Page 30 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

Her fingers stilled on the paper. Several long seconds passed. The wind had died, enveloping the room in silence.

Amelia cursed aloud and strode towards the curtain. She yanked it aside and—

Exhaled in relief. Behind it was a life-sized portrait of a man.

The figure was striking, with flowing charcoal-black hair and honey-coloured eyes. Something about him felt familiar, and Amelia forced herself to recall where she might have seen him. The man wore a white tunic fastened with an intricate belt, dark brown breeches, and leather boots. His stance was confident, his well-defined muscles captured by the artist’s hand.

Amelia’s gaze drifted to his face. The sharp symmetry of his features conveyed intelligence, majesty, and strength. The creeping dread she’d shrugged off returned in full force.

She drew the curtain over the portrait, replaced the sketchbook on the table, and made her way to the door. Cracking it open just enough to peek into the corridor, she let the draught brush her neck. Assured no one was around, she slipped into the hall. She didn’t glance back at the bloodstained glass window as she walked away.

15

Kathrine

“What do you do when you witness wrongdoing?”

“Close my eyes. Stay quiet. Move on as if nothing happened.”

“And then you fall asleep?”

“Then you wake up.”

“I meant, does your conscience let you sleep?”

“I meant, the next morning, I’m alive to wake up.”

Years had passed since that conversation.

Kathrine stared at her fiancé’s back, replaying his words in her mind while trailing after him and the rest of the dinner party. The murky palace corridors matched the sombre tones of his tailored black suit and dark hair. In Antambazi, at the Queen’s palace, within her sphere of influence, Sevar was a master at surviving. If not for him, Kathrine wouldn’t have lived to this day.

“Don’t mourn the fate of others. Mind your own.”

She should have been dead. Ever since the last Oracle fled, her life should have ended. Why did the Queen keep her so close? Was it possible she’d overlooked Kathrine’s role in helping the Oracle escape? Or that she’d slipped fragments of C.’s notes to the enemy?

Her gaze shifted from Sevar to the figures moving ahead of him. The Queen led Petrov and his son through the palace corridors, but the usually chatty general was subdued after the incident at dinner.

No, not an incident, Kathrine. A murder.

As if reading her thoughts, Sevar glanced back at her, his expression a silent warning:‘Do you want to wake up tomorrow morning?’

At that moment, Kathrine hated him.

Yet, as they climbed into the car and navigated Antambazi’s steep roads, she reminded herself why the Queen’s actions were justified. They all worked towards the liberation of their kind.

“Is it really necessary to weaken the other species?”

“We lack their regeneration. If we don’t, we’ll remain inferior to them.”

“They won’t be very welcoming after that…”

“We don’t need them welcoming. We need them desperate.”

For the first time in her life, Kathrine was about to enter the laboratory. Access was reserved for the Queen and those dedicated to scientific work. A mixture of apprehension and anticipation churned inside her when she followed the others into the tunnel. The laboratory was as she’d imagined – a large aluminium door with a control panel, sterile surroundings, equipment, and figures in white lab coats.

She recognised some of the lab workers – men and women she hadn’t seen in years. No one truly understood how the Queen decided the training paths of her Chosen. That choice determined whether they worked in the lab, became a counsellor, joined the guards, or transported earthly goods.

“It doesn’t seem right.”