Page 32 of Dark Princess: Shadows

As the sound of familiar voices from the waiting room drew Brandon's attention, he recognized Kalugal's melodic timbre mixing with Ell-rom's softer tones, and a few moments later, Kalugal appeared in the doorway, his figure filling the frame.

"Can I come in?" Kalugal asked, his eyes fixed on Morelle.

Brandon straightened in his chair. "Of course. Please join us. Morelle needs as many different visitors as we can get in here. The more stimulation, the better."

Damn. He really should avoid saying that word.

Kalugal walked in and stood at the foot of the bed, studying her for a long moment. "She looks like Ell-rom, but not as much as I expected. There's a softness to her features. She seems younger than him, although they are the same age. Sweet. Innocent, almost."

Brandon disagreed with that assessment, but he held his tongue. Sweet and innocent weren't the words he'd use to describe Morelle, even in her unconscious state. There was a regality to her, a hint of something fierce lurking beneath the surface. But then, he was basing this on nothing more than intuition and the fragments of her past he'd pieced together from conversations with her brother.

"She's beautiful," Brandon said instead, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

A knowing smile tugged on one corner of Kalugal's mouth. "That she is." His gaze shifted to Brandon's laptop. "What are you working on?"

He angled the screen towards Kalugal. "I'm still working on ideas for the game on InstaTock we talked about. I wrote outlines for a series of short videos designed to promote critical thinking and fact-checking skills." He pulled up a few sketches on his tablet, showing Kalugal the rough storyboards he'd been working on.

Kalugal studied the images, nodding slowly. "It's a good concept, but I'm not sure it's enough to entice young humans. From what I've observed, they have very short attention spans. And seeking the truth, as noble as it is, might seem too time-consuming and boring to them. They like to be told what to believe by influencers they trust, and influencers say whatever you want them to say in exchange for money."

Kalugal had a point. "So, what would you suggest?"

"You should talk to your target audience. Parker, Lisa, and Cheryl are in that age group, and I know that Cheryl is active on the platform. She might have some insights that could help you come up with the right approach."

Brandon nodded. "That's brilliant, actually. Thank you, Kalugal. I'll definitely reach out to Cheryl and maybe use the other two as my sounding board."

Kalugal smiled, clapping Brandon on the shoulder. "Happy to help."

As Kalugal turned to leave, Ell-rom appeared in the doorway.

The prince looked tired, worry etched into his face. He nodded to Kalugal as they passed each other, and he then approached Morelle's bedside.

Brandon watched as Ell-rom leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his sister's cheek. "Hello, Morelle," he murmured.

A surge of irrational jealousy coursed through him.

He envied Ell-rom for kissing Morelle, something he couldn't do.

As his eyes fixed on her lips, he was struck by an overwhelming urge to kiss her. Not passionately, not romantically, but just as a connection, to feel her skin on his lips.

Maybe he could kiss her hand? Would that be crossing a line? He glanced at Ell-rom, wondering if he should ask his permission. But no, that wouldn't be right. Ell-rom didn't have the authority to grant such permission. Only Morelle did, and she was in no position to give it.

Brandon sighed quietly, forcing himself to focus on Ell-rom instead. "How's Jasmine doing?" he asked, even though he knew the answer to that.

Ell-rom's shoulders slumped. "No change," he said, his voice heavy with fatigue as if he hadn't slept at all during the night. "Julian says that her vitals are strong, that this is normal for a transition, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"It's hard to see someone you love like that," Brandon finished for him. "I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you."

Ell-rom nodded, his gaze fixed on his sister's face. "I keep thinking about the small glimpses of memories I got in my dreams going back to when we were children. Morelle seemed like the strong one between us. But she was also disillusioned…"He stopped as if realizing he had said too much. "Perhaps in my dreams, I let the other side of me speak through my sister. She might be an upbeat and optimistic person. All I know is that I miss her."

"I'm sure you do. Morelle used to be your other half in your previous lives, your anchor, and then you woke up on Earth, met Jasmine, and she became that for you, but now she is unconscious as well."

When Ell-rom sighed, Brandon got to his feet and put his hand on the prince's shoulder. "You are not alone, Ell-rom. You have a big and loving family here, and we are all rooting for you and Morelle."

The prince nodded. "I know. Perhaps I need to remind myself of that more often."

22

KIAN