Page 89 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts (Hospital for Immortal Creatures #3)

Mikhail was still there. In human form now, his face was a storm of anguish, worry, and despair as he tried to reach her. The Sacreds’ energy shield wouldn’t let him cross. He shouted at her, yet the Sacreds muffled his words. They didn’t want her to hear. They didn’t want her resolve to weaken.

Amelia raised her hands to the sky. From beneath the gloves, her black energy burst forth – a luminous, swirling force intertwined with white threads.

The energy expanded, forming thick beams of black and white light that encircled the Queen’s body.

They gripped her by the throat, forcing her to her knees on the grass.

The Queen’s eyes widened in fear. “You… can use… the Sacreds to… fix the regeneration problems,” she choked out. “If you kill me… you’ll never know the cause. From now on… diseases will multiply.”

Amelia tightened the energy grip around her throat.

“Don’t…” the Queen coughed. “Only I… know… what it is.”

Amelia stepped nearer, raising a hand into the air. The Queen watched her, as if expecting the death sentence to be pronounced. But not just yet.

“Prenatheia, daughter of Gord and Priyanka. I command you to reveal the cause of the disrupted regeneration and how it can be fixed.”

The Queen struggled against the compulsion forcing her to speak. “A frequency of 4.5 hertz… circling the Earth… disrupting the DNA of the genes responsible for regeneration,” she admitted, scowling.

Amelia eased her grip. “So, it isn’t magic?”

The Queen bared her teeth. “Of course not! I’m a geneticist, not a witch, you idiot!”

“Is it linked to Kamchatka?”

“That’s where it’s broadcast from.”

“How do I stop it?”

“You can’t!” Prenatheia sneered. “The genetic changes are irreversible and will worsen with each generation. Mass human illnesses are just the beginning. The same will happen to the immortal species…”

Amelia seized the Queen by the throat with her hand. “I asked how to stop it.”

“You can… stop the broadcast… but the changes – never. They’re already activated in the DNA.”

“The regeneration serum. How do you make it?”

The Queen glared at her. “With mira-sharir .”

“What is that?”

“An ingredient from Surat. There’s no equivalent to it on Earth.”

“Where do you get it?”

“I brought it with me from Surat. It’s gone now.”

Amelia’s body shook. She lifted her hand in front of her face, gazing at her unsteady fingers.

“The energy of the activated Sacreds is too much for you,” the Queen said. “Soon, your legs will fail, sweat will pour from your brow, your muscles will overheat, and your blood vessels will burst.”

The Queen was right. Amelia couldn’t sustain the relics for long. “I may be leaving this world, but you’re coming with me, Your Majesty!”

The ground shifted beneath her feet, though this time there was no earthquake. She directed the energy beams at the Queen’s body. With a single motion, they sliced her into pieces and burned her remains to ash.

At the centre of the ashes lay a crimson mass, still beating. Amelia took the Queen’s heart and lowered the energy shield to hurl it at the ayradjakli’s feet. “A humanid heart in exchange for restoring the regeneration of the immortal species.”

The ayradjakli said something, but she couldn’t hear it. The energy within her was freezing her blood and draining her body.

With her remaining strength, she reached out to the Sacreds one last time. She ordered them to disperse and conceal themselves so that they could not be discovered again.

One by one, they left her, each taking a piece of her as they went.

Her heart slowed down. Her muscles grew stiff. Her mind faded into darkness.

The necklace did not save her.

***

Amelia

Renenutet gave her a condescending smile. “It’s good for you to know which wells are dry, so you don’t search for water there. Especially while you’re wearing my necklace around your neck.”

Amelia raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“The only way for you to defeat Preni is by activating the Sacreds. Something she wouldn’t expect, because she knows you’ll die immediately.”

It took a while for the words to sink into Amelia’s mind. “So, the only way to defeat her is… by sacrificing myself?”

Renenutet’s gaze lowered to the necklace around Amelia’s neck. “What you wear around your neck is not merely another relic. It was a gift from my husband to me.”

Sobek stirred at the far end of the table. “And she gave it away to the humans…”

“I gave it to them because I have you, and they needed its protection.” Renenutet smiled. “When you think about it, is there a greater way to show generosity to humankind?”

Amelia had no answer, so she remained silent.

“The necklace has another function,” Renenutet continued. “It protects its bearer.”

“Protects them from what?”

“From everything. From the Higher Powers. From death. Even from the destructive energy of the activated Sacreds.”

A shiver ran through Amelia’s core. That meant… “So, I can activate them and survive?”

Renenutet and Sobek exchanged a glance.

“Of course,” she said, “as long as you charge it with love.”

“Charge it with love?”

“By feeding one of the serpents with love. And having someone else feed the second for you.”

Amelia’s heart sank as she understood the meaning behind Renenutet’s words. “Feed it with… love? As in, someone has to love me?”

“And you, them. A shared, unwavering love. The kind that rules above all else. The kind that compelled my husband to craft the necklace for me. The highest virtue in the world.”

***

Viktor

The final beat of Viktor’s heart marked the end of his earthly existence and lifted the veil that had, for years, obscured his view of life as it truly was. It allowed him to appreciate the gift bestowed upon him.

He had been granted the chance to wander for a thousand years among the secrets and wonders of magical Earth. He had loved, with every fibre of his being, a woman who had returned his love with equal depth and sincerity. He had known the joy of that love.

He had been honoured to contribute to the creation of the Hospital for Immortal Creatures, a sanctuary that had saved thousands of wounded bodies and souls.

He had raised two children and nurtured them into compassionate individuals with generous hearts.

He had found friends for whom giving his life was a sacrifice worth making.

He had experienced an extraordinary range of emotions, each of which had shaped his soul and would strengthen it for the journey that lay ahead.

Now, he observed the Hospital from a distance, as if through a thickening veil of mist. With every breath, the world slipped further away.

His friends charged into the courtyard once the barrier fell, cutting down the harpies with relentless force.

Soon, they would find his body – and with it, the grief and fury that always followed loss.

Mikhail would feel it the most. They had fought side by side for decades, surviving things others wouldn’t dare imagine.

Mikhail was the closest thing he’d had to a brother.

And now, he was leaving him behind, too.

His thoughts drifted to Alex and Grigor. His twins. Not by blood, but by every choice he’d made. Alex – clever, fierce, more resilient than she realised – would bear the burden. Grigor, with his quiet strength, would support her. They were adults. Mature enough to face the world without him.

That didn’t make this any easier. But it rendered it bearable.

He was leaving this world with his mission complete.

And beyond, they were waiting for him. All the loved ones he’d lost.

He noticed Rafael first. Was his teacher pleased because Viktor had used the gifted tattoo, or was he just glad to see him again?

All doubts vanished the moment they came into view – his beloved, cradling their child in her arms. Tears welled in his eyes.

Gratitude curled his lips into a gentle smile when he saw who stood as a guard beside them.

His other half. The part of himself he had suppressed and hated for so long, but had only truly valued once he had lost it.

The wolf watched him with a calm expression, resigned to his fate. For centuries, he had played the role of Viktor’s protector, guided by his primal instinct for self-preservation.

But now, even after being destroyed by Mrita Hara , and cast into the Beyond, he seemed to harbour no resentment.

His gaze was steady, almost patient, as though he had been awaiting the return of his lost half while safeguarding the most precious treasure of their shared existence – at least until they could all reunite.

Viktor’s chest no longer rose and fell with life, but the weight that had been pressing down on him finally lifted.

***

The ayradjakli did not want to spawn evil, but he was desperate for a humanid heart.

Thus, when the Oracle failed to honour their agreement, he fulfilled it as she had wished.

If he had more time, he might have explained to her that magic follows the path of least resistance – often the path of the clearest message.

He restored the regeneration of the immortal species. But magic does not deal with subtleties; it operates with precision. Therefore, the Higher Powers reinstated the regeneration of the only immortal species on Earth – those who had never endured even a day under the influence of the Changes.

Ironically, they were the only ones who were already dead.