Page 43 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts (Hospital for Immortal Creatures #3)

Amelia

Callan stroked his chin, adopting a philosophical air.

“The reptilians living in Antambazi today are beings with warped morals and values. They feed on hope – a hope born of centuries of manipulation. A dream of something that does not exist. And they’re just as willing to kneel for it as they are to kill for it.

The veil is an illusion crafted by the Queen to give them a purpose to strive for.

Why? Because a being without dreams or goals cannot be frightened or controlled. ”

Amelia tried to make sense of it. “Then why don’t they leave the realm?”

“Their physiology cannot withstand Earth’s sunlight.

The earliest reptilians used various ointments to shield their skin, but even then, they could not avoid the long-term effects of radiation.

Arius, being a firstborn, was likely resilient.

I suppose he banned them from leaving Antambazi to protect his people.

Over generations, their skin lost its full tolerance to sunlight.

And not just sunlight – eventually, they reached a point where stepping outside Antambazi meant instant death, because their physiology had long since ceased to be compatible with Earth’s environment. ”

Amelia stilled, her thoughts racing. “And after Arius’ death, the Queen ascended the throne, and Chosen were born – resistant to Earth’s nature,” she finished the story.

Callan tapped his lips thoughtfully. “That is one of the things I still cannot explain.”

Mikhail exhaled, impatience flashing across his face. “Then do you have an explanation for why she’s gathering the artefacts – if not to remove the veil?”

The firstborn held his gaze. “I have many theories, but the main one is she aims to establish a permanent tunnel between Earth and Surat, the humanids’ planet. She’ll use it to send her armies through, invade Surat, and exact revenge on the race that exiled her here.”

Mikhail clenched his fists. “How is that theory connected to the disrupted regeneration of the species?”

“I suspect Ana is weakening the species and then offering the only cure in order to control them – and have them join her army. Because she can’t take on Surat with an army of Chosen alone.”

Mikhail’s features darkened, a twitch appearing in his jaw. “Do you know what’s hidden in Kamchatka?”

“Kamchatka?” Callan scratched his chin. “I can’t even recall ever being there.”

“There’s a military facility in a no-fly zone,” Mikhail explained. “It’s guarded by an electric barrier and soldiers who shoot on sight.”

“It has something to do with Ana?” Callan asked.

Amelia placed her feet on the floor and straightened her shoulders. “I received its coordinates in a vision. It’s connected to the impaired regeneration and to the reptilians, somehow.”

Mikhail watched her with a mixture of doubt and surprise. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing, it’s just…” His fingers drummed against the armrest again. “In my memories, the old Oracle wrote those coordinates before she died.”

Alex held up her palm. “It was Amelia. Confirmed!”

Amelia’s chest grew heavy at yet another reminder of her loss.

Not wanting to reveal her pain, she shook her head.

“The war theory doesn’t explain why the Queen is guarding the Hospital.

It’s not just reptilians and humans… but the Tribunal army is there too…

” She shot Mikhail a sidelong glance, expecting his reaction at the mention of the Tribunal.

He pursed his lips but didn’t deny it. So, he’d finally accepted that Presiyan was his traitor. The satisfaction of being proven right again faded into a dull ache in Amelia’s chest. Mikhail had trusted the Tribunal’s leader. The betrayal had to sting.

“Before we escaped, all the healers were gathered and warned about special patients. Could it be the soldiers who will get hurt in the war?” Viktor said.

Again, that word. War.

Mikhail rose to his feet, facing Callan. Even in the presence of such an imposing being as the firstborn, Mikhail commanded immediate attention. “What do you suggest we do about it?”

“Unite,” Callan said. “You want to reclaim the Hospital and resolve the issues with regeneration. I want Ana’s head.”

“Reclaiming the Hospital must take priority,” Mikhail said coldly.

“If you attack the Hospital now, it would be like facing a three-headed dragon with a wooden sword. They outmatch you in both weapons and numbers. I propose to search for the missing Sacreds while gathering a large enough army and arsenal to retake the Hospital. Then we move on to Kamchatka, Antambazi, and the other places where Ana’s forces are scattered. ”

Mikhail listened with a sour expression, but finally nodded.

Army, weapons, conquest… Amelia’s insides twisted. “You’re talking about a war that will affect humans, too.”

Mikhail glowered at her. “What do you expect us to do?”

“I don’t know, but…”

“Wars between immortals have been fought before and will be fought again. In the end, history will be rewritten to preserve the secret of the immortal world.”

Viktor clicked his tongue. “Unfortunately, this war was declared long ago, back in 1744.”

“Then we start by taking the Sacreds. The Queen has the Mirror, the Net, the Ring, and the Quartz. We have the Watch,” Callan said, shooting a wink at Amelia. “So—”

A muscle ticked in Mikhail’s jaw. “How did you find the pocket watch?”

Callan turned to him, still with a hint of a smile. “I felt it. I always will because it recognises me as its first owner. It adorned the shelf of an old man in South Korea. How it ended up there, I have no idea.”

Alex’s golden ponytail flicked as she shook her head. “So during those few days you were absent, you were in South Korea?”

“I had to retrieve it, didn’t I? The bond between a Sacred and its holder is stronger than blood. I’ll always feel it unless it’s in the hands of someone the artefact itself deems a worthy owner.”

Viktor’s eyebrows shot up. “What does ‘worthy’ mean? Are you saying the Sacreds choose whom to be loyal to?”

“Of course. They’re living entities with their own intelligence and magic.”

Death. A whisper echoed in Amelia’s ear, making her frown.

Callan’s attention shifted to her. “Have you connected to the gloves and the necklace?”

Death.

Amelia ignored the whisper in her head. “The gloves are in Hell. That’s what the Queen wanted from Constantine – to retrieve them for her.”

“Well, that’s new,” Callan mused.

“And the necklace…” Death. Death. Death . The whisper seemed to echo in her ears. She lowered her head, trying to shake it off.

When she looked up, Mikhail was watching her. “Do you know where it is?” he asked.

‘If you care even a little for the world you live in, you won’t seek any of the seven Sacreds.’ She swallowed the lump in her throat.

“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. She had planned 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 facade 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 this time, 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.”

“Have you tried connecting to the pocket watch yet?”

She had spent half an hour gazing at it, waiting for some sort of reaction – a twitch, a sound, anything. It had rested in her hand, more useless than an ordinary clock. “I’m not sure what to do with it.”

Callan smiled. “The watch is a gift for lycanthropes, the most bloodthirsty creatures in this world. Thirsty for blood, for killing. When a lycanthrope gets overwhelmed by these urges, they need something to soothe them – a place, an object, or even another being. The watch allows them to transport themselves to the desired location in seconds, quelling their typically insatiable hunger for violence. But I’m not surprised you can’t use it.

It took me over a hundred years to master it. ”

That wasn’t very encouraging. Then again, her role wasn’t to wield the Sacreds but to ensure no one else could gather them.

She stood up. “I’m going for a walk.”

Leaving Callan behind, she ventured into the forest. Soon, her brisk steps became a sprint, her pulse racing.

She wasn’t sure how far she’d gone when she paused to catch her breath and surveyed the area with her Oracle vision.

The night was lovely, the stars peeking through the intertwined branches above her head, inviting wishes.

The green leaves swayed in harmony with the wind, showing no signs of danger. At first.

She heard the growl a split second before something heavy slammed her to the ground.

She twisted, meeting the manticore’s muzzle as its paw pinned her to the earth.

His body was at least two and a half metres long.

He leaned down towards her neck, warming her skin with his hot breath.

Black wings unfurled from his spine, obscuring her view.

But even so, Amelia recognised Mikhail. She could see the outlines of his face, ghostly and faintly glowing around the creature’s snout.

Then something strange happened. Although a growl emanated from his mouth, she heard words in her head: ‘ Very reckless of you to wander the forest alone at night. There are all kinds of dangers lurking.’

Amelia couldn’t fathom why now, of all times, she could hear him in her mind, when she hadn’t previously. Unless... Was it yet another evolution of her Oracle powers? And if it was, how much more would her powers evolve?

“As far as I can tell, you’re the only danger at the moment,” she managed to say, breathless.

He raised his head, locking his predatory eyes on hers. ‘You understand me?’

“I do. And besides…” She wriggled her leg, trying to free herself. “You’re heavy!”

‘How fascinating ,’ he mused, not moving an inch. ‘ I wonder what other gifts have resulted from this unusual blend of witch’s blood and Oracle abilities.’

“Get off me, Mikhail.”

Slowly, he drew back. ‘ Go back to the cabin ,’ he said before disappearing into the forest.