Page 7 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts (Hospital for Immortal Creatures #3)

Mikhail

The bandage fell off Mikhail’s face. He squinted, shielding his eyes from the dim light.

“Welcome back, manticore.” The voice carried a blend of contempt and satisfaction. A foul odour mingled with the familiar scent of sea salt.

Before him stood the woman Fate had wielded as a weapon to punish him for all the sins he’d committed during his four-century-long life.

“My hero! A white heart in black armour!” the Queen exclaimed, lingering on the scars across his chest. “Or are you a black heart in white armour? Willing to do anything to justify your falsely altruistic cause?”

If he’d had any strength left, he might have fought back – or at least responded.

“You thought you were saving the species, but all you ever did was entertain me. Unintentionally, you became part of my game.”

She’s lying! She would never have made so many moves against him if it had all been just a game.

Mikhail moved his lips, but his parched throat refused to produce any sound.

“Give him some water! I want to know what he’s trying to say.”

Icy water splashed onto his face. Only then did he realise someone else was in the room. That someone roughly grabbed his chin and poured water down his throat. Mikhail gobbled it all. After days without a single drop, his body absorbed the liquid like a healing elixir.

“How about I tell you a secret, manticore? I’ve never cared whether the species were weakened by disrupted regeneration or not.”

“You’re lying…” Mikhail croaked.

“Not in the slightest.” She strolled towards him. “I only lied when I needed to deceive your Oracle.” She pulled the chain with the ring before his eyes. “The new Oracle has adapted to this world rather quickly, don’t you think?”

The mention of Amelia stirred both his thoughts and his heart. “Why…”

The Queen placed a finger under his chin, forcing his head upright. “Why what, my beautiful captive?”

“Hate me… so much?”

She threw her head back, roaring with laughter.

The sound sent painful pulses through his ears.

“I don’t hate you. I like you. If I didn’t, would I have kept you alive for so long?

You’re not only exceptional physically, but also possess remarkable mental qualities.

I rarely see such resilience and determination.

Such willingness to trample everything in pursuit of your goals.

” She examined him from head to toe. “Did you know that in many parts of the world, there are small medical centres trying to save immortal creatures, but nowhere is there a hospital as grand as yours? Not everyone can manage such a monumental structure. Your single flaw is that you want it all for yourself, but that can be changed.”

Mikhail gathered the last of his strength. “If you like me so much… then why… don’t we ally?”

The Queen raised her eyebrows. “Are you offering me your loyalty?”

He nodded.

She laughed again. “You insult me. Stronger men than you have tried to win me over through deceit. Sweet dreams, manticore!”

She was leaving, and his guilty conscience would remain.

‘You want it all for yourself,’ the Queen had told him.

Was she right? The only thing he truly wanted for himself was Amelia. Everything else – the Hospital, the Council, the management, loyalty, obedience – existed to serve one purpose.

Revenge.

Or was it for the good of everyone…?

When his breathing grew laboured and his heart started to weaken, his mind wandered back to a time when life had felt simple, black and white, and free of doubt. Free of remorse.

***

Amelia

Hours after discovering the Oracle’s letter, Amelia was tossing and turning in bed.

She, who was blessed with the Oracle’s gift, couldn’t reach Mikhail’s consciousness.

She was capable of doing so. She’d once seen through Elisanda Grace’s eyes, witnessing the present as Elisanda herself did.

But now, when she needed her ability the most, it failed her.

The letter from Gea claimed that visions weren’t her strength. Then what was? She took it out again and reread it. Over and over.

Half an hour later, she slipped the letter back under her pillow and headed for the door, unable to remain confined in the oppressive colours of her room. The clock on the wall showed 3:20 a.m. She left, uncertain of where she was going.

Under the faint moonlight, she reached the main corridor.

It acted as a terrace opening onto the central foyer.

She tiptoed to the balustrade, reflecting on everything she had read in the letter.

The Queen had said she needed to find two items. With Mikhail’s ring, that meant she would have three Sacreds.

Movement in the central foyer made her tense.

The door carved into the rock, leading to the palace section, opened, revealing a familiar figure.

Sevar had exchanged his ballroom attire for a dark grey jacket and trousers.

His black hair was more dishevelled than the last time she’d seen him.

But it was the man next to him who caught her attention.

Blood surged to her ears, and her knuckles whitened as she gripped the balustrade, her mind struggling to comprehend.

There was no mistaking the man’s identity. He was hopelessness in black clothes, with a single bright spot – the mask on his face. A demon cast in gold. The features etched a furious grimace Amelia had dreamt of during Mikhail’s captivity in the Prison for Immortal Creatures.

Presiyan.

He said something Amelia couldn’t hear from her vantage point, but Sevar laughed in response.

A laugh that conveyed the camaraderie of two friends returning from midnight revelries.

The warden of the prison, the leader of the Tribunal – the institution responsible for maintaining order in the immortal world – was an ally of the reptilians.

Master of the Earthbound Demons was the nickname Amelia knew him by. But Master of Traitors suited him much better.

Mikhail had expected help from the Tribunal because he’d always believed in the friendship between himself and Presiyan. Even after Presiyan had arrested him and detained him beneath the ice of Prokaliya for four months.

Of course, the Tribunal supported the reptilians! Otherwise, they would have opposed them by now. That’s why the Queen wasn’t afraid of war with them.

Amelia couldn’t believe they had trusted Presiyan to arrest the General – the man who dismembered immortal creatures for amusement. Another of the Queen’s allies. No wonder the Tribunal had never managed to locate him.

Amelia’s heart ached for Mikhail. He would be shattered upon discovering yet another betrayal.

She kept watching, unblinking, until Sevar and his new companion disappeared on their way to the throne room.