Pet: Revelations - Chapter Twenty-Four (Patreon)

Iris

The heat lulls me from my sleep. It feels so incredibly nice, and it is accompanied by warm skin flush against my back along with the gentle caress of a touch on my thigh. I groan, snuggling deeper into the warmth when I realize it's water. I draw a deep breath and open my eyes.

I’m in the bath, and I know instantly it is Remus at my back, holding me. His touch is gentle as it traces over my flesh, and I don’t know if he is in a good mood or a bad mood after the night we had.

I went with the intention of convincing him to turn to his siblings instead of pushing them away. What began as an attempt to take some control ended in a night where I had none. Not even over my own life, a phrase Remus repeated over and over again until it was all I could moan while he thrust between my legs.

“You’re barely awake three seconds, and your mind is already running you ragged,” Remus says behind me. There’s a light air about his tone, accompanied by a soft laugh, helping me to relax slightly.

But I don’t respond. I don’t know how. A lot happened last night. The interaction with the strange Celestivine, Remus’s reaction to both that moment and after, and still I don’t know if my words reached him or not.

Remus slowly shifts from behind me, adjusting us so that he can move deeper into the bath. I note that as he moves away from the shallow end, the water slowly covers more of his milky flesh, the symbol that I’ve grown accustomed to all this time reaching his back. It’s actually visible to me since his hair is much shorter than it used to be, the pale locks reaching his shoulder blades at this point.

He finally turns to face me, the deep pulse of his symbol indicating he is calm as he watches me with that intense, amethyst gaze. He tilts his head slightly, his hair falling into his face as he studies me with the same curiosity.

“How are you feeling? After last night,” he says, lowering himself in the water. I almost laugh at the disappointment I feel as he covers more of his naked body from my gaze.

“…Fine,” I murmur.

Remus raises a brow and shifts forward until he is between my legs. His hands find my thighs, pulling me deeper into the bath with him, until I can feel his arousal pressing between my folds. My cheeks burn, earning me a laugh. He doesn’t seem angry at all. But he doesn't seem entirely normal.

“You’ll be pleased to know I’ve taken your advice,” Remus says.

I look up at him with wide eyes, and his smile deepens.

“Is that all it takes to get your attention?” he asks.

“I didn’t realize you were actually listening to me,” I say softly.

In all honesty, I figured that after last night, speaking with Remus was no more impactful than speaking to a wall. But it seems he is still in there, the piece of him that holds empathy and can be swayed.

“What advice did you take, exactly?” I ask, my heart fluttering as his eyes drift to my lips, watching them move as I speak. His pupil trembles slightly, shrinking just as it did last night. I don’t know what it means, but it is new and unnerving.

“My siblings need me. We have always been a team, the three of us. A new world has never changed that,” he says.

Though his mouth says one thing, I can’t help but feel something is off about this development. Especially the way he phrases it. "My siblings need me." Not the other way around.

His gaze turns curious as he studies me.

“I am interested as to why you care for them so much when you have your own sibling out there. Yet you haven’t said one word about him,” he says, shifting close enough that he can lower his lips to my collarbone.

“It’s different,” I murmur, heat flushing my skin where his lips make contact.

Remus pulls back, raising a brow. “Oh?”

His face is so close to mine that I can see the intricate pattern in his eyes. They seem much brighter in this moment; the intricate shifting reminding me of the way the ocean glitters when the sun shines on it too brightly.

“Cypress killed whoever he found necessary to his cause. Me included. But Ezra protected me when things went badly on Xyrannis. He put himself between you and me multiple times. He made sure I had a home and was taken care of. The least I can do is fight for him too,” I say, unable to hold Remus’s gaze as memories of Xyrannis swirl over me.

The nightmares have let up, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect me when I think of it all.

“And Xion?” Remus asks.

“Noah died saving Sky and me. And Ezra. I owe him, and I know he would want me to protect her,” I say.

“Hm, always the martyr,” Remus says, moving away.

“I hope that after what happened, I don’t have to remind you not to exit outside of those doors without a Celestivine to accompany you. This part of the palace remains off limits to most. I have too much to do and cannot spare the time to wonder if you’ve accidentally killed yourself,” he says.

“Why not just leave the door open?” I ask.

Remus pauses, thinking about his response.

“There are Celestivine I do not want entering here. And regardless of my command, the curious few will try,” Remus says, making me think of the man from last night. The one with the dark hair and sickly veins.

“…Was the man from last night a Celestivine?” I ask.

“Of sorts,” Remus says.

Judging by his tone, he doesn’t want to elaborate, and he doesn't want me to press him for an answer. I look down at the water, focusing on the mosaic pattern of the bath. It also reflects the consistent trees that I see in designs around this place.

“Does he have anything to do with what happened to Ezra?” I ask.

Remus goes quiet again, letting the trickle of water fill the air.

“No,” he says.

With that, the air grows heavy, and I know it is officially the end of my questioning and his patience. So, I keep my head down, afraid of what I will see if I lift it. Remus’s fingers gently slip under my chin, lifting my gaze to meet his.

“It is admirable how much you care about the people around you,” he says. I tense as his eyes darken, the swirl of color dropping to a low, dangerous pulse as he speaks to me.

“But you should know I do not like being manipulated," he says, his eyes searching mine.

“I didn’t—”

Remus silences me with a simple raise of his brow.

“When my mother stabbed you to get to me, and crumbled that cliffside, I thought I had watched you die. I had to relive that moment over and over, even after the fact, while my memories were restored. There have been many times when you have flirted with death, and each time I have been there to keep it from kissing you,” he says, reaching for my cheek.

He gently strokes my hair away from my face.

“You do not know what hearing you breathe means to me—what seeing you hurt does to me,” he says, pulling his hand away.

I tense as a light emits from his palm. It glows in a straight line, disappearing from my gaze, but I know the direction it follows. I can feel it, as if my body has succumbed to it from my nape. Remus’s expression is deadly as he holds it up for me to see, closing his fist around it.

A chill sweeps over me, and my body is no longer my own to control. I don’t know how, but I cannot move.

“If you did, you would never threaten me with your life,” he says, easing forward.

His eyes darken as he watches me, letting his words hang in the air along with his threat so that I understand. He wants it to marinate so I think before ever attempting it again, no matter what I want.

"If you ever threaten me with your life again…” His glare is intense as he watches me, unmoved by the tears that refuse to fall because they can’t. It feels like I am under an inhibitor, but I know that this is Remus. He has taken hold of me with this blue beam of light.

“I will take your free use of it. Do you understand?” he asks.

I can’t speak, and I feel a new level of fear settle over me that I didn’t think possible. I am reminded of that morning in the bath, when I challenged him again for dictating my life. It seems that my life is his trigger, and he does not take kindly to being manipulated with it.

He knows that I can’t respond, keeping his gaze on me, studying my reaction. He’s ensuring that I understand the consequences of threatening him. Last time, it was a verbal warning. This time… I don’t even know how to describe this kind of warning.

Slowly, he releases me. The beam dissipates, and one by one, I get feeling back in my body, including the ability to blink, letting my tears fall, and my shaky breath fill the silence as I look upon this being who was showing signs of familiarity only minutes earlier.

Now, however, I do not recognize him.

When he’s pleased with my reaction, he moves to the steps, water cascading down his naked form as he rises out of the bath. I don’t have words for him. But I don’t need any as he speaks.

“There will be guards stationed near the doors. You must take them with you if you want to leave this part of the palace,” he says, as if he didn’t just threaten me with my autonomy.

I barely manage an audible “okay.”

But I know he hears it, and I shiver from the grin on his lips as he exits the bathroom.

Uknown POV

The rumors have shifted. They are no longer rumors, but gossip. Kuron’s son has indeed returned with an outsider. And not just any outsider, an outsider with no trace of energy. In theory, she should be dead from setting foot in this world we know as our home. But it is clear the Omleyah is keeping her alive. From the massive surge that emits from the forbidden part of the palace to the reaction that was observed by many last night, it is clear that Kuron’s son has been tainted by the outside world.

So much so that he would defy the law of life among the Celestivine without batting an eye.

Celestivine are cruel by nature, a stark contrast to their ability to create. Their existence is a paradox: capable of bringing about new worlds, yet disgusted by the beings that might inhabit them. Though some of us think the outsider's presence is a sign of empathy, I know better.

I’m pulled from my thoughts as the Omleyah himself exits the gates, but he isn’t alone. My eyes widen as an unknown Celestivine walks next to him. It is not Kuron’s daughter, but a son. The longer I study him, the more I realize something is strange about him. He has the traits of a Celestivine, yet his eyes differ in color, and his energy is slightly disrupted.

I quickly look away, bowing as they descend the steps to the waiting transport. I know better than to be caught staring. It could mean the end of my life. I am glad that my hands are behind my back as the Omleyah’s presence grows closer. The energy that surges from him is devastating. It could be enough to bring back this world…or wipe it out.

I understand why Kuron took a chance searching for him after all this time among the galaxies. There were many tries over the centuries to replicate what he and Me’Rite perfected. Only this Celestivine that walks among us has the power to make a difference. The unrest that was bubbling up among our kind has leveled out since his arrival, as each of us tries to figure out what kind of threat he is.

And he has proven he is a very serious threat.

I’ve observed the Omleyah closely since we were allowed back into Eoua. He is reserved, quietly observing the society he was taken from at a young age. What’s even more frightening is his reaction to us. Celestivine have grown to ignore our presence, seeing us as nothing more than an unnecessary inconvenience in their lives. He, however, watches us. He observes us as if we are a threat, when none of us have even come close to presenting one in his presence.

Now is no different, as his gaze lingers, attempting to understand the nameless beings within this society. He is much more cunning than I expected, and his presence will indeed be a snag we were not anticipating.