Pet: Torment - Chapter ThirtyFour (Patreon)

Iris

As I hunch over the toilet, releasing everything in my stomach, I laugh to myself at the irony of it all. The transporting of my body has made me sick, just as the trip to Xyrannis did, because I was not used to it. Except this time, Remus isn’t here to comfort me. I don’t know if he ever will be again.

It’s obvious from our secret meeting last night that he doesn’t trust anyone. Not even his siblings at the moment. And if he ever regains his memory, I can’t help but wonder how that will come to affect them. But I can’t worry about that too hard right now. Not when I can’t even protect myself. 

Remus has always kept his abilities secret from me, only revealing them when necessary. It is one of the reasons he was able to find the resistance in the end. He’s always been a calculating being, even when he feigned trust. I don’t know whether to feel hopeful that he’s realizing things aren’t making sense, or resentful that even when he claimed I was his equal, there were still things he was keeping from me.

I wipe my mouth, standing as I flush the toilet to make my way to the mirror. I expect to see the tired, haggard woman who has been reflected in it for weeks staring back at me, but I don’t. I look rejuvenated. My skin is clear and dewy, my eyes bright, and my hair even has a soft gloss to it. I slowly lift my fingers to the strands, a soft laugh escaping me as they pass easily through, not snagging on dry tangles and brittle ends.

Even though he threatened to let me die in the snow, he ended up healing me in the ways only he can.

“Neither of my siblings’ strong suits has ever been healing. But I’m sure you’ve realized that by now.”

He’s right. After his first attack, it took days for Xion to heal me. And still, remnants of the pains I felt in my stomach lingered. But now, it’s all gone. I feel better than I’ve felt in a long time. It makes me wonder what parts of us he must remember to take care of to heal me completely after almost killing me in the snow.

As I make my way out of the bathroom, my attention falls to the hairpin I left in the middle of the bed. It taunts me with its existence, giving me hope that may be false in the end. Just because Remus suspects doesn’t mean he will remember anytime soon. It was his mother who did this to him. She must be the only one who can reverse it, and I doubt she will.

I pull in a deep breath, looking at the bright sky. The rings are barely visible as they stretch across the sky. When did this all become so complicated? I’ve been dragged from my home to the middle of some crisis these creatures are experiencing at the hands of their own.

I ignore the crushing doubt bubbling up within me, moving to grab the hairpin off the bed. Instead of placing it in my hair, I put it in the drawer under the small bit of clothes I’ve accumulated over the weeks. It feels ridiculous, hiding something from the god-like being who lives up the hallway, but it’s better than having her notice it and ask questions that could get me into deeper trouble.

Once I’m satisfied with its hiding place, I make my way out of the room and up the hallway where Xion and Noah sit at the table. I’ve rarely seen him since I’ve come to stay with Xion. He only ever shows up when Sky and Ezra are around, and even still, he remains silent—much more silent than he was the night I first arrived. And this morning is no different, as he gestures to me with his mug before shifting his attention to the scenery as Xion stands to greet me.

“You look better,” she says, eyeing me closely. Her gaze lingers on the places that once ached before shifting back to my face. “Much better.”

“I don’t feel any different,” I say, hoping she doesn’t obsess over it. I wish there was something I could do to avoid her gaze, especially since I now have something to hide. I try to keep my wits about me as she comes to her own internal conclusion, finally leaving me alone.

I shift my attention to the scenery, happy for once to see the warm green forest surrounding me instead of the snowscape of Remus’s home. I never want to be out in that kind of cold again. I shudder as I think of my body shutting down because it couldn’t handle the weather. And what was even more frightening was Remus’s indifferent attitude towards it. But he did end up changing his mind in the end…and doing something out of character for his current state of mind.

I don’t know what he has planned, or what he knows so far. But I know it’s enough for him to see some kind of value in my life.

“Have you still not heard from your mother?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“She’s off-world,” Xion says. “She isn’t here, nor is she on her plane.”

I scoff, keeping to myself how obvious that observation is.

“And you have no way of contacting her?” I ask.

Xion looks at me in confusion. “Why would I do that? We need her to stay away, not come back and discover you’re still alive.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that. I’m just curious about how it works between all of you, is all,” I say, looking back to the scenery.

Remus has always been the strongest of his siblings. Last night, he didn’t even flinch when I suggested he remove the rings. It’s obviously something he is capable of, and his siblings are not. And that needs to be my focus at this point, getting him to remove the rings. The question is, if he is capable of somehow stopping his mother, will he? Or will he be as hesitant as his siblings?

“Ezra will be taking care of you today,” she says, mounting my confusion.

Ezra is another person I’ve rarely seen since this incident occurred. He’s been avoiding me like the plague; the last time I saw him was in that record’s room when Remus almost broke me internally.

“Why?” I ask.

“He’s going to take you to a fitting. The council is hosting a celebration at the end of the week,” she says as if it’s an answer.

“But…isn’t that dangerous for me? What if your mother comes back while we’re there? Or what if Remus tries to—”

“It’s safer for you to be in attendance with us instead of unprotected at one of our homes. Our mother won’t be there. She doesn’t attend these things, nor does she hold interest in the day-to-day of Levaithan society. As for Remus, he won’t harm you in front of Leviathan,” she says.

I bite my tongue as the urge to tell her he could just transport me from the party comes over me. If his mother caught wind of my existence, she could more than likely do the same. There are so many questions I want to ask her in regards to Remus. He obviously keeps things from anyone he thinks isn’t fit to hear the information.

“Why can’t you take me? Ezra isn’t exactly eager to be around me these days,” I say. Xion glares at me, reigning in her patience. It’s funny to me that this is the same woman who ripped through the resistance and hated my guts up until recently. I never would have dreamed of questioning her before all of this. But it has placed all of us into a situation where we have been forced from our comfort zones.

“Were you this disagreeable with Remus?” she asks.

I shrug, moving past her to a chair.

“Remus encouraged questions,” I say.

“Well, I don’t. Ezra will take you. End of discussion,” she says.

And she means it, storming out of the room to leave me with Noah. I shift my attention to him in confusion.

“Did I do something wrong?” I ask.

“Cut her some slack. Each day that this goes on is another day she’s warring with herself and everything she knows,” he says.

I grunt in irritation as I join him at the table.

“I told you, these beings aren’t something we should have encountered. Look at what one simple human has caused,” he says, watching me.

I narrow my gaze. “Are you seriously blaming me for this?” I ask.

He shakes his head.

“There’s no one to blame, really. No one that it would benefit. I’m just saying, all of you could consider that there is no solution to this—none where everyone is happy,” he says.

He and Xion obviously have conversations behind closed doors. Conversations where she is weighing the results of what could happen if Remus regains his memory. And it's obvious from her reaction this morning that she doesn't like the possibilities she is seeing.

“I didn’t ask for any of this,” I say.

“I’m not saying you did. I’m just saying—”

“That I sacrifice my life for the sake of their feelings?” I growl out.

Silence passes between us, giving me my answer. I release a bitter chuckle, standing.

“Has it not crossed anyone’s mind that maybe it’s their mother who should be the one to sacrifice something?” I snap. “Or have they been so brainwashed that they can’t even see that she is the villain in all of this?”

Noah laughs, shaking his head. “Obviously it’s the latter, Iris.”