11. Jasmine
11
JASMINE
E vening settled over the village, bringing with it a cold breeze that nipped at Jasmine's skin, but she didn't mind. Walking hand in hand with Ell-rom along the winding path to Kian and Syssi's house, she appreciated how beautiful the village looked in the fading sunlight.
She lifted her chin and breathed in the crisp air. "Sometimes, I still can't believe this is my home now."
Ell-rom squeezed her hand. "I know what you mean. Growing up in the temple, I never imagined a place like this could even exist."
She turned to him. "The gods lived in beautiful cities. Didn't you get to see them? I mean, in videos?"
He shook his head. "The temple didn't have any screens. Only books. I suspect that the head priestess hid one in her chambers, but Morelle and I only heard of televised events. We never saw one."
"Maybe that was a blessing in disguise," she said, resting her head against his shoulder. "Books force you to imagine and process. Your brain has to work harder than when images are fed to you. Perhaps that's why you and Morelle are so smart."
"Are we?"
"Of course you are." She lifted her face and kissed his cheek. "You have no idea how stupid people can get because you don't interact with the mindless masses, and the ones in your small sphere of family and friends are all intelligent people."
"You forget how much televised content I've been consuming on a daily basis in order to educate myself about your culture," he said as they walked up the steps to Syssi and Kian's front door. "I didn't realize it might be detrimental to my mind."
She chuckled. "You're an adult now, and your mind is not as malleable as it was while you were growing up, but maybe you shouldn't watch as much. Stupid might rub off on you."
He affected a horrified expression. "Promise to wash it off me if it does."
"I promise." Smiling, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
The silly banter helped ease the knot in her stomach. Syssi had been deliberately vague when she'd called to invite them for coffee, saying only that they needed to brainstorm what they knew about Kyra, but Jasmine had a feeling that there was more to the invitation than rehashing old information.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed the doorbell button.
Okidu opened the door, greeting them with a deep bow. "Good evening, Mistress Jasmine, Master Ell-rom. Please, come in."
"Good evening," Jasmine said, returning his smile.
He led them to the living room, where Kian and Syssi sat on the couch.
They both rose to greet them.
"Just in time," Syssi said. "Okidu baked a chocolate cake, and I warmed up the cappuccino machine so it would be ready as soon as you arrived."
"Wonderful." Jasmine walked into Syssi's embrace and kissed her cheek.
With Kian, she'd learned that shaking hands was as far as he would go. The guy was uncomfortable getting hugs from anyone other than his wife, mother, sisters, and daughter.
"Someone is missing," she said, glancing around. "Where is Allegra?"
"She's at Annani's." Syssi motioned for them to sit down. "She has her grandmother wrapped around her little finger."
"Like everyone else," Kian said with pride in his voice.
After Syssi made everyone cappuccinos and Okidu served his chocolate cake, they all got busy oohing and ahhing at the divine taste of chocolaty goodness. Some small talk ensued, and then Syssi put her cup on the coffee table and looked at Jasmine with so much concern and compassion in her eyes that Jasmine's guts twisted in anticipation.
"I had another vision about your mother," she said. "I didn't summon it or even think about her while falling asleep. It came out of nowhere and hit me over the head like a brick."
Jasmine winced. "That doesn't sound good. What were you shown?"
"Kyra looked about your age in the vision, so what I saw must have happened long ago, close to when she disappeared from your life. She was in some institution. It looked like an asylum."
Jasmine's hand tightened around her coffee cup. "An asylum? Like a mental institution?"
Syssi nodded, looking even more pained. "It looked like a hospital, but the walls were covered in faded, peeling paint, and there were bars on the windows. There was only one bed in the room, the metal kind, and Kyra was chained to it."
The coffee cup started to tremble in Jasmine's hand. She set it down carefully as Ell-rom's arm went around her shoulders. "Chained how?"
"By her wrists, although I don't know why they bothered to chain her. She was drugged out of her mind."
Jasmine's throat started closing up on her as her memories of being drugged and abducted suddenly bubbled to the surface. "Why do you think she was drugged?"
Syssi swallowed audibly, and Jasmine braced for what she was about to say. "A man wearing a doctor's coat entered the room but wasn't there to help her." She met Jasmine's eyes, letting her see the pain and anger there. "Kyra didn't fight him, but it wasn't because she welcomed what he was doing to her."
Jasmine lifted her hand to stop Syssi from saying more but then shook her head. "I'm sorry. Please continue. I need to know."
"I woke up," Syssi said. "I forced myself to wake up because I couldn't stand seeing him violate her. But the vision was relentless, and it followed me to Kian's office."
Jasmine struggled to keep her composure. Her hands trembled in her lap as she pictured her mother chained to the metal bed, drugged and helpless, while that monster in a doctor's coat violated her.
A wave of nausea rolled through her stomach. She wanted to cry, to scream, to hunt down everyone responsible and make them suffer, but more than anything, she wanted to understand why her mother had been taken and whether she was still alive.
Ell-rom's hand closed over hers, his touch warm and steady, his quiet strength helping to ground her.
"I'm so sorry," Syssi said softly. "I debated whether to share this with you, but you deserve to know the truth."
Jasmine swallowed hard. "No, I'm glad you told me. I wonder if any of it has to do with my father. If he knows."
"You will find out soon enough," Kian said. "The good news is that we know Kyra escaped and joined the resistance. Syssi's visions of her later in life prove that."
Visions were not proof, but everyone said that Syssi was exceptional and that her visions never lied. They could be misleading, though. She'd never seen Kyra's face when she had visions of her in the resistance. What if she was young in those as well, and the scene from the asylum had happened later?
"You should prepare for your conversation with your father," Kian said. "I want us to go over everything we know about Kyra."
Jasmine nodded.
"By the way." Kian put his empty cup down and reached for the plate with the cake. "I've chosen Max to accompany you and Ell-rom to handle your father's thralling."
Jasmine couldn't suppress her grimace at the mention of Max. The Guardian had made his disdain for her clear from their first meeting, treating her with barely concealed contempt just because she reminded him of someone from his past.
"I know you and Max didn't get along," Syssi said gently, "but I have a strong feeling about this. He needs to be the one to go with you."
Looking into Syssi's earnest face, Jasmine felt her resistance softening. "If you say he needs to come, I won't argue with your impeccable intuition. I'll do my best to show him I'm much nicer than that woman he compared me to."
"That's not your responsibility," Ell-rom said, his voice carrying an edge. "You weren't the one who wronged him, and you don't need to prove anything. Max is the one who needs to work on his attitude." His fingers tightened protectively around hers. "If he steps out of line, I'll handle it."
Warmth bloomed in Jasmine's chest at her mate's protective instinct, but she shook her head. "I appreciate that, my love, but I can handle Max. I've dealt with plenty of people who've prejudged and misjudged me, including bullies." She smiled. "Usually, they come around once they realize how charming and sweet I am." She batted her eyelashes at him.
"You shouldn't have to charm someone who is supposed to do his job and act professionally," Ell-rom muttered.
"No, but I choose to be gracious." She squeezed his hand. "It's easier than holding on to anger."