Pet: Torment - Chapter TwentySeven (Patreon)

Iris

The road to recovery has been long and grueling. Xion is nothing like Remus in terms of healing. Remus’s ability to heal is instant. Xion’s took over the course of four days. And still, the muscles of my throat feel sore. And nothing she can do can get rid of the intense ache that has remained in my chest since that day.

I barely recognize myself as I look in the mirror. The loss of Remus’s seal and the stress my body has been through over the course of the week are visible in the reflection. My eyes have rings around them, and I have lost weight significantly. Even my hair feels dry and dull. I look how I feel—hopeless. 

My fingers tremble slightly as I move them to my bare collarbone. The skin is smooth, the pulse of Remus’s symbol stripped away from me. My vision slowly blurs as tears form, spilling over my cheeks, and after a moment, I laugh, my chuckle echoing off the walls at the irony of the situation. I loathed Remus for bonding with me, without realizing how much it meant—how much it connected us. It feels heavy living without it. I’m curious if he feels the same, even in his lost state.

Xion and Ezra have tried to go about their normal lives in hopes of not drawing their mother’s attention. But according to both of them, there has been no sign of her since she “confirmed” my death. She told them my existence was a threat without any further explanation and disappeared. I’m desperate to know how Remus and I bonding was a threat to her. But at this point, it feels like I will never know.

It’s terrifying to think that when Remus and his siblings showed up on our planet, we thought they were the biggest threat we had ever seen. But now, leaving the boundary of my homeworld and being forced to face the possibility of something even more dangerous than their existence is difficult for me to wrap my mind around.

I push the thoughts from my mind and quickly brush my hair into a ponytail. Now isn’t the time to be hesitant. It’s time to step out of my comfort zone and fight for Remus. He needs me. He’s never had anyone fight for him before. Everything in his life has been on his shoulders to carry alone. I won’t let his mother get away with this, if I have to die trying, I won’t.

I make my way out of the bathroom, down the halls I’ve grown accustomed to over the past few days. Like her siblings, Xion lives in seclusion within a dense forest. It’s the complete opposite of Remus, which I’ve learned is most of her personality. 

Getting her to let me leave her home has been like talking to a brick wall. She’s obsessed with the idea of protecting me from any outside threats, including Remus. It’s funny, only a week ago, she couldn’t stand me. But with my near-death experience at the hands of the alien who used his last bit of strength to beg them to protect me, she’s turned a new leaf, becoming my fierce protector.

It took Ezra joining in to convince her to let me go to the decision of Iriel’s life. I know Remus will be there, and he won’t kill me in front of people, at least. I make sure to put the hairpin he gave me in my hair so that he can at least see there’s a connection between us.

The further I move up the hallway, the muffled sound of voices becomes more evident. They sound tense, and I feel like they are trying to remain quiet, putting me on edge as I round the corner.

The first thing I notice is the distressed looks on everyone’s faces in the room as they turn to look at me. And by everyone, I mean Xion, Ezra, Sky, and Noah. I know instantly that something terrible has happened.

My hand slowly lifts to my necklace in comfort as I speak.

“What?” I ask.

Ezra looks away, his expression troubled. He’s been like this each time he’s visited. He can’t look at me. He barely speaks to me, usually letting Xion lead the conversation, which is very out of character for him. It’s like seeing me reminds him of something painful.

Xion is the one who steps forward, her expression once again soft as she looks at me. “Iriel is dead.”

The meaning of her words doesn’t register at first. I remain where I am, staring at her, until suddenly my legs can’t hold me up anymore. I stumble slightly, leaning against the wall for support.

“How did he die?” I ask, dreading the answer. I pray that it’s because he took his own life. But I know from everyone’s expression that is not the case.

“Remus killed him last night,” Xion says.

My legs can no longer hold me up as a heavy wave of nausea washes over me. I remember Remus explaining to me how important it was that Iriel got a trial, even though he was responsible for countless deaths. He spoke with respect for the Leviathan law system, content to stand back and let whatever happens run its course. The only reason Iriel’s decision was to be made by Ezra is because Iriel committed personal crimes against him as well, which resulted in the injury and death of Leviathan. But Remus has now overstepped that boundary.

And I’m sure I know why.

I tense as hands suddenly wrap around me, and when I look into Xion’s eyes, my heart sputters at the similarity to her mother. I jerk away from her, trying to mask my panic but can’t.

Sky steps forward, crossing the room to kneel next to me. Her touch is gentle as she rubs my back. The temperature of her touch is similar to mine. And her soft words of comfort actually permeate the haze of panic, calming me down.

“How could this have happened?” I ask in the silence.

“Iriel was a loose end. I’m sure—”

“No. How did your mother manage to make Remus kill Iriel? Remus’s most basic morality centers around the Leviathan people. Remus himself, even before he met me, would never bypass their choice,” I say in confusion.

Once again, silence passes over the room, confirming my fears. And for some reason, I laugh.

“You didn’t know she could do that…” I whisper.

I shift my attention between Ezra and Xion.

“How do you expect to bring your brother back when you don’t even know how much of yourselves is real,” I say. “You don’t even know what to expect!”

I see now the hesitance in taking action. They are as lost as we are as humans in all of this. They don’t know their own mother. They don’t know the extent of her power. They don’t even know what she is or where she came from. My existence has forced a side of her they are unfamiliar with and unprepared for.

I laugh again, tears accompanying my hysteria.

My entire reality was blown up in a matter of hours, and since it has done nothing but spiral even deeper into a situation that I can barely keep a grasp on mentally. This is out of our range of understanding as humans.

“So…you’re just going to pretend this didn’t happen, too? You’re going to walk around him and pretend the last year of his life never happened? Like the gaps in his memory aren’t there?” I ask.

Xion’s expression hardens, and for once, I am glad for it. I’m sick of her pitying me, treating me like I’m a broken toy.

“Yes. Because they aren’t. He won’t acknowledge those gaps. He won’t be able to. In his mind, Iriel betrayed us, and Ezra took the brunt of that betrayal. He conquered the Earth, and that knowledge just exists… if we go questioning the specifics, we’ll be right back in this situation, but this time, she’ll come after us too, and you won’t have any allies. The Remus we know will be gone forever,” Xion snaps.

“So what, you want to sit around and wait for your mother to do more damage to him? To violate him even deeper than she already has?” I snap.

I note that Ezra flinches from my words, and I finally decide to address it.

“What is wrong with you? You were so excited that Remus had even given you this responsibility? Now you suddenly don’t care? It doesn’t bother you that he overstepped you?” I ask.

Ezra furrows his brow, and Sky gently grips my arm.

“Iris… don’t,” she murmurs.

But Ezra doesn’t look at me in anger. He looks hurt. His eyes are glazed over, like he’s holding back tears, and he shifts his attention to Xion.

“Look, Iris. This has turned Remus into something we’ve never known. He’s done things that even if he gets his memory back, I don’t know if—”

“Ezra!” Xion hisses.

He narrows his gaze at her, shifting his attention back to me.

“It just isn’t worth it right now. Too much has been lost. We need to be patient and let everything settle—let her think we have no opposition to what’s happening,” Ezra says.

“And then what? What is your big plan to remind Remus that I existed?” I ask, my voice breaking.

“He uprooted my life. He took me from my world. He made me care about him, and now he’s been ripped away from me, and all you can say to me is to be patient? How would you feel if it happened to you? If Sky or Noah was taken from you? Would you be able to be patient?” I ask.

No one responds.

I release an irritated breath, standing.

“Take me to him, then. Let me speak to him—”

“If we do that, he will kill you.” Xion grips my arm, holding me firm as she whips me around to meet her gaze. “He will kill you. You don’t know the difference in who Remus was before he met you. Do you think it was Remus’s decision to allow your planet to be servants to the empire? He wanted to wipe the world of your existence. He came to Earth to get revenge on my behalf. Our mother did not touch those memories before you—before the invasion.”

“In Remus’s current mind, any human is equivalent to the group Noah arrived with. And they are only useful dead,” she finishes.

She finally releases me, and I stumble back. Her words cause chills to form across my arms. It had been years since the invasion when Remus and I stumbled upon each other. But his mother has removed all nuance from his mind. Even the invasion is just fact.

“Why won’t you answer my question?” I ask. “What are you going to do to get him back?”

Both Ezra and Xion tense, their heads shifting to the sky. I know that look—Ezra had it when Remus returned. Which means someone has either entered this plane or is approaching.

“Is it her?” I ask.

“It’s Remus,” Ezra says immediately.

My brain starts moving on its own as I watch them react to the energy signature, knowing exactly who it is. Remus was the same, knowing when someone entered the atmosphere, and I recall how my body reacted to the rings when we entered the atmosphere.

“It’s the rings,” I say, pulling everyone’s attention.

“The rings your mother put around this planet… they hide you. They hide your energy signature. That’s why she told you never to bond to something weak. Your bodies somehow shield your energy signatures outside of this planet, and I bet it has to do with another power of hers you don’t know about. But with me… whoever is out there, whoever she fears, wasn’t looking for me. They recognized Remus's energy signature. They were calling for Remus,” I say.

I feel nauseous as my brain puts the puzzle pieces together.

“She must have done something to all of you. So that your energy wouldn’t be recognizable…” I trail off as I notice a figure approaching Xion’s door.

My eyes widen, and I take a step back. Both Xion and Ezra speak at the same time.

“It’s Remus.”