Page 113 of Pet: Torment

Iris is still asleep as I enter. She’s rolled over this time, however, her back to me. Her hair has grown significantly, sprawled around her pillow as she breathes. I quietly sit next to her, pushing her hair aside to reveal the nape of her neck. She still doesn’t stir. Her exhaustion is clear. My chest aches every time I think of the things I did to her, not knowing who she was and how important she was to me—the things I said that were almost my last words to her.

I reach for her throat, my fingertips tingling from the feel of her life force. The intensity of her life beneath my fingertips is intoxicating, and I feel something deeper than the relief that she is alive.

The desperation to keep it that way.

My brows furrow from the sudden feel of my heart beating along with hers. Hers is slower, softer, and weaker; it’s human. And as I brush my fingertips along her throat, the tingle of my fingertips intensifies. It feels natural, as it pulls my essence out of me.

A soft blue beam forms between my fingers and her nape, and it’s as if my instincts have taken over. Her veins slowlyilluminate with my power. It travels over every inch of her unconscious form, and I can feel her strengthening beneath me.

She groans, pulling me from my trance as she snuggles deeper into the blanket, and I quickly pull my hand away, reminding myself that now isn’t the time. Though we are together again, we are starting back at square one. Worse this time because of what I am keeping from her, combined with what I did to her, even if my memory was gone. She has suffered because of me. For now, all I can do is protect her.

I carefully shift behind her, pulling her body into mine, a deep darkness settling over me. I know nothing of the world I came from. All my memories were as a child. And that was centuries ago. It must have changed drastically by now. But that isn’t what makes me anxious. It’s that Kuron was so desperate to bring me back over having more children. Whatever awaits us in this world is something he believes only I am capable of handling. It is something he was grooming me for from day one.

I pull Iris closer to me, sending warmth into her body as I enjoy the feel of her in my arms. Whatever it is, as long as she is by my side, I can endure it. No matter what happens, I will always ensure she remains by my side. I won’t let anyone get in between us again, not even Kuron.

I will make sure of it.

Epilogue

Kuron

The air is still as I enter the dimension I’ve imprisoned Me’Rite. It took me centuries to create a dimension like this—a dimension that siphons the energy of those I’ve placed within it. I created it specifically for this purpose, waiting for this day to come. I neverthought it would. I never thought I would live to see Remus again.

Me’Rite is especially talented in not only manipulating minds, but also energy. She destroyed any trace of her and Remus, knowing that I would never be able to find them on a separate plane. I was extremely lucky to locate them this time. I wouldn’t have been able to sense it if I weren’t as powerful as aCelestivineas I am now.

Me’Rite’s head is down as I approach, the deep hum of this dimension a reminder of what it does to her. The rage that I feel as I look down on her is an emotion I haven’t experienced in a very long time—not this intensely. For the first few years, I was angry with her betrayal. But years turned to centuries, and I eventually had to accept that I would never know my children, and our world would die along with their disappearance.

Of course, I tried having more children over the centuries. But none survived the conversion. Me’Rite and I were matched for a reason. Remus is not only the best suited, but may be the only one capable of bringing our world back to its former glory. He showed immense promise as a child, and that hasn’t changed even now. I gave him a brief lesson, following the restoration of his power, on how to consume a planet. I did it to allow him his chance at the revenge he desired. And to test his capability.

Not only was he able to apply that knowledge within hours, but he far surpassed the main goal: consumption. He sensed specific life forces and saved the weaker beings who would have otherwise perished on the surface. Now that the block Me’Rite had in his mind has been removed, his power has shown itself to be limitless.

“He was right, you know. You should have killed him,” I say, standing over Me’Rite.

She chuckles bitterly, shifting her attention to me. Her eyes have dulled significantly, a physical manifestation of herweakness. I feel no pity as I look into her eyes, drained of power and filled with pain.

“Don’t you worry. I will if I ever get the chance,” she growls in resentment. She thinks the child she had with one of the brutes of that planet is dead, and that the planet has followed suit. She doesn’t know the child she despises most spared it for the woman she tried to kill, and the son she had to replace him.

I laugh. “You and him are so similar. It’s a wonder you never took the opportunity to know your son,” I say, watching her reaction.

“He revealed himself to be a threat very early on. There was never a need,” she says in disgust.

She truly never cared for Remus. She raised him in isolation, keeping him at a great distance throughout his life. It’s chilling to see the result of that has manifested itself in the way he exists today.

“What do you want, Kuron?” she asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I slowly lower myself so that I am eye level with her. “Why did you do it? Why, when you knew what was at stake? When you knew what taking him would mean for everything?” I ask.

She scoffs, looking me in the eyes. I can see the energy swirling behind her gaze as she tries to use it. It flickers, but it will never be released. Not while she is here.

“You know why,” she hisses.

Silence settles between us. It’s as if no time has passed between us. We are both still set in our beliefs, forced together by a war but divided by our ideals.

I laugh, watching her reaction as I speak.

“You won. The world we are returning to is much different than what you remember. Your little rebellion has cost more than you know,” I say.

“Why do you think I would care about a world I abandoned?” she asks.