Finding Jasmine(2)

I was not stalling him. Not that I need to."' Jasmine denied Dairon's claim as they headed to the library where Bardumond would check on her.

"Maybe not. But you were thinking of asking him about how you can leave. You cannot deny that, flower." He chuckled, making her smile to hide the murderous intent in her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to stab him to death so he would no longer bug her.

When they reached the library, she naturally sat opposite the god and placed her palm on his hand when he held it out. He once again wiped her hand. She was curious but she didn't ask anything and let him do whatever he had to do, before he told her about her current health.

"You are getting stronger." He smiled.

She smiled in relief. "Does this mean I can go to the human realm now?"

Bardumond saw the hope in her eyes and almost wanted to tell her the truth, that she was strong enough to go anywhere she wanted as long as she was allowed to. However, he received a glare from Dairon who was silent warning him to not say anything of the sort.

"I'm sorry. You are still unable to handle teleportation." He apologized, not meeting her gaze. Something about her dark eyes made him feel conscious about the lie he had just told.

Her eyes dimmed. "I didn't know gods could lie too. I thought you were different." She stood up to rush out.

"She will be alright." Dairon reassured Bardumond who was about to scold him for making him lie to the young woman.

"Something happened." Bardumond frowned, and presented the piece of cloth he had used to wipe her hands before running a test. There was a dark brown patch at the centre of it caused by burning.

"She burnt it." Dairon whispered in realization.

"This is the aftermath of power leaving her body. She's not an ordinary human." Bardumond looked at his friend meaningfully. "I have a bad feeling about her. You did something you shouldn't, by saving her life."

Dairon's eyebrows knitted.."I know it was selfish of me, but it should not cause any effect on our kind."

"It might, if she is a witch or a demon." Bardumond pointed out. "By the way, I'm more inclined to think that she's a demoness."

"She is a human." Dairon frowned. He had thought about it and after finding out her past, he was convinced that she could be a witch.

Bardumond thought so too, but he wasn't certain anymore. "That's unless she disguised herself as a human."

Dairon was at a loss. Her nature was not troublesome. He didn't care whether she was a witch, demon or monster, or just a regular human. The troublesome part was the fact that his fate was tied to her. She already belonged to him since he had claimed her, but he had to make her willing to be with him so she would not be sad all her life.

Jasmine held the rails of the balcony as her mind ran wild. Her emotions were in turmoil knowing that she was being kept against her will even though it was not impossible for her to leave. How could anyone be so selfish? And to think that the selfish duo were immortals. No one ever associated them with vices, but they were pretenders.

She suddenly retracted her hand when she felt heat scorching her hand. She found that the metal railing was melting away, and her mouth widened. She quickly checked her hands. They were perfectly alright, making her wonder whether this place was haunted. Countless things had been happening, none of which she understood.

She pulled away to go back to the house.

Dairon was sitting on the long chair on his own, Bardumond must have left. She was disappointed because she hoped she could ask him a few questions.

"Come here." He ordered just as she was about to ignore his presence and go back to the dressmaker's chamber.

She spared him a glance and turned to go her way.

"Come here." He called once again. There was something about his voice that made her disoriented for a moment, and she obediently walked over to stand before him.

She snapped back to normal. "What did you do to me?" Did he compel her using hypnosis? She wanted to ask whether he was a hypnotist when it dawned on her. Gods could use their power to make humans do their bidding. How hateful.

She was about to leave since the effect was over when he once again lowered his voice.. "Sit next to me. Don't resist me." She sat down against her will, and it made her want to explode but she couldn't bring herself to raise her voice at him.

"Why are you resisting me?" He started speaking again, and she closed her eyes. He laughed, and the effect once again faded away.

"Why did you do that?" She asked and this time she was able to scold him.

"Gessamine." He called out to her, making her frown.

"My name is Jasmine." She corrected, in case he had forgotten but he chuckled.

"It means the same thing, flower."

"I'm a human, in case you are mistaking me for a plant." She protested.

He smiled as he gazed at her gently. "A flower. You are so beautiful. If it my fault that I think of you as a flower?"

She ignored his nonsense, and he finally answered her question.

"I wanted to let you know that I could make you love me any time I want to. It's only because I love you too much that I couldn't bring myself to do that to you."

She was puzzled. "Yet you could bring yourself to keep me away from my family."

"I have my reasons." He gave an annoying explanation. She huffed and stood to go back and do her own business. Anywhere was better than being in the presence of this impossible lunatic.

"What happened to your hair?" He asked all of a sudden, making her pause in her tracks.

"What about my hair?"

He waved her over and she walked back to him. He gently pulled some of it out of her ponytail to show to her. There were some golden strands amid her black hair, making her gasp in surprise.

"What in the world?!" All the hair in her hand turned golden as she exclaimed, and she quickly let go of it. She would have believed that someone secretly bleached her hair if she didn't see it change its color on its own. "What did you do to me?" She asked him accusingly.

"Am I to blame for everything? It's a side effect of Bardumond's medication. Your body will be back to normal soon." He assured her, and she sighed in relief. She had been drinking the unfamiliar medicine whose source she didn't even know, because she didn't have a choice. Luckily, the side effects would fade away. But why did it feel like Dairon was lying about the blonde hair being a side effect of Bardumond's medication?

Besides, how did she know that he was lying?

Dairon maintained his straight gaze as she scrutinized him, even though her sharp gaze made him uncomfortable. When she averted her gaze he slowly let out a sigh.

He didn't need Bardumond to check on her to know what must have happened. Whatever she was, her power had been awoken.

He was lost in thought, wondering how he should deal with it. Should he trigger her into unveiling her true self, or make her lock her own power? The dilemma was that no matter what he did, it would depend on her nature and his decision might accidentally hurt her.