Page 136 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“Go to sleep, Amelia. I’ll make sure you’re safe,” he said.

“I…”

He left the room, but remained on the floor – his steps a subtle reminder of his presence and what had almost transpired between them.

43

The rising sun caught Mikhail leaning against the wall, unable to ignore the intense fragrance filling the room. Citrus, entangled with an enchanting mixture of rose geranium and something else he couldn’t quite place – but was sure he would soon.

He inspected every inch of Amelia’s sleeping figure in bed. Her hair covered her neck but he knew that if he moved it aside, he’d discover the teeth marks he’d left there last night.

The thought made his stomach muscles contract. Blood rushed to his groin.

He glowered, even more baffled than before. She had recoiled at the sight of him. The uncertainty in her gaze had been a reminder enough of what she was – a human.

And the first woman to arouse him in decades.

He forced himself to stop thinking about that. His task today was to differentiate what had occurred between her and Dave’s attacker. Was it a vision or some type of mind penetration? If Amelia cooperated, he intended to get clarification through a few simple brain exercises – experiments, he called them, if only in his mind. She would most likely baulk at the term.

Amelia stirred under the covers. With the movement, her face twisted in a pained grimace.

Mikhail wished to approach her, worried it was his doing, but fought his desire and stayed put. “Did I hurt you yesterday?”

Her eyes opened at his question and found his. She shook her head. “No, no.”

“No?”

“I mean… It’s just… I slept on my left side and my muscles are tight.”

Mikhail relaxed. The knowledge he hadn’t caused her pain relieved him. With his tension eased, he changed his mind about the upcoming day.

“I want to show you something,” he said. Amelia’s blue eyes focused on him, as if expecting him to explain further. “Just get ready. I’ll be waiting outside.”

The corner of her lips curled slightly. “Okay…?”

Mikhail nodded and strolled out into the hallway. He leaned against the wall, wincing. Had he screwed it all up? That look on her face when she’d glimpsed the beast in her bed, had haunted him until sunrise. Because, last night, he hadn’t transformed. He’d been consumed by desire, yes, but it had been only him – his human shape – on that bed with her.

Well, he shouldn’t have been surprised, should he? He had spotted that expression on Valeria’s features more than once in his past. Amelia might have nothing in common with his ex-fiancée, but she still belonged to a species different from his. A mortal species. It was not an accident that the Tribunal forbade relationships between immortals and humans.

Mikhail pursed his lips, embarrassed by his weakness. He should have controlled his needs. Now he could only hope that last night wouldn’t dissuade Amelia from cooperating.

Mikhail retrieved the key from his jeans pocket and unlocked the door to the tiny library he’d once spent most of his days in. The musty scent of neglected books reached his nostrils when he guided Amelia inside. Morning light poured in through two high-arched windows across the far wall. The dark wood library rose to the right, and a comfortable armchair with a royal blue tapestry awaited, empty, before it. A magical jasmine vine, a gift from Viktor that symbolised serenity, curled up from its marble pot, its delicate branches caressing the windowpane. On the small black table in the middle lay open the last book Mikhail had read before he had finally lost interest in his medical studies.

Amelia took in the dark colours and the dust-covered furniture with a sparkle in her eyes. A slight smile spread across Mikhail’s lips because he’d been right that she would like it. His study. His secret place. Besides him, nobody had been around except Viktor, and only while the two of them had been gaining knowledge of the immortal species’ treatment and comparing it to everything learnt at human hospitals. They had studied medical books, had taken notes, had developed a system to pass the acquired information to all the healers in the Hospital.

Mikhail looked around. The hours spent between these walls had been his light period.

The dark…he wouldn’t think about it. Not now.

Amelia approached the shelves and skimmed her fingers across the forgotten books. On the lowest racks were his textbooks, filled with his personal notes and drawings of the anatomy and physiology of immortals.

As if attracted by an invisible thread, her attention dropped to them. She glanced at Mikhail over her shoulder. “May I?”

He nodded, stepping to the side of the library. Amelia chose a heavy crimson book and pulled it off the shelf. A cloud of dust followed the movement. “Nobody has been here for a while, am I right?” She faced him, fingers splayed across the front cover.

His eyes fell to the book. “I told you that recently I’ve given up searching for answers.”

Amelia’s brow creased. She rifled through the pages, stopping at a familiar illustration. From a distance, Mikhail recognised his drawing of a normal elbow joint and next to it, one regenerating after amputation of the forearm.

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