Pet: Revelations - Chapter Four (Patreon)

Remus

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. With each inhale, I acknowledge everything around me. Life, objects, patterns. And with each exhale, I acknowledge the makeup of those objects. I acknowledge them down to the molecular level, which I can touch and rearrange if need be. I feel the energy. The push and pull, and I take it into myself, cleansing it before releasing it—

I open my eyes as Iris whimpers in her sleep. The sound cuts through my focus, pulling my attention. She is across the room, fast asleep. And for the past twenty hours, she hasn’t stirred. I stand, approaching where she sleeps. She is on her side, her hair wild around her. And as I watch, my attention shifts to the gentle rise and fall of her chest. I reach for her, feeling for the disruptions in her mind before releasing a calming pulse that pulls her back into her deepest sleep.

I watch in fascination as her brow is no longer furrowed, and she sleeps peacefully. It’s a curious thing that she won’t listen to me. I know what is best for her, and with each passing hour, I find it harder and harder to remain on the side of free will. If I gave that to her, she would run herself ragged.

I frown as the thought slips across my mind.

No. What I’ve enjoyed about her is the way she is because of her free will. I cannot take that from her. Ever since our return to Xyrannis, that was not an option. Forcing her to sleep against her wishes was only a temporary solution to her stress during our travels. I release an irritated breath, moving away from the bed as more possessive thoughts flit across my mind. 

I am changing, that much is clear. My mind has opened in different ways, making it difficult for me to even consider the feelings of the inferior.

I frown once again at the direction of my thoughts. Iris isn’t inferior. She has proven that time and time again. But this is the natural direction my mind has taken. When she first awoke, I told her my situation was out of her depth. If not for the hurt in her eyes, I would have held fast to that belief.

I take a deep breath, needing space between us. I make my way to the door, ensuring the lights are out before I dissolve it, exiting the room. I don’t bother looking back as I put the door back in place, heading to my destination.

Kuron’s ship is different than a Leviathan ship. The speed at which it travels is much faster than any Leviathan ship, and for weeks, we have been traveling past the deepest parts of space. For all the places I’ve conquered, I’ve never gone this far beyond life. It’s as if we’re traveling backward, towards star systems that have already had their life spans and no longer exist.

As I make my way through the ship, I make sure to stop by Ezra’s medical bay. Iris’s concern for him is endearing. And after what she said about him being her only ally during my memory loss, I owe him more than saving his life. Though I do not know what awaits him on our homeworld. He is a stain on Kuron and Me’rite’s reign. He is proof of her treason. Convincing Kuron to allow him a place among us will prove tricky.

I can already sense that the human he kept with him, Sky, is fast asleep as I approach the room he has been in. She hasn’t left his side since they were brought on board, which is amusing, seeing as she was responsible for his torture on Earth. They have a curious relationship, one that I cannot question, seeing as he used my words against me.

I make sure to keep quiet as I enter, briefly looking to see the human fast asleep in a pile of blankets. She has the same troubled expression Iris does in her sleep. I am sure witnessing the battle between me and my father, combined with surviving what came after was traumatizing for her as well. But I ignore her, standing over Ezra. His breath is so shallow, and his heartbeat is extremely weak. He is barely clinging to life, just as he was when he was rescued. There has been little to no improvement in his state, the only thing keeping him alive is the machine that covers him.

I feel a tinge in my chest as I look at his face. He is my little brother, and I have always looked out for him. I’ve always aimed to protect him. Xion and I literally dissolved a mountainside to save him. He has always been reckless, knowing we would come to his rescue. But this time, I don’t know if I can rescue him. I think of Iris’s words to me when she first saw him.

“Can’t you heal him?”

I am only just getting a grasp on the kind of energy that has disrupted his system. I still do not know how to convert it. And Kuron refuses to heal the child my mother had out of spite. The child she enslaved her other children for—his children.

I reach for his face, noting how cold his skin is. “Come now, Ezra. You have always been much more stubborn than this,” I say.

I am unsure of how our bond will be affected once we reach mine and Xion’s homeworld. He is the reason for all of my suffering, and with the way that my mind is twisting, I fear I may forget who he was to me and see him as Kuron does.

Iris would never let that happen.

I can’t help but smile as the thought crosses my mind. It is as I said before, she is my moral compass. She will be there to remind me when I cannot see it, and I must ingrain it in myself now to listen to her.

I’m pulled from my thoughts as the human whimpers in her sleep. Her breath is shallow. She too must be having a nightmare. I move away from Ezra, standing over her. I never cared for her. Initially, I did not like her. She was a big part of the rebellion. She is responsible for reverse-engineering the inhibitors and for decrypting Ezra’s cells enough to make a weapon that could harm Leviathan for the humans to use. If not for Ezra’s harsh methods, I would not have trusted her to stay around.

But her reaction to Ezra’s fate is shocking. And she and Iris seem to be forming a friendship.

I reach for her, placing my fingertips along her temples, using the same methods I did with Iris. Her whimpering dies down until she is in a deep slumber.

“Tying up loose ends?” I know without having to look that Xion stands in the doorway. I sensed her approach a while ago.

I stand, moving away from the human to greet my sister. She looks awful. Her skin is sickly, her eyes dull and red. I know I am looking at her grief. I felt that grief briefly, turning it into a rage that would have destroyed Xyrannis. But her grief has taken a different direction. She has remained locked in her room, refusing to eat, to feed, or even to speak to anyone. This is the first time I have seen her since we began this journey.

“I know he wouldn’t want her to be suffering,” I say, gesturing to the sleeping human.

Xion scoffs, moving past me toward Ezra. More tears form in her eyes as she stands over him, brushing his hair away from his face.

“What have they done to you?” she whispers.

She shakes her head in confusion, looking at me. “I can’t feel his energy,” she says.

“It has been disrupted. The weapon…” I trail off as I recall the day I found out the truth. She was barely conscious. She doesn’t know anything. She doesn’t know the truth about Ezra, or what our mother did, nor does she know who Kuron is to her. And as I look at her, barely clinging to reality, I know that she is not ready to hear it—not in this state.

“His body needs time to decipher the damage. He’ll be okay,” I say, even if I don’t believe it fully myself.

A tear falls from her eye as she strokes his cheek.

“We can’t fail him, Remus. Not this time,” she whispers.

I make sure to force a blank expression. “We won’t.”

I turn away from her, making my way to the door.

“Where are you going?” she calls to me.

“Stay here with Ezra. I need to see Kuron,” I say.

“Kuron? You mean the Celestivine who did all of this?” she says.

“Xion—”

“No, Remus. There is no excuse for any of this. He is our enemy. After everything he did to Ezra, to Iris, have you lost it?” she snaps.

I take a deep breath, calming myself.

“Have I ever done anything in my best interest as long as you have known me?” I ask.

Silence drifts between us as Xion glares at me. Her expression is grim, but it slowly morphs into understanding before she looks back to Ezra.

“For whatever reason you are cooperating with him, don’t forget we are supposed to protect Ezra, always,” she says.

Her words hit me hard. And not in a good way. Now that all of my memories have returned, I understand everything our mother did to us, including the suggestions she implanted in our minds. I quietly look to Ezra, my mind clashing with itself.

Would I have seen myself as his protector if not for her meddling?

I slowly look at Xion, noting the despair she feels seeing our brother like this. Against my better judgment, resentment wells up within me as more doubt is planted in my mind.

Are these our true feelings? Do I even care about him? Or was this implanted in me?

I take a step back. “I won’t,” I say.

I turn away before Xion can say anything else, my mind a mess as I try to sift through the newest of my memories, the moments our mother used her power to control us—to protect the child she wanted.

I’m out of the room before I can think of anything else, making my way through the ship to find Kuron. Before my mind spirals any further.