Page 93 of Dark Witch: Entangled Fates

Jasmine shrugged. "Not more religious than most. I just liked the stories."

"You've probably read the English version, and as it happens all too often, things get lost in translation. In the original Hebrew version, the plural word used to describe the progeny of gods and humans was Anakim, and the singular was Anak. Do you know what other very famous ancient word sounds almost identical to Anak?"

Jasmine's brow furrowed. "No clue."

"Ankh," Amanda said. "The Ankh is one of the most important ancient Egyptian symbols, representing life, vitality, and immortality, and it is often depicted in the hands of gods and goddesses, symbolizing their ability to grant eternal life. Coincidence? I think not."

"Oh, wow." Jasmine's eyes widened. "That's so cool. So Anakim meant immortals?"

"Indeed. The children born of unions between gods and humans were immortal and gifted with incredible abilities like enhanced strength, accelerated healing, and also the ability to manipulate human minds. But when the immortal descendants of the gods took human mates, their children were born mortal. As it turned out, the children born to female immortals with human males carried the dormant godly genes that could be activated, but the children born to immortal males and human females did not. From then on, those genes were passed on from a mother to her children, and from her daughters to their children, and so on."

Amanda paused to take another sip of her coffee and give Jasmine a few moments to process what she had learned so far.

Since she was not freaking out or trying to refute what she was being told, Amanda didn't mind her asking questions during the telling.

Jasmine frowned. "So technically, there could be many humans who carry those godly genes."

Amanda nodded.

"What happened to the gods?" Jasmine asked.

"Their fate wasn't good." Amanda put her coffee cup down. "There was a dispute, and one god found a way to kill the others with a weapon that originated in their home world. Almost all died, including the assassin."

"Almost all?" Jasmine asked. "Meaning that there are still gods living among us?"

Syssi chuckled. "You are taking this incredibly well. When I first heard this story, I couldn't believe it."

Jasmine's gaze swept over Edgar, Kian, Amanda, and then landed on Syssi. "I'm a practicing Wiccan. I have no problem with believing in gods and immortals' magic and mind manipulation. And I'm also starting to understand what is going on here. Kevin didn't use hypnosis on Modana and his men. He used mind control."

"Bravo." Kian clapped. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you." Jasmine dipped her head. "So Kevin is an immortal, and so are the four of you?" She leveled her gaze at Edgar.

He nodded. "Guilty as charged."

Letting out a breath, Jasmine closed her eyes. "So, that's why everyone looks young and gorgeous. This ship is full of immortals, and you have a staff of humans serving you who are mind-controlled to keep your identities a secret." She opened her eyes. "Talk about mind blown. This would make one hell of a blockbuster movie."

"That will never happen," Kian said sternly. "It is essential that humans don't know about us."

"Then why are you telling me?"

Amanda smiled. "Because, my darling, we think that you are a carrier of godly genes that can be activated. There is a chance that you can become an immortal. And there is also the issue of your obsession with meeting a prince."

Jasmine shook her head. "Now you've lost me. Why do you think I have these genes, and what does my obsession have to do with anything?"

"Do you remember the testing I did?"

Jasmine winced. "I didn't do so well."

Amanda laughed. "On purpose. I know. I found a way to test you without your knowledge, and you definitely have paranormal abilities. Telepathy for sure, and maybe also precognition. Paranormal abilities are one of the strongest indicators of godly genes. The second one is affinity." Amanda leaned toward her. "That's a little more difficult to quantify, but let me ask you this, did you always feel like you were different and didn't belong?"

Jasmine nodded.

"And when you met Margo, did you immediately feel like the two of you could be best friends?"

Jasmine nodded again.

"Then you met Frankie and Mia, Syssi and me. Did you feel more comfortable with us than you did with anyone before?"

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