Page 151 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

Viktor shrugged. “I wanted to help. I’m tired of wandering around the house like a useless piece of meat.”

Where on earth did the lycanthrope get such an absurd idea? “Do I need to remind you that thanks to you, Amelia and I survived the escape?”

Viktor shook his head. “Callan was the one who helped you—”

“Don’t mention him,” Mikhail scowled, for some reason recalling the intensity with which the firstborn watched Amelia.Like a piece of meat.“ You can’t claim you’re useless. Without you, I wouldn’t have survived the last two hundred years. Without you, I wouldn’t have survived after Antambazi.”

The lines around Viktor’s eyes deepened even further. “I can’t fight, brother.”

Mikhail rested his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “None of us expects you to fight, Vik. Your experience and intelligence are worth far more than another pair of hands on the battlefield. Next time, just do what we agreed on, all right?”

***

Viktor

Viktor had lied to Mikhail. He hadn’t transformed and reverted to his human form. In fact, he hadn’t transformed at all, no matter how hard he’d tried.

For every immortal with an animal spirit living inside them, Vaka Hara was a state where the animal dominated the human half.

The only thing worse for a creature than Vaka Hara?

Mrita Hara.

The death of the animal spirit.

55

Kathrine

Lost in thought, Kathrine didn’t notice the noise coming from the corridor. Not until Zacharia opened the door and limped towards her. As his eyes swept over her face, the coldness in his crystal-clear irises shattered. “What happened?”

Before she answered, his balance betrayed him, forcing him to sit on the bed.

“I just found out that the Earth is round,” she said, a bitter acid rising in her throat. “More like I realised it two days ago. Have they examined you?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure you’d say that even if a train ran over you.”

He spread his long legs, anchoring his ankle boots on the floor to steady himself. Kathrine had heard many things about him. ‘A guard dog’. ‘A strange type’. ‘A cold-blooded killer’. What was really hiding behind those ice-cold irises?

He said, “I came to thank you for your help today, but I’m in too much pain to get up. Guess I’ll stay for a while. And since I have all the time in the world, you can tell me how you learned about the Earth being round two days ago.”

Kathrine couldn’t determine whether Zacharia was joking. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“I suppose.” He shrugged. “I’ve got no pressing matters.”

And she did feel like talking.

So, she settled at the far end of the bed and began her story, going back two days ago. Two weeks ago. Twenty years ago. Two hundred years ago.

***

Alex

By noon the next day, Alex sat by the pool, her feet submerged, her mind unable to settle.

She wasn’t a traitor, but she’d had enough of Viktor’s odd behaviour. Ever since they’d escaped the Hospital, her stepfather had been like a stranger wearing Viktor’s skin. He hardly spoke, spent hours meditating, and showed no interest in what was happening in the cabin – or in general.