Page 16 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

“I don’t think they knew you’d be the new Oracle,” he continued. “But they suspected you’d be important somehow, since the old Oracle sent me to you. I have no idea if they already know you’re the Oracle. Even if they don’t, it wouldn’t take long to figure it out.”

“These reptilians are looking for me?” Amelia asked, regaining her ability to speak.

“I made sure Elisanda can’t contact them and mention you’d left the Hospital, so they must believe you’re still there with me. But they also know there is something special about you and they will not give up. Being alone makes you vulnerable, Amelia. They will look for you until they find you.”

He came closer and her traitorous stomach flipped.

“Thank you for the warning. I’ll be more careful,” she murmured.

“At the last Council meeting, you asked for a pen and paper and wrote a code you gave to Jaguar. Did you know it was a location? In Kamchatka. What’s out there?”

Mikhail’s questions only enhanced the irksome feeling provoked by the loss of control not only over the events in her own life, but her very words and actions. No, she didn’t damn well know that some random scribbles would lead them to a peninsula in Russia’s Far East. But how was she supposed to explain something she did not understand?

“During my last conversation with the Oracle, she told me that when I see the man with the different coloured eyes, I must ask him for a pen and paper. As soon as I noticed that man, Jaguar, with one blue and one green eye, I knew it was him. After that, the symbols just came. I wrote down everything that appeared in my mind at that moment… I’m sorry, but I don’t know what the code means. Nor what it has to do with Kamchatka.”

“And the words you spoke to some of the members?”

“I heard them in my head. I don’t know what they mean, either.”

All she knew was that delivering the messages was her first task after meeting the Creator. The words were as clear as a song bursting into her thoughts and flowing past her lips.

One of the messages foretold Mikhail’s death.

You will lose your life in this war.

The green in his eyes grew darker.“Amelia, come back with me to the Hospital.”

She stiffened at his words. Mikhail had offered to help her with the upcoming changes, but she had to be realistic. He wasn’t doing itfor her.He was, once more, pursuing his own goals.

Yet the moment he reached down and tucked an unruly strand of hair behind her ear, she had a hard time seeing the ruthless leader. His fingertips barely touched her temple, and yet warmth spread through her. Her breath caught in her throat.

As much as she longed to accept his extended hand, the traces of his accusations still burned in her heart. She had put her past life behind her, willing to stand by him, to support him in his cause. And he’d thanked her by comparing her actions to his treacherous ex-fiancée’s.

The memory of his rudeness weighed heavily on her heart and forced her to step back.

All this time, she had abhorred the idea of stealing his ring because she didn’t wish to turn into a thief. Being a traitor didn’t sit well with her, even if it was Mikhail on the other side – a man who’d shown she was nothing but an instrument to him.

But now, she realised there was more to her reasoning. Amelia would never forget the pain of his words – and she would never be able to pretend that she did. Not even to steal his ring.

“When I know more, I’ll find a way to contact you.” She hurried down the pavement and away from him.

She used the nearest pedestrian crossing to reach the otherside of the boulevard, circling the spacious graveyard. Knowing that the afternoon traffic stood between her and Mikhail, she was able to finally take a breath and turn towards the arc in the distance. His tall frame was nowhere to be seen, but the uneasiness didn’t leave her.

Taking a few more steps, she stopped at the nearby bus station. She didn’t have the slightest clue which buses passed here, but had the sudden urge to leave this place, where her parents’ corpses rotted.

She leaned against the inside of the bus stop, thinking about Mikhail. More specifically, about the one question she hadn’t been able to answer these past few weeks. Why had she dreamt of him as a child, when she’d only recently learnt of his existence? The Lonely Prince, that’s what she called him in her dreams – because of his sad eyes, his solitude and the gloomy empty halls of his castle.

Now she knew that he wasn’t sad, but enslaved by his suppressed anger towards dead creatures. He wasn’t lonely, but reticent and incredulous. Not a prince, but a masked beast. And he didn’t live in a castle, but in a hospital…

“Hello, love.”

Amelia lifted her eyes, landing on a tall, dark-haired man in an elegant suit. His black eyes pierced through her and she immediately knew – they had found her. The reptilians. Not only that, but the bus stop was empty. Lost in her thoughts of Mikhail, Amelia hadn’t registered the arrival and departure of the bus.

She was alone.

“Sorry, I’m not interested.”

“You haven’t even heard the offer, love.”