Page 154 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

“Exactly.”

“Fine,” Amelia said. “You’re right. I hid the necrosis and the Oracle’s letter from you. No more secrets. Do you have any?”

Callan raised an eyebrow. “A dozen, at least.”

Damn. If her relationship with Mikhail was hot and cold, the one with Callan was like a game of chess.

“Any secrets that might help us understand more about the Sacreds?” she rephrased.

The smile faded from his lips. “Since your predecessor wrote about the dark energy, there is a much higher chance that the Queen will activate the Sacreds than I thought. Until now, I believed her goal was just to gather them.”

“But how will she activate them? Let’s assume she somehow steals them from us.” Amelia lifted the letter. “It says they emit a powerful energy. They should kill her.”

“Yes, but…” Callan rubbed his chin. “After reading this letter, I’m beginning to wonder if her humanid nature makes her more resistant.”

“Or she’s crazy enough to take the risk?”

“The latter is certain, but if she truly plans to activate them, you’d better start uncovering their names…”

Her body stiffened. “Are you suggesting thatIactivate them?”

“No, for heaven’s sake!” He grinned. “You’re expected to surpass Ana in mastering the Sacreds. You can’t control what you haven’t fully dissected.”

“And their secret lies in their names…” Amelia began pacing the room.

Callan’s hand on her shoulder made her stop. “You don’t need to do it right away. In fact, you’d be better off getting some rest. You haven’t slept all night, have you?”

She shook her head. Her muscles ached from exhaustion, but she doubted she’d be able to relax.

“We’ll talk after you’ve had some sleep.” He started to leave. The absence of his touch on her shoulder triggered a strange feeling of emptiness.

Callan was already by the door when Amelia said, “I have a question. Why did you trust me with your pocket watch?”

The surprise on his face seemed genuine. “Why not?”

“You suspected I was hiding something from you, but you never asked for it back.”

He smiled. “Because I hope you’ll give me your heart.”

This,she hadn’t expected. She forced a laugh to hide her confusion. “A watch for a heart? Seems like a pretty unfair trade.”

“Devilishly unfair. After five thousand years, you’ll soon understand why.”

56

Amelia

The day was passing, and Mikhail hadn’t given her a second thought – at least, there were no signs that he had – even though just twenty-four hours ago, his mouth had been fused on hers with the desperation of a man clinging to his last breath.

What had she expected? For him to seek her out and apologise for his behaviour? Had she hoped they’d carry on with what they’d started?

Amelia sat up in bed. No matter how much she’d tried to, she couldn’t drift off.

She uncurled her fingers, revealing Callan’s watch. What kind of name could a watch have? Or a necklace?

Her hand sought the two-headed snake on her neck. A gesture that was becoming a habit.

Renenutet’s Necklace. Re-nen-nu-tet.