Page 155 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

Amelia’s feet touched the floor as an idea popped into her head. According to what she’d read, Renenutet’s name meant ‘the giver of names.’

She set the watch aside, removed the necklace, and clasped it in her hands, running her fingers over the intertwined snake heads. The object was far more than just a magical artefact. If she could discover what that ‘more’ was…

There had to be a place, a book, a passage – somewhere on Earth – that would reveal the truth about the Sacreds.

A bright light drew her attention to the watch resting on the white bedspread. The dial had come alive with the colours of the rainbow, swirling and merging in endless spirals.

Amelia watched, holding her breath, afraid to blink for fear of missing the dance of changing colours. In an instant, the vivid hues reached out to her like tendrils. Perhaps she should have pulled back, but she didn’t. She let them coil around her fingers, spread across her skin, and envelop her. Her vision blurred for a heartbeat before clearing again.

And she was no longer in her room.

Above her, a massive chandelier hung, its curved arms rising upwards, ending in shallow cups with lit candles.

Her back rested against a hard surface, and she felt something sticky on her stomach. She sat up, examining it in her hand.A raw steak?!She darted her eyes about and realised she was the centrepiece on a long wooden table, surrounded by bowls of fruit, baskets of bread, and more raw meat.

She was dressed in nothing but a bra and some fringe that served as a skirt. At least the necklace still hung around her neck, and the smooth surface of the watch was cold against her palm.

Okay. So far, so good…

She concentrated on pinpointing her location. It wasn’t just a room, but a vast hall with towering, opulently decorated walls and ceilings embellished with golden ornaments. Larger chandeliers. More gold. In the distance, a pair of double doors remained shut.

Behind her, dishes clattered. She swivelled towards a man with a shaved head, seated at the far side of the table, tucking a white napkin into his collar. He acted like Amelia didn’t exist.

She held her breath, afraid that any movement would alert him to her presence. For some reason, he wasn’t acknowledging her, and she preferred they stay that way. It was as if he couldn’t see her…

Was she dreaming? She took the opportunity to examine him. His bright red tailcoat with golden ornaments matched the lavish surroundings and highlighted his large frame. Evenseated, he was tall. He reached across the table to grasp the salt shaker, giving her a chance to study his profile. A rather delicate nose, expressive lips, unusual, rounded ears, and… prominent scales that formed a crest, beginning from the middle of his crown and running down the back of his head, vanishing beneath his collar.

She was now convinced he couldn’t see her, but still, she cautiously shifted her leg across the table, grimacing at the piece of meat covering her left thigh.

The man’s movement made her stop. He grabbed a bell from the table and shook it. The sound echoed throughout the empty hall. Then his deep voice rang out between the high walls. “Do something with my dinner before it escapes.”

Then his eyes fixed on her. His irises were emerald green with elliptical pupils.

Amelia tumbled to the floor, knocking over a bowl of fruit. His face twisted into a bored expression before he wrapped his long fingers around the eating knife.

Amelia stepped back, not daring to look away. He let out a loud, exasperated exhale and yanked the napkin from his collar, tossing it onto the table. His chair scraped along the smooth floor.

Amelia didn’t wait for him to stand to his full height of over two metres before summoning the necrosis from her hands. If there had been a moment when she’d needed it, it was now!

A sound behind her caused her to turn around.

“I told them to prepare her for dinner! Not thatshewill be the dinner.” The steps of the newcomer’s golden slippers echoed through the hall. The woman approached Amelia with the graceful walk of someone at home in their element. Ebony hair cascaded like a waterfall over her shoulders and the golden metal corset that covered her chest. A gold skirt with large slits on both sides hung from her waist, and her golden velvet skingleamed above the belt, with several navel piercings.

She stopped beside Amelia and pointed at her, shaking the dozens of golden bracelets that started at her wrist and went up to her elbow. “Darling, this is Amelia. Don’t you remember I told you about her?”

The man shrugged. “I thought she was part of a new game you made up for me.”

The woman laughed. White teeth against peach-coloured lips. Perfect skin and a sculpted body. But there was something unusual in her features that prevented her from being defined as a beauty. Her nose was a straight line, descending from her forehead without a single curve. Like a snake’s.

The woman smiled. “Welcome to Surat. The planet of the humanids.”

Amelia shifted her gaze from her to the man and back again.

“This is my husband, Sobek.”

Sobek?

“And I’m Renenutet.”