periods of abstinence, but I don't think either of us wants that."

"Definitely not." She leaned over him and kissed his chest. "I love this too much to give it up even for longer trips."

He winced. "I hope you won't be forced to give me up."

"Why would I be forced to do that?"

"They might decide that I'm too dangerous and put me in stasis like they did to Igor."

She lifted her head. "You are nothing like Igor. He was an evil megalomaniac who used compulsion to force his pod mates to execute the males of other surviving pods so they could take their females."

"And I can kill with a thought, which makes me even more dangerous. Why would anyone risk taking me into their community?"

Fear was a powerful motivator, so he wasn't entirely wrong, but Jasmine hoped Annani would rise above such primal instincts and accept her brother. Besides, it would probably occur to the goddess how useful Ell-rom might be to her clan and its goals.

Annani could finally get rid of her archenemy if she wanted.

"You're not a threat, Ell-rom, and you are not dangerous. You are an asset. You're a good person who happens to have a powerful ability, and your sister will realize how valuable you are."

"You think she will use me?"

"She might when there is no other choice, and since Annani is a force for good, I don't expect her to ever ask you to do something that is morally questionable."

Ell-rom released a relieved breath. "I pray to the Mother of All Life that you are right."

"I am."

He smiled. "I like how self-assured you are."

"I'm just thinking logically, and I know that my logic might not work the same way as the logic of others, but if I were in Annani's shoes, I would see you as an incredible asset and not a threat."

He took her hand and brought it to his lips for a gentle kiss. "Annani doesn't know me well enough. I don't know me well enough, either, and I'm scared that I might be a threat, that I might be dangerous."

"But I know you, Ell-rom, and I know you are none of those things. So enough with all this self-doubt. You need to get some sleep."

"I just wish they'd call," he said, glancing at his phone on the nightstand. "Even if it's just to say they need more time to think."

"I know," Jasmine soothed him, running her fingers over his chest. "But they are asleep now, so waiting for them to call does not make sense. You need to rest, love."

Ell-rom shook his head. "I can't. My mind is too riled up."

"Tell you what," she said, sitting up and stretching. "Why don't we get up, make some breakfast, and then plan out our day? We could go for a walk, maybe visit Morelle. Keeping busy might help take your mind off things."

"No walks outside, but I'd like to see Morelle."

That wasn't good. He was traumatized by the mugging and what he had done, and now he was afraid to leave the keep.

It was good that they were moving into the immortals' protected village, but now she wasn't sure that they were. What if Annani decided that it was safer to leave them in the keep for a while?

Again, if she were in the goddess's shoes, she would proceed with caution. Ell-rom was right about his sister not knowing him well enough yet to trust him with the lives of her family.

She might want to wait a little longer.

"I can drive you to a safer part of town, you know. A nice residential area where there are no druggies and no crazies."

She still remembered the homeless man who had yelled at her when she'd gone looking for a branch to fashion her scrying stick from.

"I thought this area was safe," Ell-rom said. "This building seems luxurious, and the people inside are clean and well-dressed. How come there are drug addicts and crazy people on these streets?"

"This is still mostly a business and commercial district, with only a few residential buildings here and there. And I'm really not qualified to explain the homeless situation. To me, it seems that the solution is simple, but apparently it's not, and I need coffee before I can say more on the subject." She slid off the bed. "I'm going to the bathroom, and then I'll make coffee."

"Okay." He crossed his arms under his head.