Pet: Revelations - Chapter Eleven (Patreon)

Iris

The night sky in this place will never cease to amaze me. Even in the halls, the large arches open to reveal our surroundings. I see the moon from here, and the stars shine unlike any other night sky I’ve ever laid eyes on. The beauty is almost too much. It’s breathtaking—literally. And walking next to the being who is just as beautiful makes it all the more unbelievable that I am here.

I look away from the arches, focusing my attention on the high columns that hold up the vaulted ceiling. Instead of a mural, like the one in the bedroom, a cloud-like texture glimmers a mixture of purple and blue. It reminds me of Remus, or rather, who he used to be. It’s hard to imagine that at one point I could look into his eyes and see his excitement or even his anger. Now, his eyes hold a power and emotion I can barely remain calm in front of. I can’t read him like I once could, and I miss that.

I involuntarily clutch my necklace for comfort as I think of the way he acted a few minutes ago. It was unnerving listening to him talk about his excitement from almost killing his mother. But what was more shocking was hearing him threaten Ezra. Remus quite literally toppled a mountainside for his brother on Earth. Now, for some reason, he has gotten rid of that sentiment and, without hesitation, uses Ezra’s life as a way to make his mother feel pain.

I have nothing for his mother. She destroyed the fragile relationship between me and her son, and she almost killed me right in front of him. My only issue is that Remus’s desire to make her hurt results in others being caused pain. Even still, Remus has no hesitation with hating his mother. I couldn’t imagine wanting either of my parents dead. Even Cypress, with everything he did, I will stand between him and death.

I hate how helpless I feel. I am at Remus’s mercy, and with this new personality, I have no idea how far that extends. Especially since he made it clear he no longer sees us as equals. The life we had on Xyrannis feels so far away now. And I hate how stubborn I was to accept it. What I wouldn’t give to go back and live that life Remus promised. To be free to roam and see that world as my new home. I’ve been thrust into this new one, and regardless of Remus’s wants, I don’t know that I could ever see it as home. Xyrannis had aspects similar to Earth. This world is nothing like either. And I feel extremely out of place.

“You’re quiet,” Remus says, breaking the silence.

I gently rub the top of my locket, enjoying the familiar feel of the cool material against my thumb. It calms me.

“I have nothing to say,” I say, looking down.

Remus scoffs.

“Really? You have nothing to say? No questions about this world? I’ve seen how you admire the architecture,” he says.

I smile, keeping my gaze down. At least part of him misses me.

“It’s not like you would answer them,” I say.

He doesn’t respond immediately, contemplating what I mean.

“Are you upset about earlier?” he asks.

“I am not upset. I’m annoyed that you ignored what I wanted. I told you I didn’t want to go for a walk,” I say.

Remus laughs, and the sound is irritating. It isn’t amusement; it’s condescending.

I flinch when I feel his touch around my wrist. His touch travels up my arm and into my hand that holds my locket as he gently pulls my hand away from it, gripping it in his. He maneuvers me around to face him, but I keep my gaze down, focused on his chest.

He releases a deep breath, bending until his eyes are in my line of sight.

“Why won’t you look at me?” he asks.

He slowly stands, and I follow him, lifting my gaze. He watches me so intensely that I begin to shift my weight, squirming right in front of him. He smiles at the sight, his eyes softening as he places his finger under my chin.

“I would never hurt you, Iris. Never again. What I did on Xyrannis was out of my control. I won’t let that happen again,” he says.

My chest burns, and I suddenly remember to breathe.

“You are everything to me. You know that, right?” he asks, his eyes searching my face for an answer.

I slowly shake my head.

“As long as you can tell me what to do,” I say.

His expression shifts, and I don’t quite know what emotion I am looking at. He’s so eerily still, that I try to wrack my brain to say anything to bring him back to me.

“I just mean…I had grown to care for you. Who you were on Xyrannis. Who you are now is different,” I say.

A soft laugh escapes him.

“So you no longer care for me?” he asks.

My eyes widen, and I step back. I need to put distance between us. Having him this close is suffocating.

“That’s not what I meant,” I say.

Remus grabs me as I try to step away, pulling me in close to him. His body is warm as he presses himself flush with me, his hands wrapping around my waist.

“Then what did you mean?” he asks.

His eyes shine bright, rivaling the stars as he looks down at me with that ethereal gaze. I once again find it difficult to breathe as I look into eyes that could be a galaxy themselves.

“I…liked you. I liked what we had become,” I whisper.

Remus smiles, revealing his teeth.

“Oh,” I gasp softly.

He’s beautiful. It’s hard to discern the beauty of such a terrifying face. It’s like looking into the eyes of a tiger. Knowing that it watches your every movement, waiting for you to show it weakness so it can pounce and end your life in an instant. And yet, the creature itself is stunning to look at, with patterns on itself that don’t exist in most animals. It is a beautiful, terrifying creature.

And that is what Remus is.

Remus gently reaches for my face, and I close my eyes, reveling in the warmth of his touch as it brushes over my cheek, pushing my hair behind my ear. My skin tingles from the trail he leaves behind. And for a split second, I can pretend we are on Xyrannis, in his home, free from people who would use him.

But when I open my eyes, we are still on this strange world. And Remus is not the Celestivine I began to fall for. He is different.

He doesn’t speak as he pulls away from me, his hand drifting from my waist to my palm as he grips it in his, leading me through this mysterious palace. We walk in silence, and I use the moment to take in Remus. I shift my attention to the way he holds my hand, once again feeling so out of place.

His skin is vibrant and alive. Mine looks dull compared to his. But I don’t comment on it. I remain silent as he leads me until we eventually reach a double door taller than I’ve ever seen. It’s white, and I can’t say the material is wood. I don’t know what it is, marble maybe? It has a tree like the one on the mural in the bedroom etched into it, the purple leaves glimmering unnaturally.

And as Remus approaches, the doors open on their own. I am sure Remus has something to do with it, and as the thick, heavy door creaks open enough for us to pass through, I am in awe of the Celestivine that is Remus.

These halls look slightly different than the ones behind the doors. They aren’t so open to the world that lies beyond, and there are more statues and murals covering some of the walls in the distance. The columns, however, still stretch high, making this place feel so unbearably intimidating.

Remus doesn’t draw me deeper into the halls, however. He makes a turn through an archway, revealing a set of stairs. And his grip tightens as he leads me down them. The walls slowly close in, and the warm lights glow from the sconces that hold glimmering light.

I gently place my free hand against the wall, curious about the texture. And it’s smooth to the touch.

I note light pours in from the bottom of the steps, the closer we get. And as we finally reach the bottom steps, I realize it is the moonlight pouring in from the outside. Remus’s grip remains tight as he pulls me through the archway, and I am no longer stepping on hard ground.

There’s dirt beneath my feet.

We’ve stepped into a courtyard, I realize, as the wind gently caresses my arms. I shiver, feeling even more chilly as Remus releases my hand, stepping deeper into the courtyard.

“What is this place?” I ask.

It’s dead. The little bit of grass that exists is hard and prickly, the thorns from the plants native to this world dried and sharp. There is a natural pool on the far side that has dried up, with a massive mudhole. It’s an egregious sight to be in the center of this place given everything that I’ve seen.

I flinch as Remus steps closer to me. He gently holds his hand out in front of me, and I gasp as his veins slowly illuminate beneath his palm. Suddenly, a purple light that glimmers like a flame appears in his palm.

My eyes are wide as I look into his, and my heart jumps when I notice the pulse of his eyes. He slowly brings his hands to his lips, turning to face the courtyard. He pulls in a deep inhale and blows.

The light from his palm spreads like a waterfall, trickling from his palm to the ground below. My eyes can’t get any wider as I watch the ground illuminate, the deep pulse spreading until I can see every vine, every root that is touched by this light. It spreads throughout the courtyard until we are surrounded by purple light.

I gasp when the plants suddenly bloom. The flowers burst from the ground, as does the grass. Remus shifts next to me, holding his hand out, and the plant life does his bidding. I tense as a tree shoots from the ground, its roots looping until a trunk forms. Branches expand from the thick trunk, and finally purple leaves sprout.

Remus moves next to me, and as he walks by, he grabs my hand. His touch is warm, pulsing with life, I note.

With each step, an aura of purple mingles with the sudden pulse of blue, bringing life to every corner of the courtyard, until it is crawling up the sides of the walls that overlook it.

The courtyard continues to grow around us, and Remus leads me to a bench that has purple vines wrapped around it. The bench itself is made from the same material as the walls. Remus coaxes me to sit as he moves ahead of me to the muddy pit.

He bends, using only his finger, and I gasp as water forms from the point of which he touches the pit. Plants form around it, and even lilipads with flowers that are native to this world appear, glowing in the moonlight to illuminate the pool.

“Oh,” I say.

It seems to be the only thing I can manage lately.

Remus stands from in front of the pond, turning to face me. I don’t have words as he approaches, and when he kneels in front of me, reaching through the air, his fingertips suddenly pinch around a flower. A familiar flower.

He holds out the Iris to me, and my fingers feel limp as I take it.

Remus watches me carefully before speaking.

“When I was a child, I would come here a lot. I would practice, train, hide…,” Remus says.

My eyes widen in shock. The last time I spoke to Remus about his childhood, he said he had no memory of it. But now, as he reveals we are in his childhood home, he has also revealed that it existed. My blood runs cold as I recall what he said to me the day he plucked me from Xyrannis’s surface.

“When my mother first released me from her prison.”

He has been adamant about keeping the extent of everything that happened from me. At the time, I was just happy to see he was back with me. I didn’t pay attention to what he was truly saying. But as more is slowly revealed to me, I am forced to see a side of this more fucked up than I ever could have imagined.

“I thought you didn’t remember your childhood,” I say, hoping he’ll open up to me.

He smiles. “I do now.”

Remus looks away from me, taking in the place he must have really loved when he was a child. I find it in myself to reach for him, gently placing my palm against his cheek.

He looks at me, and I push down my usual fear.

“Did she do this to you?” I ask.

Remus stares at me so intensely that I don’t even think he is breathing. But he finally moves, smiling as he reaches for my palm, grabbing it in his. He pulls it away from his face, kissing my wrist as his eyes glimmer.

“This place was my sanctuary, and now it is yours,” he says.

He smiles, taking in my expression. “See? There are parts of the old me.”

I don’t push him. I don’t have to. I suddenly understand why he has changed so much so quickly. If my theory is correct, if Remus’s mother didn’t just wipe his mind when we returned to Xyrannis, but wiped his mind from when he was a child and somehow kept him imprisoned, then the pain he feels must be unbearable.

I suddenly understand his willingness to trust the Celestivine that is his father. Remus’s past is much more complicated than I thought. I need to speak with Ezra or Xion at this point to confirm it. Remus isn’t going to tell me. And I don't want to force him. Not when he is like this. He is adamant about not feeling it.

I slowly wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him in to me. He’s so warm. He feels alive, and yet it is a different kind of life. It matches this world—this courtyard. His warmth pulses and surges beneath my touch.

He releases a deep breath, his arms closing around me as well.

“Thank you,” I murmur.

It’s all I can say in this moment. I don’t want to ruin it. I don’t want to fight. Remus isn’t my enemy. Not anymore. And he is desperately clinging to me, if what I think is true is true.

So, I hold him, enjoying our sanctuary together.