Pet: Torment - Chapter Three (Patreon)

Iris

Remus was right. Xyrannis is a world of wonder. And I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg as the ship attaches itself to a floating platform high above the city. From this angle, I can see straight into their civilization, the beauty daunting. It’s a utopia. They have quite literally intermingled their buildings with nature. Even the glass buildings have balconies overloaded with foliage that billows in the breeze. And instead of building dams and redirecting the water beneath, they have built bridges over the necessary areas.

I see more clearly now why Remus was unimpressed with our world—why it was stripped down upon his arrival. Our buildings disrupted our planet's growth. Compared to this world, Earth looked like something from a dystopian horror film.

“Are you ready?” Remus asks, stepping up next to me.

The phrase is simple, but it has so many meanings. Am I ready to leave? Am I ready to embrace this new world? Am I ready to officially leave my world behind?

But all I can manage is a meek yes.

Remus senses my anxiety, placing his hand in mine. He brings my fingers to his lips, placing a soft kiss as his eyes pull me in.

“I will be here every step of the way,” he says gently.

Instead of exiting the ship with everyone else, we take a separate exit. We never step foot outside, however. We enter what looks like a glass elevator that takes us down and into the city. I am still in awe as the city comes closer and closer to us the lower we get. I note that larger taxis are taking large groups of the crew to separate destinations.

As we get closer to the buildings, I notice the Leviathan going about their lives, some stopping and pointing at the ship in the sky while others are noticing the glass lowering itself into the building. Excitement is evident on all of their faces.

So this is what it’s like to be on the side of the victors.

As we enter the building, the outside world is blocked from view, but the interior of the building is something else entirely. It’s a busy location, with vehicles and Leviathan moving about at a hurried pace. I note that we aren’t the only ones entering in our glass transport as we reach a platform. And once we exit, I see faces I wasn’t expecting to.

Ezra steps out onto his platform, and to my shock, I see Sky obediently following him. My heart breaks for her as I take in the inhibitor on her temple. She has just begun her journey at the mercy of one of these aliens. And she doesn’t have the hope I was able to cling to. Everything she had is gone—lost. Taken from her in a terrible display of power.

But my heartbreak is short-lived when I look at the ground floor. Xion steps out of her transport, and a chained Iriel follows close behind. Leviathan guards surround them as they make their way across the floor.

“How—” I trail off when my eyes meet Remus. His expression is murderous as he takes in Iriel, sending a chill down my spine.

“He must stand trial for his crimes,” he says, giving me a curt answer.

My body grows warm as I mirror Remus’s anger, but for different reasons. Iriel used humanity and what little resources we had. He had no compassion for the bodies he was hiding behind to make his outlandish desires a reality. He is partially to blame for Jude’s death. And for his mental state before that death. He is the biggest coward I have ever encountered, and I don’t think he deserves a trial. I wish Remus had killed him that day. I wish I could kill him.

“Don’t get yourself worked up over him. Leviathan laws are stringent. He will pay dearly for what he has done,” Remus says as he places his hand against the small of my back. He leads me to the edge of the platform, and I tense when I hear a muffled roar. I look around in confusion, my panic dissipating when I see what it is.

The Leviathan on the outside of the building have gathered at each level to witness the arrival of Remus and his siblings. Within minutes of our arrival, a large crowd has formed outside of the building. The excitement is electric as they look upon the arrival of the Divine Three.

It’s truly a sight to be able to see how many Leviathan in this area alone adore Remus and his siblings. And that there are so many more in his homeworld than there are who decided to travel across the galaxies to settle our world.

But I don’t have time to continue to ogle it as Remus helps me into the vehicle waiting for us. Remus gets in the seat next to me, looking at me before anything.

“You’ve been quiet,” he says.

“Still processing everything,” I say, looking out the window.

There are so many emotions I want to feel. But none of them seem possible at this moment as I remain suspended between breaking down and constant awe. Thankfully, Remus doesn’t push me to explain how I’m feeling. He goes through the required steps to start the vehicle, and the slow lift makes me realize it flies.

As I look ahead, I notice the wall in front of us lowering to reveal a space just big enough for this to fit through, and we are off. The vehicle passes through the dark tunnel, exiting just as quickly to climb high in the sky.

“What do you think so far?” Remus asks, once again breaking the silence.

“Obviously, it’s breathtaking,” I say in irritation, to which Remus laughs.

I almost missed the sound of that laugh. He’s been so quiet throughout this trip, carefully reacting to me, that it’s made him eerie in my mind. A small part of me is glad to see this side of Remus.

“Obviously,” he repeats.

“Where are we going now?” I ask.

“To my home,” he says.

I can’t imagine what Remus’s home would look like. In all honesty, I haven’t even thought about it until now. Remus never stayed in one place on Earth. He constantly traveled, never allowing me a glimpse into the way he lives, further adding to the mystery that is Remus. And as I think it, does it occur to me just how big of a development that is.

The remainder of the trip takes about thirty minutes. As we descend beneath the clouds, the newest landscape is revealed to me.

“What…?” I whisper as I press my hands against the glass.

We’re in the mountains. Though like most things in this world, they look nothing like Earth’s mountains. The large mass of rock stretches toward the sky in a jagged formation, but there are loose pieces of land floating as we pass through.

“How?” I whisper.

“We’re very close to the planet Llora. You can see it in the atmosphere. It shifts gravity and has been doing so for thousands of years,” Remus says as if the explanation is simple. Before I can respond, I notice a mountain in the distance that looks different. The snow is a different color, I realize as we get closer.

It’s a very soft and pale lavender. And as we fly over the icy wonderland, I note that Remus has slowed down. A house sits just like the buildings in the city, carved into the side of the mountain. The windows reflect the world beyond as they stretch higher than any I’ve ever seen on a home, what looks like marble walls peaking from the mountainous terrain. I find myself laughing as I get the first glimpse into Remus’s true personality.

“What do you think?” Remus asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

“It suits you.”

Remus laughs at my response, but it rings true for me. This is his home. This is where he can be himself without any outsider getting a glimpse of it. It’s elaborate and elegant, just like him. And as the ship descends onto the platform extending from the house, I become more and more anxious, just thinking of what I will see.

The ship powers down, and Remus turns to me, pulling his cape from his shoulders. He wraps it around me, and I notice his fingers lingering as he fastens it. But I don’t mind. The entrance to Xyrannis, the trip here, and my body’s sad attempt to adjust to this world are exhausting. And because of the bond we now share, Remus’s presence helps calm me down.

His purple eyes meet mine, glowing in excitement.

“Shall we?”

The air is frigid as we step out of the ship and I suddenly understand why Remus gave me his cape, even if the distance to enter his home is short—my cheeks already sting from the air. But I can’t look away from the snow—or the mountain range. I squint as I take in much larger formations floating in the distance.

“Come. You’ll freeze to death if you stay out here,” Remus calls to me from the entrance. His clothing is a thin long sleeve, yet he looks unbothered by the cold. But I take one last look in the distance before following Remus into his home.

Remus

I should regret the things that I’ve done. But I don’t. I don’t feel remorse for taking Iris’s homeworld. I’m just glad I stumbled upon her before she became a part of their history. A planet that once housed intelligent life that wasn’t intelligent enough to take one look in the mirror. And Iris saw that up close.

I’m glad her people are suffering.

I shift my attention to Iris as she crosses the platform that leads into my home. The air is freezing, especially this high up. But it feels nice as it touches my skin. My body temperature is much higher than a human's, making winters on Earth miserable, seeing as humans had managed to ruin their winters by the time we arrived. The temperature surrounding my home is deadly for Iris, especially with her body temperature. She’d freeze to death.

But she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s wrapped in my cape, and the awe on her expression is everything I thought it would be as she takes in my homeworld. It’s been difficult keeping my distance from her. Even now, I want to hold her close to me as I explain everything about this place. But I know she needs space right now. I know that if I push too hard, she will snap. She just lost her planet. That is a heavy burden. 

I’ve missed my planet. I’ve missed my home. So, I partially understand Iris’s bouts of anger or silence as she comes to terms with her new life. But it’s moments like this that I don’t understand her. She has been enamored every step of the way, including now. Yet she holds fast to her resentment of what was left behind. Even after everything she endured for it.

As the door closes and the platform moves down to take us into the house, I take the moment to revel in the proximity of Iris. It’s been difficult keeping my distance from her. Especially since we are bonded. I want nothing more than to take her and bury myself so deep inside the warmth of her body, never to leave. But I can’t. Not if I want this to go smoothly. Bonding with a human is foreign territory. And I’ve already seen the effects of my not being close over the past few weeks. The essence inside of her is running rampant, unfamiliar with the body that houses it.

As the door opens, revealing the living room, Iris steps ahead of me, her body moving on its own accord to sate her curiosity. I smile as I watch her take in the foreign surroundings. It’s foreign to me to have these fleeting emotions. And they only seem to exist around Iris. I want more from her than the pleasure of her body. I want the pleasure of her company. I want her smile, her laugh, her pain, and her anger. I want all of it. Every little thing she can offer, I want for myself.

I fought against these feelings on Earth,mistaking them for a challenge—the challenge of breaking her. But the more I tried, the more she proved me wrong, and the deeper I fell into this obsession.

I notice Iris’s breathing has shifted, trembling as the cold sets in. My home has been empty for years since I left to finish what we began with Earth. But Leviathan technology is different from human technology, and my home remained warm even though I’ve been gone. I knew I shouldn’t have let her linger outside for as long as she did. It’s still affecting her.

“I’ll be happy to show you around once you are more settled. We should get you warmed up for now,” I say, leading her to my bedroom.

There is a lot more I have to worry about with Iris now that she’s on Xyrannis. Even our atmospheric composition is different than Earth’s, our air containing more oxygen than her home planet. Soon, she’ll begin to feel its effects, just as the lingering effects from the cold have begun to settle within her and the denser gravity. She has a long road ahead all while dealing with the unknown involving the bond and the loss of her homeworld.

But I know she’ll pull through. It is one of the reasons I adore her. Her desire to live—to survive. It’s a fascinating thing to watch in action.

Once we reach my bedroom, I place my hand against the wall, feeling the makeup. After a few seconds, the wall dissolves to reveal the room. Iris has always been confused by the way my life works. I don’t use doors. I keep walls, removing them at will. I make a mental note that I will have to change that now that she will be around.

I leave her to light the fireplace against the wall, and when I turn back to her, she has begun to shiver as she stares out the glass wall. I release a deep breath, pulling her attention as I approach. I don’t miss the increase of her heartbeat as I wrap my arms around hers. She’s avoiding my gaze as she always does, so I place my finger under her chin, lifting her head to see her eyes. I smile, pushing a stray curl behind her ear.

“I’m sorry that your planet went down the road it did, Iris. There was no saving them. I hope in time you will be able to see this as your home,” I say.

She glares at me, gently pulling herself from my grasp. She pulls in a shuddering breath as she removes my cape from her shoulders, pushing it into my hands as she speaks.

“This will never be my home, Remus.”

She turns away from me, moving back to the glass, putting her back to me. And as I study her, her shoulders begin trembling once again.

She would rather be cold than wear my clothes.

My amusement dissipates when I hear the soft sniffle that accompanies her shivering. She wasn’t cold. She was holding back tears. She’s been stoic most of the trip, stuffing her emotions down. But it seems that she can no longer do that. She’s at her limit.

I feel an ache in my chest.

I want to hold her. But I can’t. I caused this. I don’t have the right. And it takes all of my willpower not to drop the mental block between us to understand what she’s feeling. So, I do what I always do. I quietly leave, giving her space until the day she is ready to share her pain with me.