Page 152 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

And, while she’d once attributed these oddities to him still circling Vaka Hara, what he did during yesterday’s battle had no rational explanation. He’d disappeared for a while, then he’d returned pale as a ghost. Something was off with Viktor, and Alex was determined to look after him.

This was what loved ones did when you couldn’t cope on your own. They silenced your protests, tied your hands if they had to, and refused to leave you alone until you could stand once more.

Guilt gnawed at her as she remembered how she’d let Viktor disappear during the battle without following him. But then again, Amelia had also escaped a little earlier, and being left alone, Alex had seized the opportunity to do something she’d longed to do… Thanks to that, she now had another problem haunting her mind.

How she missed her twin! She hadn’t heard from him in weeks, and he would have known how to help Viktor.

Her focus shifted as Callan stepped out through the central door.

Alex jumped up and ran barefoot without putting on her trainers. The surrounding agents turned their heads as if she were a rabbit darting past them.

“Alexandra,” Callan greeted her with his earth-shattering smile, and her heart didn’t just flutter – it flipped. Callan alone called her by her full name, as though he believed he was the only one authorised to do so because she belonged to him.

And he belonged to her. Even if he still wasn’t aware of it.

“Can we talk?” she asked. “In private.”

Maybe he would offer some advice about Viktor.

His smile faltered. “Darling, let’s put that off for a bit. I need to talk to Amelia about what happened yesterday. Have you seen her?”

He looked around the yard. This was why he’d left the winery – to look for Amelia. Not for Alex.

Her jaw tightened with jealousy, but she didn’t show it. A lady never reveals her negative emotions. “She’s probably in the restaurant with Jasmina. By the way, she was asking for you.” Alex crossed her arms and waited for his reaction.

Callan gave her that special smile again – one that, she was starting to realise, more often left her feeling dismissed than anything else. “I’m sure it’s important. Should I find you in your room later?”

“Of course,” she said, but he was already making his way towards his precious Oracle.

She stayed, watching him walk away. He wouldn’t seek her out. He hadn’t even asked where her room was in the winery.

On the other hand, she had a pretty good idea of what he’d been doing for the past few hours.

***

Amelia

Amelia lingered on the rear veranda, a secluded spot with direct access from the winery’s restaurant. The summer breeze tousled her hair, and the sun peeked over the horizon. Mikhail,Presiyan, Viktor, and Jasmina’s voices drifted through the open door… Occasionally, unfamiliar voices joined in – the agents of the Tribunal.

The more they spoke, the clearer Amelia saw the truth. For now, they had run out of options. They didn’t have enough knowledge of the enemy, didn’t understand the Sacreds, and despite the victory over the harpies, her intuition told her they were merely a distraction. The real danger wouldn’t fall from the sky like a flock of birds with severed wings.

Death. Death. Death.

“Hello.”

Amelia glanced over her shoulder at the door. The air around Callan still crackled with mystery, but somehow, his presence warmed the morning.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

He circled her and settled in the free chair beside her. Instead of replying, he raised an eyebrow. “Did you miss me?”

She could have answered in the same provocative manner, was tempted to, but the ghost of Mikhail’s teeth still burned on her lips. A strange mixture of tension and weariness coiled beneath her skin. “We’re allies. It’s only right that I ask where you’ve been.”

“I’ve been away from the cabin every day for hours, but not once did you ask where I was.”

“Because I knew you were in the forest.”

“So, Korovin didn’t tell you?”