Page 85 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

“Actually, I do. And I intend to retrieve it tonight.”

“Alone?!” Viktor sprang from his seat.

Callan leaned against the windowsill with a smile. “I’ll go with her.”

“We’re all going,” Mikhail said.

Amelia took a few moments to consider. Shehadplanned to go for the necklace alone, but together they stood a far better chance of stopping the Queen and avoiding all the catastrophic consequences for Earth. At last, she made up her mind. “I think the necklace is in a village very close to here.”

“Anything else?” Callan asked.

“I saw the woman wearing it. She was dressed in black, with a burqa covering her head and face. The necklace was hidden, too. She was fighting me fiercely.”

“Muslim women wear the burqa. It gives us some direction,” Alex said.

Amelia was ready to stop there because…Death. Death. Death.But then she glimpsed Mikhail’s expression. To her, his steel façade revealed more than it concealed. She sensed his despair over his inability to protect the beings he’d taken under his wing in the Hospital. And despite every instinct telling her not to, she wanted to help him.“I saw a sign with the village name. It read ‘Byala Voda.’”

Before she could say anything further, Alex unfolded a large map of Bulgaria, scanned it, and pointed at a spot. “But it’s so close!”

Callan smirked. “When something seems too perfectly aligned to be a coincidence, it’s no coincidence.”

“How is it possible the necklace has been nearby all thistime, and the Queen hasn’t found it?” Mikhail’s voice brimmed with scepticism.

“That’s the remarkable thing about the Sacreds,” Callan said. “They’re always near for the one they want to find them, and infinitely distant for everyone else.”

***

Amelia

They agreed to set out for the necklace at dusk, using the hours of darkness to their advantage. First, they would scout the area, then plan their next move.

Amelia rested on a stone near a lonely tree, leaning her back against its trunk. Her heart felt like it was changing—reshuffling its layers. Mikhail would always be there, buried so deep she could barely touch him, yet something else seemed to be seeking a special place within her.

She tapped into her Oracle abilities and pulled out Gea’s letter. Despite the faint moonlight, her eyesight was acute enough to read.

Lately, I have been dreaming the same dream. Dark energy. I cannot see its outlines, but I feel its essence. There is something wrong with it, even perverse. Sometimes it is innocent as a newborn, other times corrupted, as if marked by a flaw before birth. At times, it is inexperienced and weak; at others, it is capable of cruelty beyond death. It longs for freedom, though destined for captivity.

I hope that by the time you read this letter, this energy remains dormant. I hope it stays that way forever.

Still, be prepared to face it.

Was the dark energy connected to the Queen? Was it the threatening war?

Death. Death. Death.That dreadful whisper stirred again.

“Ah, you would have loved the world centuries ago!”

Callan’s face had taken on a waxen hue in the moonlight. At his approach, Amelia hurriedly stuffed the letter beneath her thin jacket.

“When there were fewer distractions for the senses, it was much easier to find inspiration within oneself,” he said. “And what immense power lies there, dear Amelia, you have no idea. Incidentally, I’m a lover of poetry. If you create any, I’d be delighted if you’d share some of your own.”

She furrowed her brows. Did he assume she was writing poetry?

A stray breeze caused the strands around her face to dance. The firstborn radiated powerful energy. She wanted to be immune to it, out of loyalty to Mikhail, but his presence awakened each of her senses, and not in an unpleasant way.

Callan slid his fingers under her chin. “Broken hearts often seek solace in verses, but let me tell you something. Korovin isn’t inclined towards love. Don’t waste your words on him.”

Amelia pushed his hand away. “I can handle my love troubles on my own, thank you very much.”