Page 19 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

The Smoky Quartz. One of the Sacreds – and it was in her possession. Amelia mentally filed the information away for later.

The necromancer remained silent, but the shimmer in hiseyes revealed his interest.

“I suggest you take some time to think about it, Constantine. Meanwhile, as a gesture of goodwill, I’ll fulfil part of your wishes. Kathrine, Sevar, arrange for our guest to stay somewhere more comfortable while he considers my offer.”

Sevar eagerly produced a pair of handcuffs. He started towards Constantine, but before he could snap the cuffs around his wrists, Kathrine was there – swift and decisive – pinning his arms behind his back and locking her own set of handcuffs in place.

Amelia watched the Queen’s subordinates lead him away. All she could think was… they had captured Constantine. The man whom Mikhail had entrusted with the Council in his absence. The man he trusted more than a blood brother. Amelia realised how much she’d hoped Constantine would devise some clever plan to help them escape.

Yet in this man’s eyes, she’d read no longing for freedom, and his demands of the Queen bordered on madness.

What if… his behaviour was just a ruse to secure his release from the cell? Perhaps he did have a plan for their salvation. And since he was unaware that Amelia and Mikhail had agreed on what to do with the ringtogether, he likely viewed her as a traitor. Even so – if he succeeded in saving Mikhail – she would then be free to take greater risks against the reptilians.

“You’re surprised by the necromancer’s presence?” the Queen said.

Amelia nodded. “I am.” Where were the rest of their friends? Zacharia? Viktor? Nyavolski?

“I led him to believe I was setting a trap for Mikhail. The necromancer might see himself as elusive as a panther, but he walked into my snare with the naïveté of an obedient mouse.”

“I didn’t suspect his necromancer abilities were blocked. I’m not sure if Mikhail was aware,” Amelia added, trying to gathermore information, “but even if he did, he wouldn’t have told me. He liked to keep me in the dark.”

“A typical controlling male.” The Queen smirked. “Mada was a most unpleasant witch, but decent in black magic. Her task was to block the necromancer’s abilities so he couldn’t connect to the soul of the murdered woman from Korovin’s Council.”

Amelia wanted to slap the smug smile off the Queen’s face, but she restrained herself.

“I learned the necromancer was on her trail. That’s when I sent my creatures to kill the witch he had spent a night with in Istanbul and made it look as though he had committed the murder. Now you see why Mada wasn’t particularly inclined to favour Korovin and his friends.”

“You turned Mada against them…” Amelia worked hard to keep her voice free of anger. “And if they had been killed? How would you have taken the ring from Mikhail and sent Constantine for the gloves?”

The Queen smoothed one of her eyebrows with her finger. “I never believed she would kill them. I expected them to kill her and save me the trouble of her annoying demands. The fact that the wretched thing intertwined her soul with the necromancer’s upon her death was unexpected, but a marvellous turn of events. Now, I actually have something to bargain with him for.”

Amelia held the Mother of Reptilians’ scrutinising gaze. How could this woman always be several steps ahead?

10

Viktor

Viktor Volk felt like he was falling – backwards, backwards, backwards, into a time when his world revolved around a single passion. Gluttony. No, he wasn’t hungry for ordinary food, as a typical lycanthrope might be. He craved blood.

Viktor glanced around his room in the Hospital – the same space he’d inhabited for a hundred years. The furniture had been replaced throughout the years, but the view always remained the same. From the seventeenth floor, the Vitosha Mountain was stunning, especially when the sunlight bathed it at just the right angle. And when bloodlust didn’t cloud one’s gaze.

Viktor grabbed his white coat from the wardrobe hook and put it on. As he buttoned it up to the collar, he checked his face in the mirror for any revealing signs. The tan of his skin had paled, giving him an undernourished appearance. However, his lips were a richer red than usual, in sharp contrast with his raven-black hair, which he hadn’t bothered cutting in months and now fell to his shoulders. His broad face – with prominent cheekbones and deep-set eyes – possessed a handsomeness that opened doors and earned trust.

Those who knew him well might notice that the warm grey of his irises had taken on a darker, steely hue – the kind that suggested he was on the brink of transforming into a bloodthirsty wolf.

Viktor had heard rumours of what was happening beyond the Hospital’s walls – rumours that the Tribunal no longer served the good of the immortal world. But he didn’t believe it.Presiyan wasn’t a traitor.

Nor was Viktor. He wouldn’t succumb to his bloodlust as long as he needed to keep the Hospital running in Mikhail’s absence. Sooner or later, the manticore would reclaim leadership of the Hospital. Viktor’s sole duty was to ensure there was a Hospital left to lead.

It wasn’t a simple task. As one of Mikhail’s closest confidants, he was under strict surveillance, which compelled him to find inventive ways to communicate with the detained residents and patients.

He stepped into the corridor and walked down the hall, suppressing the wolf’s voice in his mind. The inner spirit wanted freedom, blood, death… Viktor clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms.

In the vestibule, three guards were on patrol – two humans and one reptilian. Viktor recognised them by their attire – humans in military uniforms and reptilians in dark grey fitted suits – and their demeanour. The humans appeared smug, while the reptilians had more reserved expressions. Wherever they came from, they had clearly undergone rigorous training.

The two groups seldom spoke, but they always joined forces when punishing someone for disobedience or asserting their new authority.

“I’ve been asked to deliver this ointment to a patient in the ICU,” Viktor lied, pulling a small jar from his coat pocket.