Page 131 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

“What rumours, dove?” he asked with a bitter smile.

“No talking!” Kathrine climbed in through the other rear door, settling on his right. The scent of ocean waves filled the space.

Then, the reptilian man, holding the rope, took a seat on Constantine’s left. He kept his gun trained on him. “Time to go. And don’t even think of causing any trouble, necromancer.”

“Three hours and forty minutes to the crossing,” the driver announced.

“Where are we going?” Constantine asked.

The man beside him grinned wide, and the muzzle of the gun dug into his temple. “To the realm of the victors, necromancer.”

49

Kathrine paced the length of her room, unable to shake off her restlessness. The Queen’s joyful laughter echoed across the rooftops of Antambazi, spreading good cheer among her subjects. If anyone were to ask, not a single resident of the realm could explain the reason for this uplifting energy. When the Queen was happy, Antambazi was happy. No one questioned what lurked behind that smile.

No one except Kathrine. She had long since abandoned such naivety regarding their leader’s good spirits.

“I must inform the butcher’s daughter of the tragic loss of her husband,” Sevar said behind her back.

Kathrine pivoted around and met his blank face. “I still don’t understand why we didn’t bring Branko back. He completed his mission on Earth.”

Sevar huffed. “Becauseshedoesn’t want him back. Got it?”

Kathrine stepped closer to him, desperate to feel the closeness they’d once shared. He was her fiancé. If she couldn’t trust him, who could she trust? “Why doesn’t the Queen want him back? Don’t you ever question her orders?”

Sevar’s dark eyes fixed on her. Eyes Kathrine could still lose herself in – if he allowed it. His silence encouraged her to press on, “Don’t you wonder why she approved Branko’s marriage to the butcher’s daughter, only to throw him out as bait later? Aren’t you curious why she was so angry about Mikhail Korovin being detained, even though she hates him? Don’t you wonder what’s in her laboratory? What’s the connection between thefoster children and the Chosen? Who your parents are? Why some reptilians need shaded glasses to endure the sun, and others don’t? Why are we different? Why—”

Sevar shoved her against the wall, covering her mouth with his hand. Annoyance twisted his features. “Stop asking questions, Kathrine.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. She tried to free herself, but his muscular body kept her pinned against the wall. She could fight back, but that would make noise and attract attention. How would she explain it to the Queen later?

When Sevar removed his hand from her mouth, she said, “I can’t, Sevar. I can’t stop asking questions.”

“Stop digging, Kathrine. Or the Queen might start suspecting you.”

His last words made her square her shoulders, though she wanted to shrink. She couldn’t let herself be exposed – not even to Sevar. “Why would she suspect me?”

His lips curled into a smile. “Do you still believe I don’t know it wasyouwho freed the Oracle sixty years ago?”

Kathrine gasped.

“Yes, my violet love. I’ve known all along.”

“You have no proof,” she said, keeping her voice steady.

Her fiancé tilted his chin upwards, as if he wasn’t already towering a head above her. “My word weighs more than any proof, Kathrine.”

They locked eyes, her violet gaze meeting Sevar’s dark abyss.

“I’m not threatening you, Kathrine. I care about you, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” He twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers. As a disciple of the Queen, Sevar could be cruel, but Kathrine knew the opposite side of him.

She just didn’t know which side she was facing at that moment. The Sevar who would keep her secret out of fear for her safety, or the Sevar who would use it against her.

Kathrine realised it was time to voice what she’d been suspecting for a while. “I know you provided the Tribunal with evidence against Mikhail Korovin.”

“What?” He frowned. But not before the brief flash in his black eyes betrayed him. “Where did you get that idea, Kathrine?”

Just a feeling. Because I know you,she thought. “Because you have the recordings from Alberobello.”