Page 164 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

“Since she’s calling you there, it means she’s already decided that you don’t stand a chance.”

He held her gaze. “We might surprise her.”

“Trust me, she’s always one step ahead. It’s wiser to wait until the twenty-first passes and she’s back in Antambazi. Attacking the Hospital while she’s gone will be a hell of a lot safer.”

“More than anyone, I want Ana dead, but the odds aren’t in our favour,” Callan said.

Mikhail didn’t take more than a second to consider their words. Either way, he’d made up his mind. “It’s my hospital and my creatures. No matter whose side the odds are on, I’ll be there on the twenty-first. I’ll be grateful to anyone who joins me, but I won’t force anyone to do so.”

Silence fell. No one tried to argue with him.

A slight movement at the far end of the table caught his attention. “What about the Sacreds? Won’t they turn the odds in our favour?” Amelia spoke up.

She should have stayed quiet, because her suggestion made Mikhail’s chest tighten. “Even if they give us some advantage, the chance that the Queen will take them from you and achieve her goal is enormous.”

“Not if I activate them.”

Everyone turned to stare at her.

She stood up. “I’ll need a computer or a phone with internet, once again.”

***

Amelia

For security reasons, there were no phones or internet at the winery. Not that it had stopped the reptilians from finding them.

It took Presiyan about twenty minutes to bring a phone. Amelia began browsing, aware of the intense stares from all sides. Her fingers trembled with excitement as she typed on the keyboard, her eyes flicking through the text, impatient to confirm her suspicions.

Renenutet had lied to her, claiming she wouldn’t reveal the names of the relics. Shehadtold her – between the lines!

All Amelia had to do was load the last page to prove it. When she finally did, she focused on the screen.

Seven words.

Seven immortal species.

Seven deadly sins.

The Seven Sacreds?

Her heart raced because she was convinced she was right. She tore her eyes away from the screen and glanced at everyone in the room. She paused a moment longer on Mikhail, who was observing her with a tense expression.

“The Sacreds are the seven deadly sins!” she exclaimed. “That’s exactly what Renenutet told me. ‘What we created was a world fragmented by sins.’ She used these words. She spoke of greed among the witches. Lust…” She glanced at the screen again. “Lust is the uncontrollable passion of vampires. Envy should belong to the necromancers. Proud…must be linked to the appearance of the nymphs. But then the wars began, with rage and gluttonous desires for blood…” Her gaze raced across the seven definitions of sins. “These are the manticores and lycanthropes. ‘Manticores were born of rage,’ Renenutet said.And the reptilians. She didn’t say anything about them, but the gloves should be… the representatives of the seventh deadly sin – sloth.”

Her heart continued racing as she lifted her head from the screen and met the blank faces.

“Don’t you see it? The seven sins are related to the seven immortal species. And these sins correspond to the Seven Sacreds that were made to control them!” Her voice was thinning because she couldn’t remember ever being as sure of anything in her life as she was right now. “The Queen… she doesn’t expect me to activate the Sacreds, does she?” she asked Kathrine.

The reptilian’s expression revealed nothing. “No, as far as I‘m aware.”

“She may always be one step ahead, but she couldn’t have foreseen that I would meet Renenutet in person and that she would offer me guidance.”

Kathrine frowned, likely because she didn’t understand Amelia’s talk about Renenutet.

“According to what she told you, it’s not certain whether you’ll survive activating them,” Mikhail spoke evenly, but his eyes held those golden hints that suggested his animal nature was ready to take over.

“She said it’s dangerous, but the necklace will protect me!” Amelia straightened, concealing her hesitation.