45
Mikhail stayed awake long after Amelia’s steady breaths told him she’d fallen asleep.
He liked the feeling of her body against his chest and the way she draped her leg across his waist in her sleep.
The warmth of her skin blended with his, giving him a sense of peace.
Her scent filled his nostrils, leaving an imprint.
The tattoo of the Council, like a delicate jewel running down either side of her spine, added a new layer of meaning to this intimacy.
The magic connecting the members of the Council had been forged by a powerful witcher centuries ago.
Mikhail didn’t understand the details of the spell, but it marked the members only after they’d sworn their devotion before him.
Amelia never had, and yet she’d been branded.
Which was worth more than a thousand words.
She wasn’t just a woman to satisfy his needs. She was an ally to stand beside him.
He didn’t understand what he’d done to deserve such an extraordinary woman, but he had no doubt she was meant for him – otherwise, the previous Oracle wouldn’t have sent him to her.
There are no coincidences.
He just needed to convince her that she belonged to him.
It would be a challenge after he’d shown her his dark side at the end of the previous year, but at least Amelia was letting him get close now.
Her body obeyed him, and once he broke down her invisible barriers, he would have her heart as well.
For the second time in his life, Mikhail desired to possess someone’s heart. The first time had ended with the death of all his loved ones. What would happen to him now?
He cursed himself for allowing such thoughts to enter his mind.
Amelia and the woman he’d been engaged to so many years ago had nothing in common.
Valeria would never have closed her eyes while he tasted the most intimate corners of her body with his lips; she would never have entrusted him with her body entirely.
Amelia shuddered in his arms, a sob escaping her lips.
“Amelia,” he whispered.
Her body trembled again, and she moaned with her eyes still closed. “Mikhail…”
“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here.”
“No, Mikhail…”
He gently laid her on her back. When the moonlight illuminated her face, Amelia’s eyes opened – white.
“Amelia?”
Tears flowed down her cheeks. Mikhail pulled her close, holding her tight, and he began whispering soothing words in her ear.
He didn’t know if his voice could reach her, but he couldn’t just sit by and watch her suffer – even if this vision was important.
Amelia was clearly in pain, trapped in someone else’s torment.
“Mikhail?” This time, her voice was clear in his ear. When their eyes met, hers had returned to their usual colour, but they were filled with an unmistakable emotion – fear.
Mikhail stroked her hair. “What were you dreaming of—”
She moved, rolling him to his back and kissing him with primal ferocity. Her wet cheeks pressed against his, leaving trails of her tears. Her hair fell over his face like a curtain, shutting out everything around them. At that moment, nothing else mattered but her.
Her naked body rested against his with such natural ease, as if they were made for each other. He wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling every curve, every twitch of her muscles.
Then, he was inside her. Amelia set the pace with the movements of her hips, fully in control of him – if she wanted to be. He surrendered to her with pleasure.
The thought didn’t scare him – in fact, he liked it.
When they both reached their climax, Amelia collapsed onto his chest. For a few heartbeats, her ragged breaths were the only sound breaking the silence of the night. It was a moment of complete tranquillity, where the weight of her body over his was natural, a necessity.
He brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead, still damp with tears. “I won’t let anyone, or anything hurt you, little beast.”
She stopped breathing for a moment. Slowly, she sat up, turning to face him. Her blue eyes pierced through him – the beast within him stirred in discontent. After the last few hours, her expression should have radiated contentment, yet despair filled it.
“What’s wrong? Talk to me, Amelia.”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she got up and headed to the bathroom. The door closed behind her.
Mikhail remained still in the bed where he’d slept alone for the past centuries. With Amelia’s warmth gone, he realised he hated his solitude. He missed the feel of her skin under his fingers and being able to run his hands over her hips whenever he pleased.
He slipped on his trousers and stepped into the hallway, leaving the door slightly ajar. If Amelia returned to the room while he was away, he wanted her to know his absence would be brief.
The wooden floor creaked beneath his feet.
Maybe it was time to replace it, he thought, passing the cold walls.
Or perhaps he should furnish all these empty rooms, whose closed doors stared back at him.
These rooms had long been devoid of life, but now, with Amelia’s presence, she could bring the liveliness that had always been missing from this floor.
He stopped under the archway at the beginning of the corridor.
Raising his right hand, he traced the wooden frame curving around the arch’s shape.
He first felt the tiny gap between its upper edge and the wall.
When the cold metal touched his fingers, he grasped and pulled out the ring he’d hidden there.
Returning to the room, he found Amelia waiting for him, dressed in the clothes he had earlier removed from her. Her hair was damp, and that damned, disheartened expression still twisted her face. What had she seen in her dream to provoke such a profound change in her?
Mikhail kissed her. She didn’t hesitate to respond – on the contrary, she welcomed him with eagerness, her hands finding their way to the muscles of his abdomen. Every touch was familiar, but this time, something was different.
He broke away from the kiss and raised his hand, uncurling his fingers.
The golden ring emerged, dull and marred by time.
Amelia’s eyes widened, the colour draining from her face.
Something about the ring unsettled her. In the human world, a ring often symbolised marriage, and he presumed her mind had jumped to that.
Mikhail hurried to explain, “This is my most treasured possession – my father’s ring.
” He held the gold band between his thumb and forefinger and examined it.
The golden circle merged in the centre, widening to a broader section engraved with a lion’s head.
Mikhail smiled bitterly. “Though I never understood why he gave it to me – the least deserving of all his sons.”
Amelia averted her gaze from the ring and fixed it on him. “Why do you think you’re the least deserving?”
He sighed, preparing for his next words.
“I’m not from an ordinary family.” His voice was devoid of pride or arrogance, given his inability to uphold his father’s good name had always filled him with shame.
“My father was well known in the immortal world for his deeds. He was an advocate for peace among the species, because he believed the earth belonged equally to all – whether human, manticore, lycanthrope, or other – and that every species must respect the rest if they wanted to live well. It might be hard for you to understand since you didn’t live through those times, but the world now is far more orderly and civilised than it was in the past. Wars among mortal nations were frequent, and they were often indirectly influenced by immortal beings.
Some creatures fought for the eradication of humans, but others, like my father, fought for balance in the human world, knowing that their undisturbed existence depended on it. ”
Mikhail paused, his thoughts drifting to the past. “My father had many connections that easily opened the gates of all important courts for our family. Once you were seated at some ruler’s table, it was easy to sway his decisions, especially if you possessed my father’s charm.
He could dissuade a king from his warlike ambitions or even nudge him towards them – but only if he believed the end result would benefit everyone.
We were a large family. Large for the immortal world,” Mikhail said with a touch of sadness.
It pained him to admit that, as more years passed, it became difficult to recall his brothers’ features.
“My father always said he’d been blessed with three sons – more people to spread peace in the immortal world.
Bear in mind that immortal women rarely conceive – it’s one of nature’s ways of controlling our population, and my mother managed it three times in relatively short periods.
But while my brothers tried to assist our father, my interests lay elsewhere. ”
Amelia pressed her lips together. “I know what you mean. Viktor told me how you two met…”
Mikhail laughed. He would always remember his first encounter with Viktor. To this day, he hadn’t forgiven him for the embarrassment caused by that lie about gonorrhoea. “I hope Viktor kept to the basics of the story?”
“If by basics you mean your companions, then yes.”
Mikhail clasped her wrists. “Are you jealous, little beast?”
She shook her head. “Not in the slightest…”
His lips curved into a smug smile. If Amelia was frowning over something that had taken place centuries ago, jealousy was not foreign to her.
His smile faded when he recalled the part of the story he was about to share with her. He moved their interlaced fingers between them and said, “Amelia, no woman should have to hear about her lover’s past, but for you to understand everything, you’ll need to listen to at least part of it.”
Amelia’s chest rose with a deep breath. “I want to know everything. Everything about you.” Her eyes roamed his face with a tenderness that made his heart turn over.