2 #2
Amelia stared at Ana’s flawless features. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help,” she admitted. “I don’t have the skills of the Oracle. My visions… I have no control over them, so if you expect me to see something for you, you might as well give up now.”
Ana raised an eyebrow, her eyes glinting with amusement. “I don’t need visions. I want you to get something for me.”
Amelia stiffened even before hearing the next part.
“Mikhail Korovin owns a ring with an engraved golden lion,” Ana said. “I want you to return to him and take the ring.”
Amelia’s heart somersaulted at the mere mention of him. “No.” There was no way she was going back to Mikhail, let alone to steal from him. He might not care for her aside from her Oracle abilities, but she was not a thief.
“With this ring, I can overpower my sister’s manticore strength. It will weaken her enough for me to prevail—”
“I said no!” Amelia’s voice shook, but she stood her ground.
Though they were of similar height, Ana’s high heels made her loom several inches taller. She looked down at Amelia, her eyes narrowing. “Does it bother you to take something from Mikhail, Amelia? Are you afraid of provoking his wrath? Are you afraid he will hate you?”
“I have nothing to do with Mikhail Korovin and I don’t want to!” Nothing to do. Amelia’s voice wavered at the surging, unbidden memory – Mikhail’s hands wrapped around her, tracing the curves of her body, igniting sensations she had tried to forget.
Her cheeks burned, but she kept her composure.
It was time to go. She turned her back on Ana and started to walk away.
She had only taken a few steps when Ana cooed from behind her, “Nothing to do with him? Then you wouldn’t suffer if anything happened to him? You wouldn’t even blink… if I demolished his precious Hospital?”
The blood drained from Amelia’s face. She clenched her fists, spinning around to face Ana. “I thought you cared about the species? Why would you destroy the Hospital?”
Ana’s angelic mask cracked, revealing a hard-edged determination. “Because I’m prepared to sacrifice a few lives to save millions. You already know there is no victory without sacrifice.”
Amelia’s breath hitched. There is no victory without sacrifice . Mikhail followed the same ruthless principle in his quest to save the immortal species – manipulating, kidnapping, killing… He would do anything to achieve his goals.
“If it’s for the greater good, why don’t you just ask him for the ring yourself?”
Ana smiled, but the menace in her eyes remained. “He would never voluntarily give it up. Despite not comprehending the worth of the object he owns, he knows one thing – that his father gifted it to him. Because of that, he’ll never surrender it to anyone else.”
“Maybe he would, if you explained…”
“Amelia, do you know that Mikhail lost his family because of his fiancée?” Amelia nodded.
“And you know she was a nymph? Do you then think he would trust me, Mother of Nymphs, especially given the way modern-day stories depict my character? He is a confused man with a terrible trauma from the past, which to this day dictates every single move he makes.”
An icy shiver ran down Amelia’s spine. Ana was right. For days, she had believed that Mikhail had channelled his suffering into a noble cause – a quest to save the immortal species. But she had been wrong.
Ana’s gaze drifted somewhere into the distance.
Amelia turned, noticing a young couple – a man and woman – walking towards them, laughing and absorbed in conversation.
Suddenly, the man’s hand shot to his throat, his other hand clawing at the air.
His lips parted and his tongue protruded, his eyes bulging in terror.
Amelia’s body tensed, ready to rush to his aid, but Ana’s next words froze her in place. “Shall I let him die, Amelia?” Ana’s predatory gaze was locked on the man, and her lips were whispering an inaudible… spell?
“Are you doing this?” Amelia shouted.
“I am only making him believe he is suffocating. And when the brain believes in something, the body obediently follows…”
“Stop it!”
A moment later, the man’s breathing returned to normal, and his girlfriend offered a prayer of thanks. Another moment passed, and the couple was laughing again, as if nothing had occurred.
“What the hell just happened?” Amelia demanded.
“I made them forget,” Ana replied with a casual wave of her hand. “And that is a minuscule part of my abilities.”
“Why don’t you just use your magic to get the ring?”
“Because if I do, the collateral damage will be significant. It would reach my sister’s ears and make her aware of my plans. Yet, if I don’t get that ring soon, I will do exactly what you suggest – the next throat I wrap my fingers around will be Mikhail’s. And that will be only the beginning.”
Amelia straightened her shoulders, trying to steady herself against the rising tide of fear. She couldn’t allow this woman to blackmail her. Mikhail was not her responsibility. Surely, he could handle Ana on his own. But…
Her mind flashed back to the last words she had spoken to Mikhail. You will lose your life in this war – the message the Creator had forced her to deliver after her transformation into the Oracle.
“Well, Amelia, do you still question my willingness to do anything to get that ring?”
A wave of ice washed over her, chilling her to the core. The weight of the choice pressed down on her, suffocating and inescapable.
“You have two choices, Amelia. Return to the manticore and fight a losing battle or take the ring from Mikhail Korovin and help me stop the Queen of Reptilians. The first option will lead to failure and destruction – yours, Mikhail’s, and the Hospital’s.
The second is your only chance to prevent catastrophe. But you have to act now.”
Amelia’s mind raced. She had believed her place was at the Hospital, working alongside Mikhail to find a solution to the species’ declining regeneration abilities.
But now, everything seemed uncertain. Was Ana right – was she clinging to a doomed cause, tethered to a man who cared little for her beyond what she could do for him?
Ana’s voice cut through her thoughts, sharp and clear.
“You’re still not convinced you can take the ring from Mikhail?
I understand. The manticore is a temptation for the senses, but that’s all he is.
An empty shell. He’ll never fill the void inside you.
He’ll only use you, drain you, until there’s nothing left. ”
Amelia laughed, the sound bitter and hollow.
‘You’re just a girl I wouldn’t give a second look if the circumstances didn’t require it .
’ Mikhail’s cruel words echoed in her mind, a painful reminder of her insignificance in his eyes.
Ana had learnt much about her, but not everything.
Amelia wasn’t na?ve enough to expect love from Mikhail, yet the disappointment lingered, heavy and cold, in her chest.
Something about Mikhail had touched her, reached a place inside her that had been numb since her family’s death. And because of that, his harshness had stung more than it should have. She had chosen to leave him, to be alone rather than endure his dominance and indifference.
But now… Could she really walk away? Could she ignore the genuine threat Ana posed to the Hospital, to Mikhail, and to the countless immortals who sought refuge there?
No, she couldn’t. No matter how much Mikhail had hurt her, she couldn’t stand by and let Ana destroy everything. But the thought of betraying Mikhail, of taking the ring… It twisted her insides.
At that moment, the reality of her situation hit her with a crushing force. She was defeated. The choice wasn’t a choice at all. If she walked away, Ana would carry out her threats, and the blood would be on Amelia’s hands. She couldn’t allow that. She wouldn’t.
Swallowing hard, Amelia met Ana’s gaze. “I left the Hospital of my own volition. It would be suspicious to return out of the blue.”
“You won’t have to. Mikhail will find you on his own. All you need to do is to be where he might expect you – at your family’s grave on the anniversary of their death.”
Amelia’s jaw clenched at the mere mention of her family. The pain of losing them, the void they’d left behind, and how Mikhail had briefly filled it before reminding her why she’d shut down her emotions for so long.
“If the Queen of Reptilians is truly responsible for the murders at the Hospital, then it’s likely she’ll be searching for me, too,” Amelia said.
“Yes, you are correct.” Ana pursed her pink lips.
“Once you have the ring, you’ll have my protection.
Until then, I can’t offer it. If I do, my sister will suspect I’m plotting against her, and I’ll never be able to use the ring to weaken her.
For this to succeed, she cannot know I’m behind this.
If anyone comes for you while you’re at the graveyard, you’ll need to protect yourself – just as you’ve done until now. ”
Lovely. Amelia sighed, exhaustion weighing her down. “And then what?”
“Then you’ll return to the Hospital with Mikhail.”
Her heart pounded at the thought of being near him again, let alone staying long enough to get the ring… “What happens after I retrieve the ring?”
“If you wish, you can come with me. If not, you can go wherever you like. I promise that wherever you are, you’ll be under my protection. No one will touch you – not Mikhail, nor anyone else.”
“And if I take the ring, do you promise not to destroy the Hospital?”
“You have my word.”
“And Mikhail?”
“He will continue managing his Hospital. He is not my enemy.”
A lump formed in Amelia’s throat – the weight of the promise she was about to make.
“One more thing.” Ana pulled a small vial of green liquid from her coat. “This is a cure for the impaired regeneration. If you’re ever in danger, drink it. It will help your body heal.”
Amelia took the vial and slipped it into her pocket, unable to think about that now. “How do I contact you when I get the ring?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll contact you. Until then, you can report your progress to me with letters. Place them under the central gazebo in the Hospital yard.”
Amelia crossed her arms. “And how will those notes reach you?”
“Good luck, Amelia.”
Amelia had a million questions but voiced none of them.
An image of Dave, the ten-year-old boy living in the Hospital while his mother was in a coma, flashed before her eyes. How many innocent creatures had found refuge within those walls?
She could try to talk to Mikhail, to explain Ana’s arrival and what she’d proposed, but he would never understand. He wouldn’t trust her. He’d already branded her a fraud, despite his apology – which he’d delivered only after he’d realised she was the new Oracle.
And if she stole his ring, it would solidify his opinion…
Her stomach lurched. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Nothing to do with him, Amelia. You want nothing to do with him. There is nothing between you.
And yet, was she willing to incur Mikhail’s wrath again to save his Hospital – even though he wouldn’t know the real reason for her actions?
She snuggled into her long puffer jacket and looked around, standing in the middle of a deserted path with no memory of how she’d got there after parting ways with Ana. The bare branches on either side of her didn’t even twitch.
She trudged down the alley. She had two days to decide.