Page 124 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

“That’s not true, Mikhail.” Amelia stepped in front of him as if to divert his attention from the others.

Viktor intervened in a gentler tone. “Mikhail, the results from the genetic tests gave us important information…”

Mikhail glared at him over Amelia’s shoulder. “The results from the genetic tests show nothing different from what we suspected – that the disrupted regeneration was caused externally.”

“Yes, but theyproveit. It’s one thing to rely on hypotheses and another to have solid evidence.”

Constantine said, “I approved the trip to the temple, so I take full responsibility for the complications, but the situation is delicate. If we start questioning people, we’ll have to admit we wereinthe temple.”

Mikhail met Amelia’s gaze. Her eyes were intense, her lips set in a sullen pout. Suddenly, he wanted to bury his face in her hair and wipe away that sour expression.

“We’re done for today,” he said. He wanted to keep Amelia alive, but he also wanted to make her happy.

She walked towards the door with the others. Mikhail called out to her. She pretended not to hear and left.

Fine. So be it.Mikhail would let her sulk – as long as she was safe and sound.

He lasted all of five minutes before following her. He found her in the room she’d stayed in while he was away. Her things were still there, for the simple reason that in the past thirty-six hours, they hadn’t had time to move them.

She was staring out the window. Her light blonde hair flowed like a living cascade down the curve of her spine, and the tight fit of her dark jeans hugged her rear. Mikhail had never found a woman so attractive in simple dark jeans and a grey top, but Amelia could wear a potato sack and still elicit a reaction from him.

“Why did you walk out like that?” he asked when she finally acknowledged his presence with a glance in his direction.

“Because I needed some space.”

“Space…” Mikhail swept his gaze around. “Then why are you holed up in this little room when the entire twentieth floor is at your disposal?”

She faced him. “I need space fromyou, Mikhail.”

He stepped closer to her, resisting the urge to pull her into his arms, and said in a softer tone, “I can’t support decisions that put your safety at risk.”

“I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”

Mikhail’s body tensed. “About what, exactly?”

Amelia pressed her lips into a thin line, her eyes raking over him. When she met his gaze again, she sighed. “You’re incrediblysmart, determined, and annoyingly attractive. I’m happy to lie in your bed, and I’m just as eager to be part of your council. But don’t think for a second that I need your protection against criticism from others. I can fight my own battles. No one is responsible for the choices I make. No one misled me into going to the Temple of the Dead Immortals. And it’s certainly not true that I didn’t know what I was doing. I agreed to go to the temple with the others and to take part in collecting genetic material because I want to help solve the regeneration problem. Because before becoming the Oracle, I was a medical student who believed in genetics. And because I was curious to see this temple.”

Mikhail listened to her with a slight smile on his lips. It wasn’t that he didn’t take her words seriously, but his instinct to protect her would always take over.

He raised his hands in front of his chest and stepped closer. “All right, I get it. I’m sorry.” Despite his apology, when he leaned in to kiss her, she pulled away.

“Earlier, you treated your friends terribly,” she said. “You don’t know what it was like when you were gone – what they went through without you. They care about you and don’t deserve that.”

“I care about them too, Amelia.”

Mikhail placed his hands on the windowsill on either side of her, trapping her between his body and the window. “How about we pack your things and move them to the twentieth floor?”

Amelia shook her head. “I think I’ll stay here for now.” A hint of defiance flashed in her eyes. “Last night, you set your conditions. Now, I’ll set mine.”

Mikhail raised an eyebrow. “Let’s hear them, then.”

“If you want me as the woman by your side, you accept both Amelia and the Oracle.”

Mikhail was about to object – he had always told her she wasboth – but Amelia raised a finger in front of his face. “That means you don’t just accept my gifts as the Oracle, but you accept that I’ll use them. I’ll be the Oracle for the whole world, not just for you. The previous Oracle ‘received’ messages for different people and delivered them. I assume I’ll start getting similar ones at some point, which will require communicating with many more creatures.”

“I can’t stop you,” Mikhail said.As much as I might want to.

“You never speak for me unless I specifically ask you to. You never jump to defend me unless I’m truly out of options. You never try to control my actions.” She narrowed her eyes and added, “And when we’re in public, don’t act like a dominant alpha male who can’t keep his hands off me.”