Pet: Revelations - Chapter Seventeen (Patreon)

Iris

Ezra won’t speak to us. He won’t even look at us. The only way that I know that he is somewhat okay is from his reaction to seeing Sky. Now, as she sits on the edge of his bed, all he does is keep a tight grip on her hand, his eyes remaining on the glass that reveals the world beyond.

Sky and I exchange concerned looks, and I am reminded of what Remus said to me before he left.

“My presence isn’t wanted here.”

Why else would Remus say something like that, if not because of something he said or did to his brother?

“Ezra…” I say his name gently, but he doesn’t acknowledge me. I am suddenly forced to acknowledge just how weak he still looks. His skin, though slightly better looking, still has black veins beneath the surface in certain areas. His eyes have dark circles under them, and the symbol on his chest, his sign of divinity, is dull and pulses so slowly, you would think he was dying.

I pull in a breath to call to him again when he speaks.

“Has he told you?” he asks.

Sky and I exchange looks. Neither of us knows what he is referring to.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

Ezra scoffs, finally looking away from the glass. He focuses his attention on Sky’s hand in his, furrowing his brow.

“I guess not. I guess he hasn’t told you anything,” he says. “Why would he?”

Sky gently places her hand against his cheek, pulling his attention. She has no fear as she looks into his eyes. “You’re not making any sense,” she says.

I note that no part of her reveals what she’s been through. If anything, she’s put on an entirely new armor of strength as she speaks to Ezra. Ezra gently reaches for her palm, pulling it from his face. He places a kiss on the inside of her hand before lowering it in his.

“Everything is a fucking lie,” he murmurs.

My eyes widen at his choice of that phrase. It’s exactly what Remus said to me about his life.

“What…did she do?” I ask, pulling his attention. His eyes are so tired as he looks at me, and I can see him having an inner battle with himself. He suddenly laughs, a small piece of his usual self shining through as he shakes his head.

“If Remus hasn’t told you, what makes you think I am going to?” he asks.

There’s fear in his voice as he speaks of Remus. I know it because I have it as well. I know where my newfound fear of Remus stems from. It makes me anxious to hear it in Ezra’s voice.

“Because we’re allies,” I say, referring to our last conversation on Xyrannis. Even at my lowest, Ezra was there for me, promising to fight for me. Ezra makes a face, looking away from me before shaking his head.

“Not here we’re not,” he says.

“Here…I am nothing,” he murmurs. Sky quickly shifts on the bed, expressing to him not to say something like that. But I immediately think of what Remus said about Ezra being a stain on their mother’s history.

This history.

“Both of you don’t understand. The only reason I am alive right now is that Remus allowed it. He owns me, just like he owns you,” he says, meeting my gaze.

“Remus does not own me—”

Ezra laughs, and I am shocked at how loud it is when he is in obvious pain. He finds genuine amusement in what I said. And as he looks at me with a grin, his brow raised, my stomach immediately twists in discomfort.

“Yes, he does. Have you not realized that yet? Are you still holding on to who he was when he left to see our mother on Xyrannis? Wake up, Iris! That Remus is dead. As a matter of fact, he never existed. He was a… manipulation that walked around, talking and mimicking us so that we wouldn’t suspect the truth. Who he is now is who he was born to be, and that is nothing like the Celestivine you thought you knew,” Ezra says.

His anger is intense even though he is weak. But I don’t know what he is angry at. Me, or the truth that he knows about.

“You don’t know that—”

“Yes, I do. And I know that you do too. Are you really going to sit there and pretend that you see any form of his old self?” he asks.

Now, it is my turn to look away. It was one thing witnessing Remus alone. Even though he told me himself, I still held fast to the belief that there was a piece of him that was the same. But having Ezra confirm it for me makes all the difference.

“If you see it, then why won’t you tell me what she did to him? To you? I know it was more than just manipulating his memories. I care about him. I didn’t go through everything that I did on Xyrannis, just to be left out once again. You owe me, Ezra,” I say. “You fucking owe me.”

Ezra’s features shift from anger to hurt to shame before he looks down, avoiding eye contact with me completely. He’s acting the same way he did after Remus attacked me. As if he knows something that is eating him alive.

I stand. “Fine,” I say, making my way to the door.

I pause in the doorway, resting my hand against the arch as I look back at Sky and Ezra. My conversation with Sky on the ship flashes across my mind.

“Promise we won’t let this divide us.”

I may not like it, but we are all each other has. This moment is no different. I can’t let something like this divide us.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Ezra. Truly. We were worried sick about you. I’ll leave you two alone,” I say softly.

I don’t get a response, so I make my way out of the room, leaving them to at least enjoy that the other is alive.

This place is strange. And not in the way that the days change, and the alien-like interior. Spending the rest of the day in the garden, in the center of the palace, has allowed me to see how strange it is. I’ve remained in the same place, past the sun setting, and I have yet to see a single soul move within the columns above. It’s as if no one lives here.

I haven’t seen any Celestivine other than Remus, I realize. When we originally arrived on Xyrannis, I immediately saw the Leviathan people who lived there. I saw a lot of that world, in fact. Remus even showed me a town that was among his favorites to frequent.

But here, if I’m not asleep, I barely see Remus even when I am awake. Now, as I lay under the stars, with still no foot traffic, my theory is correct. Today, when Remus was taking us to see Ezra, there was no one. It was just Remus and empty halls. It makes me even more curious about this world and its history.

A history that Ezra is a stain on.

I chuckle bitterly as I look at the stars. What is even the point of me trying to know or understand what happened? It won’t change anything. Remus will still be the alien he now is, distant and terrifying, his siblings torn apart. Ezra is obviously shaken by whatever it is that Remus has said to him.

I’m tired of fighting.

I take a deep breath as I study the stars. There is something familiar about them. That can’t be, though. I’ve never been here before. But the longer I look, the more they seem to stand out to me.

My heart beats wildly in my chest, and my eyes grow wide as I slowly come to recall why I know the pattern of the stars in the sky. I had a vision of it on Xyrannis. It is the sky I dreamed of when someone was calling to Remus…

I quickly sit up, gasping. Chills ripple over me as I realize the extent of where I’m sitting.

“Did I startle you?” I scream, whipping my head in the direction of Remus’s voice. I didn’t hear him approach. He stands over me, a concerned expression on his face, quickly kneeling when he sees I am in distress.

He reaches for me, and I flinch away, slapping his hand.

“Don’t,” I say harshly.

He doesn’t react beyond lowering his hand, waiting for me to catch my breath. I ignore him, looking back up to the sky. I could never forget those visions that plagued my dreams. I am suddenly reminded of what Remus said to me the other night when he created this place. That it was an important part of his childhood.

“Iris,” Remus calls to me again, pulling me out of my thoughts. I look away from the stars to him in an attempt to rein in my unease. From the moment we arrived on Xyrannis, it must have been his father reaching out to me, trying to contact him. And as many questions as I have in this moment, I swallow them for the sake of my sanity.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t hear you,” I murmur.

He watches me carefully for a moment longer before lowering himself to the ground next to me. I watch him in confusion as he lies on his back, shifting his attention to me. He lifts his arm, signaling me to lie on him.

I hesitate, Ezra's rant playing over and over in my mind. Remus has always been an adaptable being. On Earth, he quite literally changed his appearance to watch his people from the shadows. And watching who he has become now, when he has been released from the manipulations of his mother, makes my skin crawl at the truth behind Ezra's words.

He watches and reacts, mimicking us to make us feel comfort. It's eerie, seeing it up close as he does exactly what I need in this moment, and I can't help but wonder if it is him, or if he is doing it as a reaction.

I quietly oblige, slowly lowering myself until I am under his arm, lying against his chest. The warmth of his skin seeps into my cheek, and I note the vibration of energy that slowly pulses as I lay against his chest. His arm lowers around me, holding me close as he speaks.

“Did you and Ezra catch up?” he asks.

I shrug. I don’t have words for him this afternoon. It is clear that no one is going to communicate, not only with me, but with one another. They would rather keep their secrets and sulk in silence.

“So…what now?” I whisper.

The question lingers between us as uncertain as everything else in this moment. Remus isn’t the same, Ezra is closed off, and Xion hasn’t even shown her face. The “Divine Three,” as they so affectionately called themselves, is severely broken, their mother the cause and their father the “solution.”

Within all of that, I don’t even think Remus cares.

I think back to his brief bout of honesty the day he returned from seeing his mother for the first time. He was so cold as he expressed his desire for her to die. And though I know Remus is a cruel being, I can’t help but feel unease at his desire for her death in the aftermath of all of this.

“Now, you do as you did on Xyrannis. You adapt and accept this home,” he says.

I roll over, propping myself up on my elbows as I look at Remus. His eyes are focused on the stars, reflecting just like they do in the sky.

“So you won’t keep me bound to that room?” I ask, pulling his attention. He looks so intimidating with his white hair sprawled around him. I fight my fear, reaching for his strands. They are much shorter than they ever were, the texture silky between my fingertips. I fight the discomfort as I recall the moment he cut his own hair, desperate to get to me.

I flinch as I suddenly feel his hand against my cheek, pulling me out of my nightmare.

“You were never bound to it. All you had to do was ask,” he says.

I make a face. “I asked you to visit Xyrannis, and you told me no.”

Remus doesn’t move, but I can tell my words aren’t innocent to him. He drops his hand from my face, suddenly standing.

“Xyrannis is lucky to be alive. If I ever go back, I will destroy it,” Remus says.

I quickly stand with him. I don’t understand where the sudden hostility for Xyrannis comes from.

“Why?” I ask. “Didn’t you say it was our home?”

Remus pauses, turning to look at me. He slowly approaches, his hand reaching for the hem of my shirt before he gently lifts it, revealing the scar on my stomach. The scar his mother gave me. He studies it, and when he runs his fingers over it, I shiver from the slight tingle that passes through.

“My home is wherever you are,” he says.

He finally lifts his gaze to look at me. Finally, he smiles, giving me a glimpse of his old self.

“How about I take you to see more of your new home? Then you can love it as much as you did Xyrannis.”