Page 38 of Pet: Torment

“To spend time with you, of course.”

It didn’t occur to me just how little ofXyrannisI’ve seen since arriving. I’ve seen the capital and Remus’s home, and that’s it. And even with the creation of a room to remind me of my life on Earth and the freedom to roam the snowscape surrounding Remus’s home, I’ve felt confined. But I have no words as I stand at the edge of the river surrounded by flourishing plants and trees covered in pink flowers. In the distance, there is an interwoven obstruction that I can’t decipher as a tree or a mountain as it stretches toward the sky.

The air is warm and clean, and the sweet scent of the flowers lingers in the air as I step to the edge of the river. The water is chilled when I lower my fingers into it, and I immediately recall the explanation Remus gave me on Earth for the temperature. I pull my fingers from the water, standing as I face Remus.

“Why did you bring me here?” I ask.

I tense as I feel the familiar shift in my mind. Remus is using the bond. The flood of emotion isn’t as overwhelming as it was before. It’s soothing…calm.

“I knew you’d enjoy it,” he says.

He doesn’t wait for me to respond as he turns his back to me, pulling his shirt off. My eyes widen slightly as I watch the muscles in his back flex with the movement before his hair falls, covering his back once again. He still doesn’t speak as he walks to the edge of the river, diving gracefully into the water.

After a few seconds, he breaks through the surface, the water clinging to him in little droplets as it rolls down his form. He doesn’t seem phased at all by the temperature of the water, butthen I recall how he can stand in the deep freeze surrounding his home in everyday wear while I can freeze to death even when I’m swaddled.

I can’t help myself. I laugh.

“What is going on?” I ask.

Remus quirks a brow.

“Nothing. I thought you would want to get out. And I knew you would like this,” he says.

As much as I want to feel angry for him disregarding everything said last night, I can’t. He’s right. I love this. But I don’t know why he isn’t acknowledging our argument or even the harsh words that I said to him.

“But Iriel’s trial—”

“Is not my concern right now,” he says. Silence washes over us, and Remus moves to the edge of the water, placing his arms on the grass and looking up at me. It’s the most boyish thing I’ve ever seen him do.

“If you asked me to, I would bypass the trial and take Iriel’s life myself. I would even do it in front of my society if you asked,” he says.

He’s speaking the truth. I don’t have to wonder. I can sense it through the bond. I can also feel the desire to keep me, no matter what it might cost him. And it scares me—the lengths he would go to keep me. And now that he looks at me with an emotionless expression and the bond between us is open, I see why.

It’s his way of loving me.

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that,” I whisper.

“Then what would you ask of me? To let you return to your home? Maybe share a cell with your brother so that you can see what has become of your world and what will become of it beyond that?” he asks.

“Why are you saying all of this? There isn’treallya choice in it for me,” I say.

Remus watches me for a second longer before taking a deep breath and pushing away from the edge. He floats on his back, closing his eyes, and I notice that the symbol on his chest has also dulled. The pulse is slower than I’ve ever seen it. Something must be wrong with him.

Remus opens his eyes, studying me.

“You were right, Iris. I will never understand you in the way you want me to. My life and yours are incompatible. And you will never understand me, as well,” he says.

He finally comes back to the shore, moving to sit on the edge. His back is to me as he looks at the scenery.

“But you’ve tried, haven’t you?” he asks.

I’m confused by the sudden shift in conversation.

“What?” I ask.

“You’ve tried to understand me—my life and thought processes. My upbringing. It’s another thing I love about you—your curiosity. Even now, you still strive to learn the language. And I have done the same.” Remus shifts, looking at me. “I feel your sadness for your home. I feel the despair and loneliness that you feel. I feel it, but I don’t understand it. And for that, I am sorry, Iris.”

Remus continues to watch me, even after he’s finished speaking. But I don’t know what to say. And he knows it. He laughs, looking back over the river.