Page 121 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
Mikhail rested his chin on her head and took a deep breath. “I’m glad you told me, instead of doing something foolish,” he said, not loosening his grip on her even a fraction.
“You… You don’t hate me?” she mumbled into his chest.
“Why would I hate you?” Mikhail released her just enough to frown at her. His touch was gentle, but darkness still dominated his irises, and his voice sounded unnaturally calm, as if he were suppressing a deep-seated anger.
“Mikhail, if you want, I can leave…”
His hand tightened around her wrist, holding her in place. “What did I tell you, Amelia? If we have a problem, we sit down and talk. If something bothers you, you come to me first. And whatever happens, never – absolutelynever– run away from me.”
Her body tensed. His grip didn’t cause her discomfort, but the energy in the room felt treacherous.
Mikhail growled. “My eyes are like this because the thought of you leaving again terrifies me. I imagine you handing the ring to that Ana and then all hell breaking loose on you. Because no matter what that damned nymph has told you, there’s no way she means you well. Or me. Or the Hospital! And if she doesn’t mean you well, she sure as hell wouldn’t just let you walk away and do as you please after she gets what she wants.”
Amelia closed her eyes for just a second. “I know, Mikhail. I dreamt of it.”
His jaw clenched so tight it seemed to grind. “I’m furious because she cornered you when you were out there all alone in the mortal world and thought she could fill your head with nonsense about me, expecting you to believe her. But mostly, I’m losing my mind over the fact that she made you feel responsible for the survival of the Hospital.”
Amelia’s eyes welled up, but she wasn’t about to cry. Mikhail didn’t hate her.
He brushed a strand of hair away from her face and softened his tone. “It’s all right, Amelia. I’m here with you.”
“And the Hospital?” Despite her best efforts, her voice shook.
“The Hospital is protected by magic. Ana, or whoever she is, wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
“But if she truly is the daughter of a deity, she’s very powerful, too. The things she did to those people…”
“The magic protecting the Hospital is extremely strong. It’s bolstered with multiple additional defences. Even if Ana possesses powerful magic, she can’t counter it. I guarantee you, no magic can overcome what guards the Hospital.”
Amelia allowed his words to reach the deepest fears in her heart and soothe them.
“It was all a trick, Amelia, to get you to take the ring.” Mikhail wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek. He smiled. “Although I suppose I should be endlessly grateful to Ana for making you come back to me.”
Mikhail leaned in and gave her one of those kisses that left no doubt he would be the only one touching her lips for the rest of her life.
And she was supposed to manipulate and steal from him?
She, who forgot her own name in his presence?
“I’m sorry.” Amelia regained her composure. “I should never have thought, even for a moment, that you couldn’t handle that woman on your own.”
“It’s all right.” He planted another quick kiss on her lips and pulled back, a new gleam in his eyes. “Now, Oracle… I want you to help me with two things. One is to figure out what’s so special about this ring, because it’s obviously more than I suspected. The second”—he ran his fingers through his hair—“is to rid me of my prison haircut.”
***
Mikhail stood in front of the bathroom mirror. Just hours earlier, his blood had been fuelled by passion, but now his veins surged with burning anger.
He didn’t want to give in to his animal side, fearing it wouldpush Amelia away. But how could he suppress the tension in his muscles when someone was trying to take both his father’s legacy and the woman who belonged to him? And all this against the backdrop of a mysterious immortal species and a missing, stolen mummy from the Temple of the Dead Immortals?
He couldn’t believe he hadn’t already ransacked every room in the building to torture random creatures until he found the one who’d taken the mummy. Perhaps his restraint was due to Amelia’s presence. On his first day back, the story of the mummy had seemed strange to him, but he hadn’t dwelled on it, considering all the other problems. With this new information about Ana, things got complicated.
Maybe Ana had realised she couldn’t bring down the Hospital with magic but had somehow learned about the stolen mummy and had taken it as proof of the theft? Did that woman plan to blackmail him with it? Something like ‘give me the ring or I’ll show the mummy to the vampire tribe and unleash hell on you’? What if more issues were bound to fall upon them now because of it? After all, he’d once thought they’d escaped scot-free from Italy, and look how that had turned out – with his arrest, months later!
Mikhail rested his hands on the cabinet in front of the mirror and exhaled, unable to quell the burning in his chest. The animal energy urged his body to transform, but in his current emotional state, he didn’t trust himself enough to allow such freedom.
He crossed to the small library on the other side of the corridor. Constantine and Zacharia were chatting by the window, while Viktor and Amelia sat side by side on a red sofa, their noses buried in a thick book on Viktor’s lap. His chest boiled again, and this time for a different reason. He was no stranger to jealousy, yet Viktor and Amelia’s closeness provoked him with unexpected intensity.
“Someone had a beauty day?” Constantine eyed Mikhail’sshorter hairstyle.
