Page 93 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

The nymph wrinkled her nose. “I told you, some poor soul who was about to be torched.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Why?”

Constantine struggled to keep his face impassive. “Let’s hope they don’t come searching for it.”

“They can’t. They don’t know who we are,” Helena said. “Besides, Amelia didn’t succeed in proving herself as the Oracle. They’ll probably think it was some charlatan pretending to be her.”

“I hope you’re right.” Constantine rose from his seat. “Keep me informed when you have results from the genetic tests.”

“Wait! Aren’t you going to punish her for what she did?” Helena jerked her chin towards Alex, who still stared down at her feet, guilt etched on her face.

Punish her?Was this yet another task he had to take on as the head of the Council?

Constantine’s expression darkened for a moment. He was expected to maintain discipline.

“I sentence Alex to be the mummy’s guardian, around the clock,” he declared. “And, needless to say, no one must know there’s a mummy in the Hospital. Matter of fact, it’s even more imperative that no one finds out you went to the temple.”

Alex’s eyes widened in alarm. “How long do I have to guard it?”

“Until I figure out how to return the mummy to the temple without any suspicion falling on us.”

34

Mikhail punched the ice wall, the sound of cracking bones mixing with the cell’s whispers. The brute force of the impact reverberated along his arm, up to his shoulder, and down his spine. But it wasn’t until he licked the scorching blood from his skin that he felt alive.

He landed another blow on the wall, this time with his other fist – the one healing from yesterday. When the regenerating new tissue tore open, pain erupted once more, intensifying the blissful sensation of being alive.

Fuck it.

Everybody thought physical pain was the greatest torture in Prokaliya, but Mikhail’s deepest fear was becoming numb to it. Because the moment the pain ceased existing to him would be the moment of his demise.

He had already survived death this year, and he would do it again.

His eyes tracked the trail of blood dripping from his hands to the floor. But what was the point of survival, if he didn’t actuallylive?

35

If I remain in this position much longer, I’ll permanently imprint onto the mattress.

Amelia frowned. Lying still or strolling about – she couldn’t avoid thinking about Mikhail. It was time to accept she needed him, and not just because he was the only one who could give her the ring. Without him, this place felt empty – like a shell without its heart.

She craved to tell him everything that had transpired inside the temple. How she flushed every time she recalled her failure to prove herself as the Oracle, but also how a small sense of pride filled her chest, knowing she had at least taken action.

Amelia got up from the bed and drifted out of her room, with no particular destination in mind. She soon found herself outside Viktor’s lab. With no autopsies being scheduled for today, she figured he would be there.

When she entered, he was leaning against a table, hands holding the book he was reading. Messy black hair fell across his face as he focused on the pages.

“Hey.” Amelia approached with caution.

Viktor glanced up from the book. “Hey. How are you?”

“Good…”

This time, he gave her a more thorough look. His brow furrowed, and he closed the book, setting it aside. “Do you need to talk?”

“If I’m not interrupting…”