Pet: Torment - Chapter TwentyTwo (Patreon)

Iris

What is it about Xyrannis that is so different from Earth? How did Remus’s culture manage to create a world that looks so perfect on the outside, all the way down to the way they handle their justice system? Is it because it is run by all-powerful beings instead of elected officials who are all of the same caliber? Or is it because Remus does the same thing with his society that he does with me—gives them a false sense of control?

Iriel’s betrayal was not taken lightly by his society. His decision to rebel put thousands of Leviathan lives in jeopardy, and his use of the conquered to implement his plan has added much heavier repercussions. He is a traitor to his race, and because of this, the decision was left to them to make. And even though Remus said it was a possibility, Leniency was never on the table for him.

His people chose guilty and have since given him to Ezra to carry out his punishment.

I pull in a deep breath as I look out over the vast ocean on the edge of Ezra’s home. I thought that since he was only tasked with “checking in,” he would have returned me home once Iriel’s trial ended. But Ezra has been by every day to let Sky and me discover more of the Leviathan society while Remus is away.

Today, however, we opted to stay in, both of us content to sit by the shore. It reminds me of the days before I betrayed Remus on Earth, when it was just us on the beach—after the rebels almost killed me. He was so kind to me in that moment, even though I had lost everything. He went as far as to convince me to keep my mother’s necklace.

I gently grasp it, the chain tickling my neck as I lift it to look at my family in the picture. This is all I have left of my old life. And I can’t believe I almost threw it into the ocean because of my anger.

I was much more impulsive then. 

“You’re different.”

I’m pulled from my thoughts as Sky approaches. She’s dressed in a white sundress. Her hair is pulled away from her face in a high ponytail as she sits beside me in the sand. She tilts her head slightly as she analyzes me.

“You’re much more relaxed than when I saw you last. You’re more comfortable with this world,” she says.

I laugh as I think of everything that’s happened since we saw one another last, including Remus revealing the truth about my choice to come here. And promptly after, he used the bond to show me the depths of his obsession. It is dark and frightening, and it forced me to realize that no matter what I do, I have no choice in this. Just as the thought pops into my head, do I remember his words to me before he left.

“Hopefully, when I return, we can try harder to understand one another.”

Looking back, it’s the first time he’s acknowledged my pain without claiming his decisions were better off for me in the long run. He’s acknowledged that we’re different, and that we both have made attempts in our way ways to understand these differences. Now, it’s time for us to face one another—pain and all.

“I think I’m just understanding everything better,” I say as I look back over the ocean. It glitters with the promise of the unknown as I study it. The sea on Xyrannis is paler than the ocean on Earth, making my visibility of it underneath stretch further. And as usual, I can see Llora reflected in its waters in the distance.

Sky suddenly reaches for me, lightly tapping the pin that holds my hair back as she eyes me.

“Sure,” she says, her tone holding innuendo at this point. But I ignore her. Just like I don’t know her journey with Ezra, she doesn’t know mine with Remus. I’ve learned part of Remus’s love language is giving significant gifts. He doesn’t do it very often, but anytime he does, it has a deeper meaning. With this one, he didn’t explain to me the significance, but in my mind it signifies us starting over.

I scoff to myself. Maybe I have changed. Maybe realizing there wasn’t a choice is what I needed to give up. There’s nothing to fight for, nothing to hold out for. My life will always be as Remus directs it. Even without me knowing.q

“Has Ezra decided what he’s going to do with Iriel?” I ask.

Sky shrugs, tilting her face towards the sun.

“Death would be too easy. And banishing him would be too merciful,” she says.

I slowly look at her, my confusion mounting.

“Are those his words? Or yours?” I ask.

Now, she laughs.

“His. The logical course of action would be to banish him to Rit. And let him live out his sentence there,” she says.

My confusion deepens as she starts using words I’m not aware of.

“Rit?” I ask.

“A prison planet. It’s on the outer edge of this Anafalta system. If you’re lucky, you are a prisoner there,” she says.

“How do you know so much about all of this?” I ask.

She shrugs. “There are no secrets between us. Especially something that should be common knowledge,” she says.

Her response is innocent enough, but it still feels like he is poking at me and Remus—as if she knows things that I don’t.

“Okay… you obviously know that Remus keeps things from me. And you know what those things are. Can’t you just tell me instead of being cryptic?” I ask, my irritation shining through.

Sky shakes her head. “I can’t. It’s that simple.”

I release an irritated breath.

“I didn’t realize your loyalty had shifted,” I say.

Sky laughs again, and the sound makes me angry.

“Shifted?” she says, looking at me.

“I’ve been very clear about my loyalty. Do you not remember our conversation that day in the resistance? Humanity had nothing for me. All they did my entire life was take. And I have nothing for them. Not even you, Iris. Me ‘being cryptic’ is my way of protecting what little peace I have. Because I know how impulsive you can be. And I know the reason Remus has left this plane of existence,” she says.

Once again, she is hinting at something about Remus that I am unaware of.

“And you think telling me that Remus is ‘dangerous’ is going to help a situation I am unaware of? You realize I’ve already been warned by another human who lives here. And Remus still left. I haven’t done anything. I don’t control him,” I say. 

Sky looks at me, her eyes shifting to the pin in my hair before settling back on my face. She laughs, her brows furrowing as she tries to understand me.

“Yes, you do,” she says simply.

Silence stretches between us, and when I realize I have no rebuttal to her observation, I shift my attention back to the scenery. It’s interesting how starkly different Remus and Ezra are in so many ways. Remus is reserved and patient, content to slowly steer you in the direction he wants, letting you feel like it was your decision. Ezra, however, is boisterous and charming, happy to crush every decision you make while making you feel hopeless about it. Even their living arrangements are polar opposites. Remus chose a quiet, frozen wonderland. And Ezra chose a home by the sea.

It makes me wonder about their sister, who still remains as much a mystery as their mother, the woman who placed rings around this world and raised her son to desire nothing other than conquering for a world she doesn’t even live in anymore.

“Has Ezra told you anything about their mother?” I ask.

Sky doesn’t respond immediately. She’s thinking of what she can and can’t tell me.

“I’ve met her,” she says.

“Really? How?” I ask.

“She came here to check on him,” she says.

My curiosity morphs into deeper confusion. She came to visit Ezra but never visited Remus? My mind suddenly shifts to all the times I asked him about her, and he brushed me off, saying I wouldn’t be meeting her any time soon. I release a gasp as I think of where Remus said he was going. He said a place beyond this one that wasn’t compatible with me.

He has to be seeing his mother. But why would he keep that from me? Why wouldn’t he just tell me he was going to see her, and why? Of course, he once again twisted the conversation, steering me away from those questions. So, my feelings were correct.

Something is wrong.

I shift to my knees, facing Sky full-on as my panic rises.

“Did he go see her? Is that where he went?” I ask.

Sky doesn’t respond. But her silence is all I need. I quickly stand, making my way to the house.

“Where are you going?” she asks, following closely behind me.

“I have to talk to Ezra,” I say.

“You can’t! He’s not going to tell you anything, Remus forbade it—”

I whip around just as we reach the patio that overlooks the shore where we were sitting. I scoff, shaking my head.

“Look, I know all of you are scared of what Remus is capable of, but I have a bad feeling about all of this. I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t add up. None of it does,” I say desperately.

Sky narrows her gaze, opening her mouth to respond, when she suddenly shifts her attention behind me. Her demeanor shifts completely as Ezra hears the commotion and opens the glass door to join us.

He is much less intimidating than Remus with his charming smile, and his hair has grown a little longer since the destruction of the resistance. As his different-colored eyes shift between us, I can see the gears turning in his head about how to twist the knife even further.

“What’s all this about?” he asks when neither of us speak.

He leans against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks at Sky.

“Have you been saying things you shouldn’t?” he asks.

Sky doesn’t respond. She pulls in a trembling breath before looking back at me. So, I speak.

“Of course not… she won’t tell me anything, which is why I came to ask you myself,” I say.

Ezra chuckles, and the sound causes a chill to ripple over me.

“Why would I answer anything you ask me?” he asks.

I open my mouth to explain to him my concerns when a wave of complete and utter confusion washes over me. It is quickly replaced by terror and hopelessness. It claws at me from within, filling my every blood cell until I can no longer stand. I drop to my knees, choking, my nails digging into the wood as tears burn my eyes.

My heart accelerates, pulsing wildly in my ears, drowning out Ezra’s voice. These emotions aren’t mine. The world suddenly tilts, becoming too bright, and my body is wracked with an intense rush of energy.

I feel Ezra’s hands on my back, and I suddenly jump, my nails digging into his forearms. I look into his concerned eyes, praying he’ll understand as words that aren’t mine spill from my lips.

“She’s taking it from me!” I scream.

I continue to scream, releasing frustration but also fear. It’s all a lie—my entire life, everything I’ve been told, my mind, my memory, my world, bits of my personality—it is all a lie.

“Stop! Stop her! Protect her!” I scream.

Ezra’s panicked face fills my line of sight until I am suddenly transported, my vision shifting as something forms in front of me—no, it’s someone. It’s a woman with white hair and eyes that resemble her son’s, except they glitter with the promise of knowledge I could never understand.

Desperation laces her features as she reaches for me. I can’t move. I am helpless. And just as her fingers come inches from my face, my body jolts, and I feel the sweeping sensation of ice in my veins.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I can no longer take the pain until, finally, my world goes black.