Page 10 of Dark Rebel’s Reckoning (The Children Of The Gods #93)

10

JASMINE

J asmine's acting skills helped her mask her shock at her mother's simple gesture of kissing her cheek.

Tears prickled her eyes, and a sob was lodged in her throat, but she refused to allow them out and distress Kyra. This was supposed to be a happy moment, the beginning of healing for both of them.

How many of her childhood nights had she lain awake, dreaming of what it would be like to have a mother who loved her? Not that she'd stopped dreaming about it as an adult, but she had done it less frequently, and then rarely since Ell-rom had entered her life.

Her sweet prince, who was still sitting across the aisle where she had left him.

She stopped next to him and leaned down to plant a quick kiss on his lips.

"Sorry." She smiled at her mother. "I just had to." She turned around and lifted the blanket so Kyra could return to her seat.

"Never apologize for showing your love." Kyra sat down and pulled the long sweater over her knees.

Jasmine draped the blanket over her and tucked it in. "Can I get you something warm to drink? Coffee? Tea?"

She desperately needed a few moments alone to collect herself, and preparing coffee was a great excuse.

Kyra's eyes brightened. "Coffee sounds heavenly." She sniffed the air. "But there is none brewed, and I don't want you to go to all that trouble."

"It's no trouble." Max rose to his feet. "They have a pod machine in the galley. How do you like your coffee?"

Damn. Why did the guy have to become so chivalrous all of the sudden? Perhaps he really was smitten with her mother.

"Usually, I drink it black with no sugar," Kyra said. "But I'm in the mood for something sweet. So, if they have cream and sugar, I'll take both."

When Max put a hand on his hip and struck a pose, Jasmine knew that another joke was coming, but since her mother seemed to enjoy them, she didn't mind.

"I'm offended," Max said. "Am I not sweet enough for you?"

Fenella rolled her eyes, but Kyra laughed again.

"You are too sweet," her mother said. "I need to pace myself with all that sweetness."

"Ouch." Max chuckled. "I'll dial it down a notch." He walked toward the galley.

Jasmine remained standing as she tried to find another excuse to get away for a few moments, and when Fenella shifted in her chair, it occurred to her that she might need to use the bathroom as well.

She leaned a hand on the back of her seat. "Since I'm already standing, would you like me to take you to the restroom?"

The woman looked down at herself then back at Jasmine. "I would love to take a shower, but I don't have anything to change into, and I don't want to wear only a blanket."

"Ell-rom found a few T-shirts and sweatshirts in men's sizes, but no pants. You can wear one of them as a top and tie a blanket around your hips like a sarong."

"Do you have a safety-pin to stop the blanket from falling off?"

"I don't," Jasmine admitted. "But I can check in the first-aid kit."

Jasmine helped Fenella to her feet and secured the blanket around her. "You can change in the bathroom," she said, grabbing a dark-green T-shirt from the small pile of clothing.

On the way, Fenella stopped next to each of the other rescued females. "I just need to make sure they are all breathing. Why are they still asleep?"

"Maybe because they finally feel safe and didn't sleep on the helicopter ride like you and Kyra did," Jasmine said. "Also, don't forget that they are human and need much more sleep than you do."

Fenella nodded. "I know. I feel so sorry for them."

"Do you know their names?"

Fenella shook her head. "I was kept in isolation. The only reason I knew they were there was because the bastard talked about the other women and how he had high hopes for them. Whatever that meant."

A shiver ran down Jasmine's spine. "He hoped that they were Dormants. I hope that he didn't know how Dormants are activated." She nudged Fenella toward the bathroom.

"It wouldn't have mattered," Fenella murmured. "The sick bastard would have done it anyway."

He couldn't have thralled Kyra and Fenella to forget his bite because they were immortal, but he could have sedated them, which was probably why they had been drugged more heavily than the others.

Why did he care if they remembered his bite, though?

In case they managed to run away or get rescued?

"I won't be long." Fenella removed the blanket, handed it to Jasmine, and took the T-shirt.

Jasmine repeated the instructions about the need to conserve water and then left Fenella alone in the bathroom.

Leaning against the door, she closed her eyes and pretended that no one was around and that she was alone with the storm of feelings raging inside her.

It was all good, she reminded herself. She had her mother back, and they needed to get to know each other, and this would take time. Those physical expressions of affection would eventually become the norm rather than the exception, and she hoped there would be many of them in her future.

She had a lot of catching up to do.