Page 80 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts (Hospital for Immortal Creatures #3)

Mikhail

Mikhail paced around the courtyard, exchanging words with Tribunal agents. He’d been struggling to stay put for the last few hours, with the Hospital’s creatures’ futures all at stake – and it all hinged on their plan working.

Darkness descended on the winery faster than expected, giving them little time to think about alternatives. In any case, it wasn’t like they had many options left, so they took a few hours’ rest before regrouping at dawn.

No matter how much he disliked admitting it, Amelia’s attempt to activate the Sacreds was the only somewhat viable plan.

He didn’t want Amelia on the battlefield, although her presence would improve their odds.

It tugged dangerously at the threads of fate.

If the plan unravelled, the surest death would be hers.

Everyone else had a fallback, however slim, but she would be trapped.

And that thought bothered him far more than it should have.

They weren’t lovers. Weren’t even friends.

They’d forged an alliance and exchanged a few kisses blurred by adrenaline and impulse.

Still, the idea of her dying clawed at something visceral in him – and it had nothing to do with logic, and the lost ring.

He scowled at the moon, but in truth, his anger was aimed at himself. Then, his feet carried him to Amelia’s room.

He hadn’t confessed to her that lately, he’d been having glimpses of her in his past. It was like a dream whose details escaped him, but he knew he’d dreamt it. A picture he saw in his mind, but whenever he picked up a pencil, the lines refused to follow.

He could understand why he’d wanted Amelia in his bed.

Still, how had he allowed that desire to override a two-hundred-year-old promise?

Whatever the previous Oracle had written in their letter, things would be different now – if he hadn’t let his feelings for Amelia push him into giving the Queen the ring.

He hesitated at the entrance of the corridor leading to her room. What had he even come here to do? Talk her out of going to the Hospital on the twenty-first? Undermine their only real plan… just because he was worried about her?

The thought caused him to halt several paces from her door.

He was not a saviour.

Not for Amelia or anyone else. He was simply atoning for his sins.

And he still survived thanks to his anger towards the past.

***

Amelia

For Amelia, everything had started as a gentle nudge to her mind.

An idea. She wasn’t sure which had taken shape first – the names of the Sacreds or the realisation that this was where her path had been leading her all along.

Activating the Sacreds was the way to stop the Queen, Preni , and to protect their integrity.

That was why Gea had always spoken of free choice. Amelia had to choose whether to sacrifice herself. It was no coincidence Renenutet had given her the names in such a veiled manner. She’d needed to be sure that Amelia’s desire to surrender her life was strong enough to dig deeper.

Throughout it all, the purpose of her becoming the Oracle had been to connect her to the Sacreds. After her death, another Oracle would appear. Someone who could help Mikhail solve the problem of regeneration once and for all.

But that someone wouldn’t be her.

Her calling – her strength , as Gea said – was her connection to the Sacreds.

The greed of the witches.

The lust of the vampires.

The envy of the necromancers.

The pride of the nymphs.

The sloth of the reptilians.

The gluttony of the lycanthropes.

The rage of the manticores.

That last one, she’d figured out thanks to her connection with Mikhail.

Amelia stood before the mirror. “Today may be your last day on Earth,” she said to her reflection.

She didn’t feel like crying, despite the emptiness spreading within her.

Someone knocked at the door.

“Come in!” she called, not moving her eyes away from the mirror. A flicker ignited in her eyes for a fleeting moment. But when Callan entered, that flicker vanished. Had she truly expected someone else?

He stood behind the chair, and their gazes connected in the mirror.

“Galia was beautiful, but you’re stunning,” Callan said.

“You’re lying.”

He smiled. “Prove it.”

She turned in the chair to face him. “How can I? I’ve never seen her.”

“For sure, you’ve surpassed Galia in deciphering the Sacreds. She never managed to.”

The way Callan looked at her made her forget, even if just for a heartbeat, that she might die tomorrow.

The firstborn was skilled both with words and in his gestures, but Amelia couldn’t be certain if she caused the fire in his eyes or if he was merely fooling around. Still, she found his company pleasant.

More than pleasant.

Amelia rested her hand on the back of the chair. “You were aware that by giving me the watch, I would go to Renenutet, weren’t you?”

His expression suggested she wasn’t far from the truth. “Mm. I suspected something would happen, but I had no idea what. I knew for sure that the watch would be far more valuable in your hands.”

“Thank you.” It was comforting to have someone believe in her.

“Are you worried about activating the Sacreds?”

“Would you call me ‘weak’ if I said I’m terrified but trying not to think about the possibility of failure?” About the end.

“I’d call you deranged if you weren’t worried,” Callan said, his face serious.

Amelia didn’t want to talk about it, so she changed the topic. “How about you? You’ll finally get your revenge.”

Callan tilted his head towards her. “A month ago, I burned with impatience to drive a knife into Ana’s heart. Right now? Not so much.”

“Not anymore?”

“Not anymore.” His lips curved at the corners. “Care to guess why?”

Amelia shook her head.

He reached out and gently lifted her chin, as if handling a delicate masterpiece. “I thought that when Ana killed Galia, she had destroyed the last opportunity I had to feel anything. It turns out she didn’t. Perhaps some loves just aren’t meant to be.”

Everything in her hurt from his words, because they resonated in her heart. His other hand found hers, their fingers intertwining as he pulled her to her feet. She rose, facing his perfect features.

His eyes drank her in, as if she were the most exceptional creation. “Many years ago, someone told me that great love comes first, and real love comes after,” Callan said. “Back then, I dismissed it. But now… I’m not so sure.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I thought they were one and the same.”

“Great love scatters you into pieces; real love brings you together. And you’re not meant to be alone, Amelia.”

She wasn’t meant to live, either.

He moved closer to her and lightly touched the corner of her mouth with his lips. It was so quick that, for a moment, Amelia wondered if she’d imagined it.

She hadn’t. The touch had passed, but the imprint of his kiss lingered, warming the spot. Like a hint. Like a promise.

He took her hand and kissed it. “If you don’t want to be alone, I’ll be in my room all night.” His gaze dropped to her lips. “Until then, my dark heart.”

***

Amelia

The still face of the pocket watch rested next to her head. The necklace was as cold as ice against her neck.

If someone had told her she would have only one day left to live, but would choose to spend her final moments with two objects, she would not have believed it.

And yet, here she was.

She was tempted to accept Callan’s offer. To tell him the truth about her predetermined fate. And about the necklace. Then, to let him envelop her with the strength and warmth of his body, and share the rest of the night with him.

And who knew? Perhaps he could be the true love who would complete her. Who would save her. The idea was seductive. And just as bitter.

Still, she didn’t want to be alone tonight.

She slipped the watch into the back pocket of her trousers and left the room, heading towards Callan’s, merely a few doors away. My dark heart. Why had he chosen to call her that? It felt strangely fitting.

Albeit…not enough.

Amelia passed his room and went down one floor. Her steps were steady, but her heart raced.

She didn’t knock before entering. The etiquette between them had long since disappeared.

“Amelia?” Mikhail sat at the foot of the bed, fully dressed as if he were about to leave at any moment.

The door clicked shut behind her. Amelia moved forward until she stood in front of him. “You’re rude, stubborn, and arrogant,” she said.

One of his eyebrows shot up. “Did you come here to insult me?”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “And you annoy me so much that I can’t even look at you without wanting to break something. But if this is my last night on Earth, I want to spend it with you.”

His pupils dilated, and golden flames flickered at the edges of his eyes. “You really don’t get it, do you, Amelia?”

Her body stiffened, as if he’d poured cold water all over her. He was rejecting her. She had imagined the physical attraction between them. That kiss in the restaurant had been just another way for him to gain control over her.

She turned to leave to avoid the humiliation of being asked to do so.

Mikhail’s fingers clenched her wrist. “Wait.”

She looked at him, hoping he wouldn’t take long. She didn’t know what he’d prepared for her – an apology or yet another condescending judgement. She didn’t have the strength for either.

Mikhail’s brow furrowed. “You don’t understand. You and I… This doesn’t end well.”

“There’s no need to explain, Mikhail.”

He pulled her closer to him, bending her elbow. “Why are you here, Amelia?”

Her gaze followed their hands touching. “Can’t you accept that I simply wanted us to be two strangers sharing the night before a battle we might not survive?”

“The past will never let us be just two strangers.”

The reminder made her pulse race with irritation. She had promised herself she would never go back there. The last thing she wanted was to return , not tonight. “When will you stop living in the past, Mikhail?”

His jaw clenched, his fingers tightening around her hand. “I’m not living in it. It lives in me. It’s part of who I am.”

“Then I hope you have a long life together.” She pulled her wrist from his fingers, and he allowed it.

She turned her back, determined to leave once and for all. She was at the door when she sensed the air shifting behind her. One of Mikhail’s hands grasped her waist while the other pressed against the door above her head.

Her pulse quickened from the heat of his body, enveloping her in his rough embrace.

He bent down, his lips grazing her ear. “Never turn your back on me, Amelia. Not when you haven’t heard me out.”