Page 111 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

Amelia took a handful of snow, rubbed it between her gloves and then did it over and over, as Mikhail observed from a distance. Her cheeks went slightly red and her face relaxed with pleasure.

It reminded him of the other day, in the OR. He had noticed the shine in her eyes while she’d been helping him operate. Amelia had been thrilled to assist, and impressed by him – not just his looks, but his skills. Something he had enjoyed. It was the first time in years he’d sensed a female interest in him, beyond his physical appearance. He’d found himself eager to share more about the immortal world, the Hospital, and the Council.

Now, as she knelt and formed a large snow pile, then made a second one and placed it on top – creating a snowman – Mikhail replayed their dinner in his mind. Amelia had watched him with caution, but he had watched her, as well. He was experienced enough to recognise the subtle cues in her body language – she was drawn to him beyond his medical expertise, and despite her obvious distrust of him. He’d been torn about how to proceed, unsure whether to exploit her interest further or extinguish it. But then, hadn’t he sought to soften her defences in the first place?

What he hadn’t anticipated was her sparking his own excitement in the process.

“It’s been years since I’ve seen anyone enjoy snow so much,” he said, approaching her.

Amelia glanced over her shoulder and tossed him a smile that went straight to his gut. “Honestly, it’s been years since I remember enjoying it so much myself. Maybe when I was little and my brother and I played outside…” The shine in her eyes disappeared. She got up and shook the snow off her gloves. “Now I don’t like winter that much. Let’s get back.”

“You liked it that much a second ago,” Mikhail said, catching the sudden shift in her expression. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes, their delicate forms glistening like tiny tears. “You practically begged me to take you out and now you want to go back inside?”

He had been there, distancing himself from anything that reminded him of his lost ones. He’d avoided it all for so long that it reached the point where he was avoiding everything.

“The other day, when…” Amelia glanced towards the stone fence.

“When what?”

“I don’t know… When I was alone in the woods, I was frightened. I kept running without knowing if I would make it out alive or not. And I sensed freedom, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. As if I had no limits. It’s silly. I don’t know why I thought I would feel this liberation again if I went outside. It’s hard to explain.”

He had been there, too. She didn’t need to explain because he understood completely, but it would take her time to figure it out. “There’s no freedom in the rabid dash through the mountain if your mind is chained by thoughts and emotions,” Mikhail said. His own invisible shackles kept him tied to blood-filled memories and prohibited him from moving on. “However long you run, you can’t escape yourself, if the limitations are inside you. If you felt free, it was probably because you stopped caring.”

And because of his invisible shackles, he’d been quick to suppress the enthusiasm he’d felt right after their dinner. In the tower, memories of his ex-fiancée had burst into his mind, haunting him, reminding him why he was unable to desire another being ever again. Getting close to Amelia was a dangerous mistake. He needed to maintain his distance and remember the purpose of his existence.

Tonight, he was following that purpose.

Amelia stared at him with an unreadable expression. “Mikhail… I think I understand you better than you realise…”

Doubtful.

“Come with me,” he said and took her down the alley through the yard, clearing a path through the snow.

“Where are we going?” she asked when they approached the main gate.

“Out. Into the mountain.” Mikhail waved at the guard to open the gate.

The road that wound down from the entrance was already white. The snowploughs were working hard, but with such intense snowfall, maintaining a clear passage to the building was a struggle.

They headed out along the outside of the wall. The snow was even deeper here, almost to Amelia’s knees, but it didn’t stop her while she marched forward. Mikhail had no way of knowing if this would give her even a little part of that freedom she longed for, but the joy she exuded from being closer to nature was palpable.

A noise attracted his attention to the road in the distance. A car was entering through the front gates. So, the road wasn’t as bad as he’d thought.

Something struck him in the back of the head.

“Hey, old man!”

Amelia had hit him with a snowball.

“What the…”

A second strike followed.

“Where are your reflexes? I thought manticores were faster than that.”

Mikhail stared at her.

“It’s called a snowball fight!” she yelled.

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