Page 145 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

Mikhail shook his head. “As if you weren’t with us in that mud. Where’s the medical room?”

“I’ll show you.” Presiyan stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Feel safe anywhere in this building, but keep your eyes and ears open. You’re no longer in the cabin. Here, we’re exposed to many creatures. We can’t be sure that someone won’t shift their loyalty at some point.”

Mikhail nodded. “I’m aware. Thank you for everything.”

***

Amelia

The ‘medical room’ was a simple space with bandaging materials and medicines on a small table against the wall. Zacharia removed his blood-soaked T-shirt and lay face down on the camp bed.

Amelia grasped his belt and said, “I’ll pull the trousers down a little to examine the wound.”

“Go ahead!” he said.

The metallic scent of blood made her frown as she bent to inspect the damage. Two deep furrows ran parallel along one side of his spine, the edges jagged and raw. It wasn’t hard to picture how the winged creature had driven her claws into the muscles and pressed inward, as if trying to grip the vertebrae, and when she had reached the desired depth, she had releasedpoison, slicing the flesh downward. “It looks bad…”

“Thank you,” Zacharia said.

Amelia faced Mikhail. “It’s still bleeding. Maybe it should be stitched?”

“This is a nymph scratch,” he said. “We don’t stitch them. It will scar, but within a few days, it should be fine…”

“I don’t see how it will heal without stitches.”

Mikhail moved to the other side and bent down to examine the wound. “How many nymph attacks have you seen, Amelia?”

Only his. More precisely, the leftover scars. “I haven’t dealt with nymph poison, but I’ve studied medicine, and I know that for a wound to heal well, the tissue edges need to be approximated as closely as in surgical closure.”

As he examined the gash, his eyes flicked up to meet hers. “Are you quoting your surgery textbook to me?”

Yes, but she didn’t need to admit that. “If we align the edges, we can stitch it and speed up the healing process.”

“And possibly spread the poison,” Mikhail said sharply, then, pointing to Zacharia’s back, added in a softer tone, “For now, it’s localised in the muscle. The good news is that, most times, our bodies can handle the poison on their own.”

He went over to the makeshift medical table and picked up some gauze. “I’ll finish this.”

“What will you do?” Amelia asked.

“Stop the bleeding.”

“I can help.”

“No need, Amelia. You can go. You must be tired.”

“I want to make sure he’s all right.”

“Go.”

Zacharia pushed himself up on his elbows. “Friends, I get it that my bare ass is your favourite view, but would you mind postponing your debate for later? I’m a bit hungry.”

Amelia held Mikhail’s gaze. He was angry with her, and shehad a good idea why. She was tempted to argue with him, but that wouldn’t do Zacharia any favours.

“Sorry,” she said to the hybrid and left.

***

Amelia