Page 27 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

It didn’t work.

It didn’t work, and only moments ago, she’d tilted the contents of Ana’s vial into Mikhail’s mouth without Zacharia noticing. How could she be so fucking stupid? In those horrible seconds, when his heartbeat had paused, Amelia hadn’t been thinking straight. She thought it was the reptilian’s knife that had poisoned him, but it might have been her as well. Because there was not one single guarantee Ana wasn’t lying about the vial’s effect. God, how…

Just then, the straight ECG line changed to a feeble rhythm.

“Move him to the OR!” Nyavolski shouted.

Amelia’s eyes widened, fixing on the emerging waves on the monitor.

“Out of the way!”

She stepped aside, making way for the gurney and the medical stuff. She went to follow them in the corridor, when someone grasped her shoulder.

“You did well.” It was Nyavolski. She hadn’t even realised he wasn’t amongst those transferring Mikhail. “Now let me do my work. When Mikhail wakes up, he’ll probably want to talk to you. Okay?”

She nodded, and then she watched them take him to the OR.

Legs stiff, she headed to the closest restroom and washed the blood from her hands. All alone with her reflection in the mirror, she observed her features drained of colour. This shouldn’t be happening. The dread. The ground shaking beneath her feet at the mere thought ofhimdying.

She grabbed onto the sink’s edges. She was the Oracle and Mikhail was not her… friend. Moreover, she wasn’t there for him, but for the ring.

Making it back to the emergency hall, Amelia looked around. There wouldn’t be a better time for her to rummage through Mikhail’s stuff. Her stomach clenched at the idea, but she didn’t slow her footsteps.

She was familiar with the Hospital’s layout. The building had a main body and two wings that ended in an arch, leading to a big antechamber. The first ten floors adhered to the typical hospital design, serving the medical needs of the vast immortal population. In contrast, the upper levels exuded a markedly Gothic atmosphere, characterised by dark colours, heavy wooden furniture, and a profusion of arches and intricate ornaments.

She headed straight for the lift and pressed the button to call it. Then, she waited, sweat forming on her palms.

“Hey.” She turned around, facing Zacharia’s bulging frame. Her throat went dry, though he couldn’t have possibly guessed that she was about to steal from his best friend and boss. “How’re you doing?”

“They took him to the OR,” she said.

His ice-blue gaze scrutinised her face. “My question was about you.”

“I’m fine. Just wondering what to do now that I’m back here.” She added the last bit in case he started doubting her motives for walking around.Fuck. How was she supposed to steal the ring if guilt twisted her features every time she attempted something?

“I’m glad,” he said. His sudden concern for her well-being made her raise her eyebrows. “You know, the previous Oracle was an oddball, and we thought you’d become the same.”

“Oh…”

“You seem cool for now, though.”

The lift arrived.

“Thanks?”

Zacharia gestured her inside the cabin, and she followed. “Stellaarranged a room for you. I guess you’re staying at the Hospital?”

Amelia shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve got elsewhere to go.”

“I get it. Reminds me of the times when I was forced to leave the vampire tribe I’ve grown up in and had no direction in life.”

Amelia wasn’t sure what the hybrid was aiming at with his sudden friendly manner, but she’d appear too suspicious if she didn’t engage with him. “Did they make you leave?” she asked.

He leaned on the cabin’s wall. “Nah, I ran away from them. Because I was too ashamed of my secondary,hybridform. Didn’t want to disappoint the vampire lady who’d been taking care of me since I was a baby.”

“Why would you disappoint her?”

“Because I’m a hybrid. Before the Changes, abandoning hybrid children was a standard, albeit morally condemned, practice. More often than not, it happened before it was even confirmed they were hybrids – merely showingtraitstypical of more than one species was enough. My folks abandoned me near some cow’s hay and that’s where the vampire lady stumbled upon me.”