Page 82 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

Kathrine clutched the box with Sevar’s gift, holding no desire to uncover its contents. It was enough that the man before her represented a collection of empty promises.

She was about to hand him the unopened box when he reached out and brushed her cheek. Though healed, the spot still burned like a fresh wound.

“It took everything in me not to kill her, my love. But if I had intervened, I would have only given her an excuse to carry on hitting you,” he said.

Kathrine pulled away from him. “Shedidcarry on.”

Her fiancé sighed. “If it were anyone else, they’d have lost their head, not just suffered the humiliation of a few slaps. She has forgiven you countless times, and she’ll forgive you again.”

Kathrine pushed the box back into his hands, the emerald on her ring finger catching the light from the window. Perhaps she ought to return it as well. “I don’t want a fiancé who stands by while I’m being tortured.”

Instead of taking the box, he untied the ribbon on top. “Look inside.” She didn’t move. “Kathrine, I love you.”

Sevar was resorting to the words that always softened her heart. Not this time.

But he kept pushing. “I’m the only one you can rely on.”

She swallowed bitterly because he was right.

“You made a mistake, Kathrine. A mistake that could have cost not just your life but Kristo’s as well. You’re both alive by a stroke of luck. If we didn’t have the serum, not even Chosenblood would have saved you.”

Guilt flooded her thoughts as her mind dwelt on the necromancer’s escape and her own actions. Could she have done more?

“You’re angry that I didn’t defend you before the Queen,” Sevar said, “but have you asked yourself why you didn’t defend yourself?”

His last words froze her in place. Whyhadn’tshe defended herself? Because of her upbringing. She couldn’t stand up to the Queen. It wasn’t right to contradict the woman who had rescued her from misery.

Because, deep down, she deserved to be punished.

Suddenly, her resolve faltered.

Sevar took the box from her hands and placed it on the bed, then pulled her into his arms. “Tell me, my violet love, is there any reason for me to suspect you were involved in the necromancer’s escape?”

“Of course not!”

It wasn’t a lie… but it wasn’t the truth, either. The necromancer had captivated her. He’d got under her skin, distracting her from her duties. Perhaps it was the fear that he would see her true self – a child from the slums pretending to be something greater. She would never be worthy of the position the Queen had bestowed upon her.

Sevar stepped back to retrieve the box. He opened it himself and took out a small glass orb. A tiny house lay within. When he shook it, the orb filled with white powder that resembled snowflakes over the house.

“What is this?” Kathrine asked.

Sevar smiled. “Our home.” Her confusion deepened, prompting him to explain, “I bought us a house in the Circle of Arius. The place you always dreamt we would live.”

She stared at the miniature model of the house.

Sevar added, “Well, perhaps I got carried away with my dreams, but I thought that once the veil lifts, Antambazi might even see snowfall.”

“You… said you didn’t want to stay in Antambazi…” She couldn’t tear her eyes from the glass orb.

“I did say that, but then I realised your happiness matters the most. And if a home in the Circle of Arius is what makes you happy… Let’s do it! I’ve already informed the Queen that we’ll be leaving the palace soon, and she doesn’t mind. She even thinks it will help you regain your focus since she’s noticed you’ve been overworked lately.”

“She approves of this idea?”

“Of course. She wants you to be happy, too.”

Gazing at the tiny house nestled beneath the snowfall, Kathrine recalled her childhood home. The squalor, the stench of sewage, and the despair. Many believed that a child from the slums only dreamt of escaping poverty, but in truth, Kathrine had always yearned for family warmth.

The invisible scars on her cheeks stung, in tune with the guilt in her heart.