Revelation - Chapter 23 (Patreon)

Iris

The night sky has become my new favorite thing in this place. All I can do is stare at it. The beautiful pulsing lights that dance over the dark are mesmerizing. And it all comes from Remus. I don’t know if I should, but I feel pride and awe right now. Remus never ceases to amaze me. He’s otherworldly.

I’ve been in the garden every night since the beginning of the festival. It’s been a week. Somehow looking at the streams of energy across the night sky makes me feel closer to him. I hate to admit it, but I miss him. It felt like this the last time he left me. I hate him until he leaves, then I torture myself because I can’t stop thinking about him.

Somehow, as he slowly opened up to me, he seems like he’s changing. But I can’t let my guard down. I fear that something will bite me in the face if I do. I take a deep breath laying my head back on the bench.

My mind wanders to Sky’s words last week. We’ve never seen eye to eye on our views about humanity. But that day felt like a shift in our relationship. I understood where she was coming from. At this point, I have no idea where I am in the galaxy. All I know is that Remus spared the Earth when we left. And even though he did what he did to the Leviathin, those weren’t my people. My people are safe and sound. There’s no way I’m getting back to them. But maybe one day if I can earn Remus’ trust, he’ll let me visit. He seems very adamant on giving me freedom when he sees he can trust me.

I take a deep breath running my fingers through my hair. It would seem that Sky is right. I am having conflicted feelings towards Remus. My emotions that were filled with hatred and rage are slowly melting away. And I can feel myself… liking him. Even with this admiration that I have for him.

“Elcesu Mu!” I look up, startled by the new voice. A woman is coming towards me. She has a look of irritation on her face. She looks like Remus’ people. White hair, but as she grows closer, I see a difference. Purple eyes. Like Remus.

She’s beautiful. Intimidatingly so. But even more terrifying as she grows closer to me with obvious evil intent.

“!.” She snaps at me in her native tongue, and I have no idea what she’s saying. I raise a brow at her in confusion.

“What?” I voice my confusion but it only further pisses her off. She snatches my arm yanking me up off the bench, and I hiss in pain. Her hand is emitting strange energy that’s slowly burning me. I flinch in pain and begin clawing at her hand as a cry is slowly wrenched from my lips.

She only continues to yell at me though.

“Nira!” To my utter shock and surprise, it’s Xion. She steps in between us, shoving the woman and yanking me from her grip. I haven’t seen Xion since we first arrived here. I thought Remus had sent her away, yet here she is, standing between me and this woman.

She steps closer to the woman with a narrowed gaze and she looks livid. The woman looks at me and back to Xion, her face obviously filled with rage before she responds to Xion in their language. Xion turns away from her walking past me.

“Come.” She hisses. I immediately stand and follow her, looking back at the woman Xion called Nira. She’s looking at me with an unreadable expression. I continue following Xion out of the gardens when a sharp pain rips through my arms. I hiss in pain stumbling.

I look down at my arm and there’s an angry, red, bloody ring around it. Xion snatches my arm and looks at me.

“What were you doing in there alone?” She snaps.

“Who was that?” I ask. She shakes her head looking down at my arm.

“It doesn’t matter. She thought you were a servant. She almost took your arm off.” She murmurs. I look at my arm in horror. The pain is spreading, and doesn’t seem to be healing like other wounds. Xion stands up pulling me along with her.

I jolt awake, my eyes traveling to the warm feeling on my forearm. I’m shocked when I see Braith. He’s focused on his task, his gaze narrowed as he runs his hand over my arm. There’s a light blue hue coming from his hand.

“Wha…?” I try and form a sentence, but nothing comes out. Braith hears me though. He immediately stops what he’s doing and looks at me.

“You’re awake.” He says. He looks like he’s been caught doing something horrible. I slowly sit up on the thin cot.

“What happened?” I ask. I look around the unfamiliar room. There are dark stones covering the walls and shelves filled with different colored and textured liquids.

“You were caught in the gardens. She infected your arm, which due to your genetic makeup began to deteriorate your muscle. You couldn’t go to the castle physician because… well, you were brought to ours.” He finishes. I raise a brow at him looking at my arm.

It looks healed completely.

“What were you doing?” I ask. Braith looks away as if he doesn’t want to tell me.

“Braith.”

He takes a deep breath, his face completely serious when he returns my gaze. Before he can respond, the door bursts open and in comes Ezra and Xion. Xion stays back as Ezra approaches me with panic and concern. He grabs my arm looking it over.

“Leave us.” He snaps at Braith. Braith slowly stands, bowing before making direct eye contact with me. His gaze is desperate. Almost pleading with me, then he leaves.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Ezra snaps.

“You know not to be in the gardens alone at night. As a matter of fact, the entire castle is off limits to you at night.” He hisses. I open my mouth to respond but he keeps talking.

“You were supposed to be watching her.” He snaps at Xion. She looks away in anger.

“I was! Nira came out of nowhere and grabbed her before I could get to them.” She snaps back. Ezra stands up.

“Is this a joke to you, Xion? Remus trusted you with her life and you let her get attacked? Do you know what could have happened if Remus sensed Iris’ distress? You know he bonded with her, right?” He says all in one breath of desperation and anger. Xion steps past him.

“I didn’t ask for this honor.” She growls.

“But he gave it to you!” He says.

“Since when-“ Xion begins but Ezra holds his hand up silencing her. He mumbles something to her in his native tongue and she narrows her gaze before storming out and slamming the door. He watches the door for a second before turning back to me. He takes a seat next to the small cot and looks at my arm.

“Does it hurt?” He asks. I shake my head.

“If Remus and I are bonded, why were my muscles deteriorating from her touch?” I ask. Shouldn’t I have healed instantly like when I clawed at the mark in the bathroom all those weeks ago?

“Because you’re human. You don’t have rapid healing like Remus. And the only time rapid healing is available to you is when Remus is doing it himself. Other than that, your body will still heal faster than any human rate, but the flesh would have fallen off your skin first.” He says. I shiver from the description.

Ezra looks up at me, his gaze is deadly.

“You mustn’t tell anyone that you and Remus are bonded. Understand?” He says. I nod my head with wide eyes. Silence falls over us and I recall why I’m even here in the first place.

“Who was that anyway? Why did she attack me?” I ask. Ezra seems to be thinking.

“She’s a guest of the royal family. She thought you were a servant. And Remus labeled the gardens off limits to everyone.” He says. I think about his words for a moment.

“Seems a little excessive to burn off a servants arm just because they were in a garden,” I say. Ezra shakes his head.

“Not just a garden. The garden that our mother kept alive, and now Remus since he’s returned. The next crowned King of this place. He ordered it off limits, and that’s how it will stay. Anyone that breaks that rule signed their death warrant.” He says. He looks around the room.

"He never told me it was off limits," I say. Ezra sucks in an irritated breath.

"You're the reason it's off limits, Iris." His words catch me off guard. Remus only allows me in there?

“Braith says this is their physician since I couldn’t be taken to the royals physician,” I say. I look at Ezra.

“Why is that?” I ask. He shrugs.

“I think Xion just didn’t know.” He says.

“It’s a good thing Remus didn’t pick it up.” He says.

“Why is that?” I ask. Remus is usually aware of the moment I'm awake. It’s shocking he didn’t realize I was in so much pain.

“Well, he’s in a deep state of meditation right now.” I think back to the time I was exploring and happened upon him in a room with all those floating balls of energy. He didn't realize I was in there at the time either.

The door opens and in comes the physician. She’s an older woman with dark hair like her peoples. She sees Ezra and immediately bows. He asks her something in that language to which she nods and says some tentative response.

Ezra, in turn, looks back at my arm, placing his over the once infected area. He has an intense look on his face before standing to leave.

“Let’s go.”

I miss him. There I said it. I miss Remus.

As I look around the room at the empty places he would nonchalantly occupy, I miss him. Even sitting on the coffee table is the book he was reading. I walk over to it picking it up. I smile softly at the folded corner page. For some reason I expected Remus to memorize the page he left off on. But I guess in ways he is human too.

Even his robe he wears is still draped across the back of the loveseat. I gently rub my fingers over it, feeling the texture. I look up at the ceiling that has the mural painted on it, recalling one of the times Remus opened up to me. And I, in turn, called him a monster.

I flinch at the memory. He was telling me about his horrid childhood and how his mother treated him, and my response was to tell him he deserved it. I recall the picture of him and his family hanging in the castle. He looks so unhappy. And I told him he deserved it.

I take a deep breath.

I’m a monster. Sky was right. Remus was looking to me for change, for something, and I shut him down and was awful to him. Instead of taking the opportunity to teach the almighty being about something other than the hatred he endured from the first person that was supposed to show him love. Maybe when he comes back I can try. Maybe.

I step out into the hall and am shocked when I see Braith standing opposite of me. He looks up and bows upon my arrival. I look to the left and see the two guards that Remus assigned me standing there as well not saying a word. So he must be allowed. Braith immediately speaks up as if reading my mind.

“Ezra told me to keep an eye on you.” He says. I look at the guards one more time before beginning my walk in the opposite direction. They don’t usually follow me unless I leave the wing. I make my way to the same balcony that Ezra and I occupied a few weeks ago. The sun is high in the sky, so you can barely see the energy stream that Remus is releasing into the atmosphere.

I take a seat on the chair looking over the kingdom, and take note that Braith comes with me.

“You can read the language?” He asks. I look at him in confusion and he motions with his gaze to the book in my hands. I hadn’t even realized I brought it with me.

“Oh. No… Remus was reading it before he left. I just happened to pick it up.” I say. I look at the cover and back to Braith.

“Can you read it?” I ask. He laughs softly.

“Of course.” He says. I hold it out to him.

“What does it say?” I ask. He gently takes it from me.

“Midnight Sun.” He says. The title piques my interest. I always thought Remus would be reading a history book or an instruction manual or something along those lines.

“What’s it about?” I ask.

“It’s a classic. A romance novel.” He says. I raise a brow.

“A romance novel? Remus was reading a romance novel?” I ask. Braith nods his head.

“It would appear so.” He says. I can’t help myself. I laugh. I never thought Remus would be reading a romance novel of all things. But it just further adds puzzles to the mystery that is Remus.

“Can I ask you something?” He says out of nowhere. I smile at him nodding my head.

“Why did you fight him? When you knew you had no chance of winning against someone so powerful?” He asks. I’m caught off guard by his question.

“How did you even know about that?” I ask. He looks out over the balcony.

“The prince talks about you a lot.” He says. I look away as a bitterness swells over my chest.

“I knew what he was doing was wrong. And someone had to stand up to him or it wouldn’t stop.” I say. I look at Braith with determination in my gaze.

“I’ll never sit idly by while he does what’s wrong. No matter what, I will always try and stop him.” I say. Braith looks at me like he’s studying a plant. He doesn’t say anything for a moment until finally, he breaks the trance.

“How is your arm feeling?” Braith pulls me out of my thoughts.

“It’s fine,” I say I look down at it. There isn’t a burn in sight. I look back up at Braith and he’s watching me with an intense gaze.

“You didn’t tell Ezra what you saw, did you?” He asks. I shake my head, pausing as I catch his words.

“What exactly did I see?” I ask. He takes a deep breath stepping around me and taking a seat.

“My power.” He says. He looks up when I don’t react.

“The physician for my people didn’t know how to treat your wound. It was something foreign to her. I had to step in or you would have lost your arm.” He says. I shake my head in confusion.

“What?” I ask. He takes a deep breath looking around.

“My people aren’t supposed to wield this power, but I do. And I’ve been honing it for years now. It’s the same power as the prince and his people.” He says. I gasp aloud at his words.

“You can’t tell anyone. If you do, it’s my life on the line. Especially the prince’s brother.” He says. His eyes are full of desperation. I slowly nod my head.

“Of course I wont… Why aren’t you supposed to have this power?” I ask. He sits up.

“Remus never told you?” He asks. I shake my head. He looks away then back to me and I feel my stomach dropping at the look on his face.

Braith

It was perfect really. The perfect interruption. Nira’s constant need to be a part of the prince’s life has given me the perfect opportunity to set things in motion.

I thought things would be over for sure when she awoke and saw me using my power, but it was the opposite.

Since the prince left he put his sister in charge of Irises safety from afar. She’s been watching her like a hawk since. But she really screwed up. She let Nira get too close, and in turn, Iris almost lost her arm. Ezra is so nervous about screwing up while his brother is away, he placed me in charge of Iris’ safety and took Xion off.

“You have to be more careful Braith, any later and the prince’s brother would have caught you.” I look up as Renae speaks to me. She’s the physician Iris was brought to.

I let my emotions get the better of me. The physician that is from my people's descent knew nothing about the wound or how to treat it. It’s a celestivine injury, something that my people can’t treat due to our lack of power. But I have the power. And when I saw Iris in so much pain and her arm slowly deteriorating, I went against my better judgment and healed it. It was harder than I anticipated and took me much longer.

I told Renae to watch the door, but she failed to signal me when Ezra came in. If he had caught me it would have been over for all of us. All because I let my emotions for her get in the way.

“What are we waiting for at this point? The prince Is gone, leaving his love vulnerable. We need to get out and get her while we have the chance. He could return any day!” She says. I shake my head.

“No. If we take her now, she’ll only fight us. She’s falling for him.” I want to hit a wall at the thought. But I know it isn’t her fault. Not once she sees what he’s truly capable of. What he’s truly done.

“So what if she fights us? She can’t beat us.” She says. I stand up in irritation.

“You’re not thinking far enough. Sure if we take her we buy us some time. But the prince will come for us with everything he’s got and destroy us all. can prevent that.” I say. Renae raises a brow at me crossing her arms over her chest.

“How?” She asks. I think back to the conversation I had with Iris earlier today. How determined she was to protect what’s right. She doesn’t fear Remus like the rest of us. She challenges him. I can see why he’s so in love with her. She’s a challenge he can never win. She’ll never give up, no matter what’s thrown her way. And now, I can give her the tools to win against him.

“I’m going to make her one of us. And when I’m done with her, she'll kill him for us.”