Page 186 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

“You can’t!” Prenatheia sneered. “The genetic changes are irreversible and will worsen with each generation. Mass human illnesses are just the beginning. The same will happen to the immortal species…”

Amelia seized the Queen by the throat with her hand. “I asked how to stop it.”

“You can… stop the broadcast… but the changes – never. They’re already activated in the DNA.”

“The regeneration serum. How do you make it?”

The Queen glared at her. “Withmira-sharir.”

“What is that?”

“An ingredient from Surat. There’s no equivalent to it on Earth.”

“Where do you get it?”

“I brought it with me from Surat. It’s gone now.”

Amelia’s body shook. She lifted her hand in front of her face, gazing at her unsteady fingers.

“The energy of the activated Sacreds is too much for you,” the Queen said. “Soon, your legs will fail, sweat will pour from your brow, your muscles will overheat, and your blood vessels will burst.”

The Queen was right. Amelia couldn’t sustain the relics for long. “I may be leaving this world, but you’re coming with me, Your Majesty!”

The ground shifted beneath her feet, though this time there was no earthquake. She directed the energy beams at the Queen’s body. With a single motion, they sliced her into pieces and burned her remains to ash.

At the centre of the ashes lay a crimson mass, still beating. Amelia took the Queen’s heart and lowered the energy shield to hurl it at the ayradjakli’s feet. “A humanid heart in exchange for restoring the regeneration of the immortal species.”

The ayradjakli said something, but she couldn’t hear it. The energy within her was freezing her blood and draining her body.

With her remaining strength, she reached out to the Sacreds one last time. She ordered them to disperse and conceal themselves so that they could not be discovered again.

One by one, they left her, each taking a piece of her as they went.

Her heart slowed down. Her muscles grew stiff. Her mind faded into darkness.

The necklace did not save her.

***

Amelia

Renenutet gave her a condescending smile. “It’s good for you to know which wells are dry, so you don’t search for water there. Especially while you’re wearing my necklace around your neck.”

Amelia raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“The only way for you to defeat Preni is by activating the Sacreds. Something she wouldn’t expect, because she knows you’ll die immediately.”

It took a while for the words to sink into Amelia’s mind. “So, the only way to defeat her is… by sacrificing myself?”

Renenutet’s gaze lowered to the necklace around Amelia’s neck. “What you wear around your neck is not merely another relic. It was a gift from my husband to me.”

Sobek stirred at the far end of the table. “And she gave it away to the humans…”

“I gave it to them because I have you, and they needed its protection.” Renenutet smiled. “When you think about it, is there a greater way to show generosity to humankind?”

Amelia had no answer, so she remained silent.

“The necklace has another function,” Renenutet continued. “It protects its bearer.”