19

There had been one woman in Mikhail’s life that he had strived to impress, whose attention he had genuinely fought for.

Valeria’s beauty had been unequalled, but he had had many unequally beautiful women before her. Her incredible cunningness had been her outstanding trait. Hot, cold, passionate, indifferent, innocent, aggressive. He had never known what to expect from her, when she would wait for him in bed, would she even wait – all tricks that were older than the world itself. And he had been a young, conceited and selfish fool, who had fallen for all of them. Sometimes, he wondered if he’d ever truly loved her, or if every conquest of her body had served as a boost to his ego.

He certainly hadn’t loved her when he’d killed her.

Mikhail halted in front of Amelia’s room and knocked on the door frame. He had long forgotten chivalry, but the circumstances required him to become a gentleman once more.

Amelia showed up with her hair tied in a messy bun. The black clothes she wore accentuated her slender thighs, slim waist and small breasts in a subtle manner. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard for him to be nice, after all. Despite her petite figure and the lack of pronounced sex appeal, there was something about her that he found attractive. Of course, her humanity and his inability to be with any woman after Valeria hindered everything else, but at least interacting with her needn’t be unpleasant.

He closed the door behind him and walked with her to the couch. A waft of citruses and rose geranium crawled up his nostrils and sent an unexpected wave of pleasure down his spine. The animal inside him stirred.

He sat on the couch, muscles tightening. Despite his conviction that he was unable to be with a woman, this was the second time his body reacted to her in an unusual way. First, he had felt it when their hands had touched the other day, on their improvised walk. And now, that same sense of electricity crept beneath his skin. It wasn’t desire but something very similar to… enthusiasm?

Mikhail ignored it, focusing his attention on Amelia. “I’m leaving the Hospital for a little while, but will be back very soon. It’s a dangerous mission.” He was lying about that last bit. The meeting with the old witch would probably be more boring than anything else. “I’m hoping that the issue is resolved quickly.”

“A mission?” Her eyes sparkled.

He had sized her up correctly, then. Some women were impressed by compliments and presents, but she was one of those who had a thirst for stories.

“Yes. I need to take something from someone,” he said.

“You go outside of this building? Into the human world?”

“Of course, although I do it rarely.” The world didn’t only belong to humans, but he didn’t correct her. “There are some things I need to personally take care of. This means that I can’t take you to the OR today, which is a shame, as we have a very interesting case. A vampire whose head is partially severed at the neck.”

Amelia’s gaze narrowed. “What will happen to him?”

“We’ll stitch him up.” Mikhail smiled at her utter disbelief. “Send him home after that.”

“And he’ll survive?” The corner of her lips twitched.

“We’ll see. Everything is possible for immortals. I’ve been amazed more than once by their ability to survive even in the current circumstances.”

“About that…” She placed her hands in her lap. “I was thinking about the things you told me, and showed me. I was wondering if you’ve ever done genetic tests? Surely you have the resources.”

“We have, but they gave us no useful information. We know what’s different between mortal and immortal DNA, but we can’t discover the reason for the slowed regeneration.”

“What’s the difference in DNA?”

“Human DNA is coded by four nucleotides, whereas ours has six,” he said. “At least, that’s what they told me. Genetics isn’t my strongest suit. And it’s still a fairly recent area of medicine.”

“But very useful.” Amelia pursed her lips. “Have you tried comparing the DNA of a human, I mean creature, that has lived before 1744 with that of a creature that lives today?”

He shook his head. “There’s no point. Whatever year you were born, everyone is impacted by the Changes.”

“No, no. I mean a creature that died before those changes. I imagine that even then, there were creatures who died from various causes? Otherwise, the world would be full of them… I guess…” She trailed off, but her eyes were filled with keen interest.

He was surprised by his eagerness to answer. “Of course, they died, but it was harder. Decapitation, rare deadly artefacts, and things like that worked. But never old age or human diseases. But there are no such bodies to test because every creature who dies gets cremated.”

“Hmm… that’s not good.” She took a moment to ponder the information. “How long has the Hospital been active?”

“Since 1850.”

Amelia was quiet once again. From the expression on her face, Mikhail was convinced she was calculating something.

But it was his turn to question her. “Now that you know about the immortal world, do you recall ever encountering circumstances that didn’t seem entirely… human?”

Her blue eyes met his. “I’m sorry, but no.”

“Have you ever had visions?”

“No. Never.”

“Have you ever done strange things?” At her clueless expression, he explained, “Like move objects with your mind? Or see ghosts?”

“Regretfully, no.”

“Have you ever had strange dreams?”

“Define strange.”

Was there a slight tension in her jaw? “Prophetic, too detailed, almost real…”

“I have never had dreams related in any way to your disrupted regenerative abilities,” she said.

He tapped his finger on the couch. “I wasn’t asking specifically about this, but overall.”

She shook her head. “No. Not that I recall.”

He looked down at his knuckles. As a manticore, he could take advantage of his enhanced senses even in his human form. They guided him through darkness, but also turned him into a lie detector. Nine times out of ten, he could sniff out a lie.

Just like now.

She’d had strange dreams.

The discovery made him bristle. After all, a part of him was predatory and he had a trail to chase. One he was eager to follow… But his human senses reminded him that a flight awaited him in an hour. It wasn’t the best time to dig, so he let it go. For now.

“I’ll see you soon, Amelia.” With that, he left.

***

“Save me a spot in the car tonight.” Alex clicked send.

“And don’t forget to change the beartoothy water. It’s not a plant humans or even most immortals know about, so you may not understand the importance of my instructions, but it’s crucial the seeds soak in three different types of water for twenty-four hours each, to release their poison. I want to be able to use them when I get back. Go over to the urology ward and drop by that lycanthrope with the horrible pains. The one whose kidney the witches took. God knows what else they did with their twisted magic. I gave him a sedative—”

“Yeah, yeah, Vik. I’ll do everything.” Alex glanced at her phone.

“The club will be full tonight. Put on something sexy,” Maya texted back.

Alex pursed her lips. There wasn’t anything in her wardrobe that could be deemed sexy !

“Can I borrow a dress?” she replied, then added, “All of mine are at the dry cleaners.”

As if Maya would believe that. Whatever.

Viktor paced around the lab, running a hand through his untameable raven-black hair. He was usually an embodiment of peace with his welcoming eyes, easy-going expression and voice as smooth as silk. He dressed like a monk, if anyone asked her, and yet he often became the centre of women’s attention, which he always deflected with a smile and excellent manners.

He was also the most level-headed, pedantic and steady creature she knew; his word was law and non-negotiable. And he applied the full force of said law to prevent her from leaving the Hospital. She was only ever allowed to go out with the chambermaids for food and clothes, and even those outings were limited.

He meant well, she knew that at the back of her head. And even while watching him rummage around the lab – as if the world would end if he forgot something – Alex imagined how upset he would be if he found out she intended to party all night long.

Anxiety twisted his features every time he had to leave the Hospital. Today, his hair was wilder than usual, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing the tattoos that started on each forearm and ran all the way up his shoulders and down his back, slowly expanding until they met at the base of his spine. The lines of symbols, when looked at from afar, resembled a rhombus. Upon closer inspection, it was made up of hundreds of intertwining symbols. Alex had glimpsed it only a handful of times, as Viktor always kept it hidden. The little lines were incomprehensible to her. She’d asked him once about their meaning, but he had replied that he didn’t know and ended the conversation.

Alex wondered yet again how a man like Vik had got such a tattoo. She’d always suspected it had something to do with his abstinence from turning. Viktor was among the very few immortals who had voluntarily given up on their secondary form.

‘Some beasts must never be let loose,’ he’d told her.

She didn’t understand it. As a New Generation creature, she couldn’t turn, but that didn’t mean she never felt the desires of the animal inside her. Sometimes it was downright impatient, persistent and hot-headed.

“I want you to be very careful,” he said in his parental voice. “The Hospital is not the safe place it once was. I don’t enjoy leaving you with so many tasks, but there was no way I could refuse Mikhail. He asked me to go to Italy with him.”

Another text message came in from Maya. “Colour preference?”

“In fact, if all goes smoothly, I might be back tonight.”

Alex jumped in her seat. “Don’t worry, Vik. I told you I could do everything on my own. In fact, if you want, why don’t you stay there for a while? I’ve heard only good things about Southern Italy.”

They were going to Italy to invite some witch to join the Council, after Kaliope Gazis had apparently refused to participate any further. The trip couldn’t have come at a better time, and Alex was tempted to send a gift to Mikhail for taking Viktor with him on this journey.

Viktor, however, didn’t appear as thrilled with the invitation. “Now is not the time for rest.”

“Black,” she messaged Maya, while rolling her eyes in annoyance at Vik. Not the time for rest… If she heeded Vik’s every word, she’d die of boredom and never experience life.

“Where’s your brother?”

“Playing video games with Komitsky in the common room.”

“That vampire?”

“Yes. The same one you forbade from talking to me, yet you have absolutely nothing against his friendship with Grigor.” She lifted her chin, daring him to argue otherwise.

Viktor waved his hand as if he were swatting a fly. “The vampire doesn’t stare at your brother the way he stares at you.”

Her phone screen lit up again. “The new guy said he’ll come as soon as he heard you’ll be there.”

Her stomach churned with excitement. She needed to look better than ever.

“Have a good trip, Vik!” She went over to hug him. “I’ll go to bed early, so even if you do come back tonight, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Viktor kissed her on the forehead. “See you tomorrow, sugarplum.”