Page 172 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

“Hello.” She slid into the car, wondering why the others were still lingering in the restaurant.

Karo was just settling into the driver’s seat when Mikhail appeared at his door. “I’ll drive. Find another car to ride in.”

Karo ran a hand through his hair, bewilderment creasing his features. “It’s no problem, really…”

“Find another car to travel in,” Mikhail repeated, opening the door.

The moment the agent stepped out, he took his place and started the engine.

Amelia peered into the empty back seat. “Aren’t we waiting for someone else?”

“There are enough cars.” Mikhail glanced in the rearviewmirror before reversing the vehicle and heading down the slope leading to the main road. He wasn’t carrying any weapons or wearing a bulletproof vest, unlike most of the agents.

They fell into silence. Until now, she’d managed to resist replaying the previous night – no matter how hard it was. But Mikhail’s closeness brought every memory rushing back.

Once they were on the main road, he spoke. “I want you to stay in the car. Only proceed with the Sacreds if we fail.”

“Mikhail, no. We agreed on this…”

He clenched his jaw. “Does no one but me see that we’re relying on a hypothesis? What if those aren’t the names of the Sacreds? What if you can’t activate them, or the necklace doesn’t protect you?”

“My intuition tells me I’m right. That it will work.”

“Your intuitionisn’t reason enough, Amelia!”

“Is that why you got into the car with me? To make me second-guess myself when I’m already worried enough, but want to do the one thing that could stop the Queen?”

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He blew out a frustrated breath and glanced at her. “I got in because I remember you, little beast.”

Her retort froze in her throat.Little beast. She hated the endearment. Even more so, she hated the way her heart quickened at the sound of it.

“I remember everything we went through.” He shifted his focus back to the road, as if he hadn’t just shaken her world once again. “The Oracle told me to look after you. And I took you to my bed.”

Amelia lowered her gaze to his cold profile. He remembered her. She had imagined that, if this ever happened, she would be overjoyed. Yet, the tension in Mikhail’s jaw and the coldness in his voice made her chest tighten instead. “After all these weeks, that’s all you’ll say?”

“You’re my responsibility. I should have taken better care of you.”

Her heart pounded in her ears. “Responsibility? So, it was a mistake to you?”

He gripped the steering wheel. “I could never give you what you deserve.”

She pressed her fist to her mouth, swallowing the words she would later regret. Then it struck her – she didn’t have time left for regret. Until this morning, she’d been fooling herself into thinking she had closed the door on their past. But now, hearing his words, she realised how mistaken she’d been.

Her voice cut sharply through the air. “I’ve been through everything. A stranger to you, a potential traitor, an unidentified immortal species, and now aresponsibility. Was there ever a moment when I was anything more to you than a burden? Than a woman too fragile to stand on her own?”

“I never saw you as a burden.” Mikhail looked at her, and despite his calm tone, his eyes were golden. “It was a privilege to witness your transformation. To see how you built your strength and joined the battle I’ve been fighting for years. How you broke down my barriers and revived emotions I didn’t even realise I could still feel. But that doesn’t change the reality.”

She stiffened. Yet, she still needed to hear it from him. “And what’s your reality, Mikhail?”

He kept his gaze on the windscreen, then faced her with an expression that said it all. “I can’t put you first, Amelia.”

In that instant, everything crystallised. Mikhail’s anger, his memories of past betrayals, his desperate desire for revenge – all of them outweighed the moments they had shared. His primary drive would always be revenge. She had been a fool to think her love could free him from it. For Mikhail, revengewasand alwayswould behis true love.

A crushing sense of defeat pressed down on Amelia’sshoulders. “I understand.” What else could she say?

“I don’t want you risking your life today.” His tone was once again businesslike. He was doing what he was used to – distancing himself. “Strategically speaking, going to the Hospital is the stupidest decision we could have made. You’re the only one with any advantage over the Queen when it comes to the Sacreds. Your death will tip the scales in her favour.”

“That decision isn’t yours to make.”