Dark Princess: Shadows (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance #89)

2. Brandon

2

brANDON

T he steady beep of the monitors provided a soothing backdrop to Brandon's mutterings. He'd been talking for what felt like hours, pouring out thoughts and feelings he had never shared with anyone.

After spending so many years in Hollywood and faking everything from who he was to what he believed in and what mattered to him, it was refreshing to just speak his mind, even if the person he was talking to couldn't hear a word he was saying.

Maybe that was why he felt free to do so.

If Morelle had been awake, he would have most likely assumed the persona everyone was familiar with and expected, and he would have charmed her with tales sure to fascinate her.

"You are a very good listener, Princess Morelle," he said, "I wonder if you can even hear me and, if so, if you can understand what I'm talking about. You come from a world that's so different from this one, and what you were told about Earth before embarking on this journey is no longer true."

He leaned back and sighed. "If you were awake, I would talk your ear off about all the wonders of our modern civilization and how bright humanity's future is thanks to all the marvelous innovations the clan has been slowly introducing to humans ever since we deciphered portions of Ekin's tablet. I would boast about the lofty ideas of democracy and equal rights that we have been propagating. But since you can't hear me, I can admit the truth, and it's not as pretty. Rot is festering everywhere nowadays, and so far, we have been able to bring light and prosperity to just a portion of this planet's inhabitants, but not enough. A large chunk of this planet's population is still living in poverty and misery. Barbarism and savagery are rampant and growing, and I don't know how we will ever be able to fulfill our mission of spreading the light to every corner on Earth. There just aren't enough of us, and humans are not picking up the slack. On the contrary. the children of those we have lifted up are letting themselves be seduced by the darkness."

He leaned closer to the hospital bed. "But that is not what you need to hear from me, right? I should be coaxing you to wake up, and instead, I'm giving you reasons to stay asleep."

He leaned back, studying Morelle's peaceful, unresponsive expression.

"I wonder what you're dreaming about. Are you reliving memories from thousands of years ago? Or are you somewhere else entirely, free from the weight of history?"

"Hold the door open!" someone yelled.

Alarmed, Brandon rose to his feet. "I should check what the commotion is about. I'll be right back."

Outside, he was met by a flurry of activity, with Ell-rom bursting through the door that Julian was holding open, the unconscious Jasmine in his arms.

The prince's face was a mask of barely contained panic, but Kian and Brundar, who walked in right behind him, didn't seem as concerned.

"This way." Julian directed him to one of the other patient rooms.

Brandon pressed himself against the wall, giving them plenty of space to pass. As the door closed behind them, he turned to Kian. "What's going on?"

"Jasmine is most likely transitioning." Kian settled into one of the waiting-room chairs. "She fainted in the bathroom at my mother's house." He stretched his legs in front of him. "What are you doing in the clinic? Did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine." Brandon sat down next to him and gestured toward Morelle's room. "I came to visit our sleeping beauty. I thought it wasn't fair that her brother was getting all the attention while she was all alone in here."

Kian nodded. "It's nice of you to think of her. She has no one to be with her, and that's not good. Maybe that's why she's not waking up."

Brundar, who had remained standing next to the entry door to the clinic, shifted his weight to his other leg, which caught Kian's attention. "You can go, Brundar," Kian said. "Thank you for your help."

The Guardian dipped his head and left without a word.

"Strange fellow," Brandon murmured under his breath. "Sometimes I think that he's playing a role." He chuckled. "If Brundar didn't exist, someone ought to invent a character like him."

Kian smiled. "It seems to me that it's possible to take you out of Hollywood but not Hollywood out of you. You think about everything in terms of movies."

Brandon couldn't argue with that. "I do, but it will fade with time."

"I don't think it will." Kian glanced at the front door of the clinic. "Perhaps you would like to add to your script that there are Guardians outside."

Brandon tensed. "Are you expecting trouble?"

"Not really, but I'm being cautious. For the time being, I want to make sure that no one is harboring ill intentions toward the twins. At least now they are both in the same location, so I can dedicate fewer Guardians to them. It's not like we have any to spare."

Kian's answer didn't alleviate Brandon's concerns. "Do you think someone might try something even after the Clan Mother compelled everyone to keep the twins safe?"

"I've learned to always expect surprises." Kian sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Like Drova being behind the sabotage and thefts."

"You'd suspected her for a while," Brandon pointed out. "It shouldn't have been a surprise."

Kian let out a breath. "We believed she was involved, but we didn't think she was the mastermind behind it. The most troubling part was the way she managed to pull off so many incidents. I will schedule a council meeting soon and inform the council members of what we are dealing with."

Brandon didn't want to wait. "Don't keep me in suspense, Kian."

"It turns out that Drova has inherited her father's compulsion ability, and it only started manifesting recently. She used it to get Parker, Lisa, and Cheryl to do her bidding. The girl is incredibly dangerous, but at the moment she's just a misguided teenager, and I'm not sure what to do with her."

Brandon felt a chill run down his spine. "Her age shouldn't be a consideration. She needs to be approached with the same caution that was used when we approached her father."

Kian shook his head. "We put Igor in stasis because there was no way to redeem him. Drova is young, and she is Jade's daughter too. With the right influence and education, she could become a great asset to us. In a way, the same is true of the twins. We don't know yet what they are capable of, but given who their parents were, they should be formidable. In their case, though, I hope that being related to us will make them loyal to the clan."

"Has Ell-rom started showing any signs of compulsion ability?" Brandon asked.

He remembered their prior conversation about the twins when Kian mused about Morelle being the dangerous one and possibly having abilities they were not prepared for.

"Not yet, but it's too early to say that he doesn't." Kian sounded nonchalant, but Brandon sensed that he knew more about the prince's emerging abilities than he was willing to share.

That was fine. Eventually, he would inform the council.

"What about your plans for faking the twins' deaths? Is that still on the table?" Brandon asked.

"Aru has not reported finding the pod yet, and we want to keep it that way. Jasmine convinced him that it was better than trying to fake something and getting discovered. We concluded that it was better to wait until another pod was discovered with everyone inside dead and report that. If several pods are found in the same condition, the higher-ups might assume that all the remaining settlers are dead and decide that there is no need to search anymore. The problem with that is that they will recall our three new friends back home, which the gods don't want to happen since they are now all mated to immortals, who cannot be taken back with them."

Brandon nodded. "Would we need to fake their deaths as well?"

"Is there another option?" Kian asked.

"I guess not." Brandon glanced at the closed door to Jasmine's room. "I feel for Ell-rom. With both his mate and sister unconscious now, he must be going out of his mind with worry."