Page 46 of Pet: Torment

The plane my mother lives in is unlike anything the average mind could conjure up. It is not a place made for those born in the three-dimensional model of the universe. It is a place separate from that, separate from the laws of physics that come with it. It is her own separate plane that she created.

It is the one thing I’ve never been able to do—the one thing she refuses to teach me.

As I open my eyes, she’s standing with her back to me, her hand elevated as it slightly moves in time with the ocean in the distance. She lowers her hand, and the waves stop almost instantly, becoming as still as the grass.

“It seems there are many parts of a planet’s structure that are needed for even the most basic functions,” she murmurs to herself as she turns to face me.

My mother is a frighteningly beautiful being by nature. Just looking at her makes you understand why the Leviathan gave her the titleAureon. The amount of energy flowing through her is visible as her hair gently flows around her, and her eyes illuminate, shifting like jewels reflecting in the sunlight.

She moves past me without sparing me another glance, expecting me to follow.

My mother and I have always had a relationship based on mutual respect. Iris would be devastated to know that I don’t see her as anything other than the woman who gave me life. She’s always kept me at an arm’s length, ensuring I follow her orders and nothing else. And now that I’ve been forced to look at my past, I’m curious how much of it is missing because of her.

But more importantly, why?

“You have come to see me unsummoned,” she says as she walks, her head held high. She moves with the grace of her people—a people I have never known because, like everything else that comes with her, she refuses to tell. She refuses to speak of her origins outside of explaining to us why we wielded the power we did. And I have never been curious enough to ask.

But with Iris’s constant questions about her and my past, I am suddenly aware of just how little I know of her and even myself. And if the secrets that come with her have anything to do with what’s happening to me now.

“How is our newest conquest?” she asks.

“It’s good. The only issues involved a rebellious Leviathan, but we have taken care of him,” I say.

“I hear Ezra was held for quite some time by this…rebellious Leviathan,” she says.

I hear the irritation in her voice, unease creeping through me for some reason.

“It was my fault. I let him take the lead when I shouldn’t have. And he got caught up in—”

My mother whips around, her anger evident as she looks at me. “Protect them always, Remus. That is your role. I do not carehowit happened. It never should have! If he cannot be trusted on his own, if you have even an inkling of doubt, you will not allow him to be put in harm’s way,” she snaps.

Her skin flushes with controlled rage as she studies me, and I compose myself. She’s always been this way, especially when it comes to Ezra. She’s very protective of him, and she’s only ever been this way with him. Me and Xion are capable of protecting ourselves.

“I understand. It won’t happen again,” I say.

She doesn’t move. She glares at me, attempting to control her rage. Finally, she turns and continues walking, and I follow.

“You will need to tighten your grip on the Leviathan. One rebel in a foreign world is all it takes for more to come out and try to destroy what I’ve built,” she says.

“Of course. He is standing trial right now for—,” I say.

“Trial?” she scoffs. “He dared step outside of his bounds and dragged my son into it in the process. Death is what awaits him at the end of this…trial,” she says.

I am taken aback at her decision to go over the heads of the council, but before I can respond she continues, her anger clear.

“Have you checked in on the other worlds yet to ensure there have been no disruptions?” she asks.

“Yes, I have,” I say as we continue in the direction of her garden.

“But you didn’t come all this way unsummoned to tell me about issues already resolved,” she says.

As I stride alongside her, my mind suddenly drifts to Iris’s words before I left as she looked at me with sleepy eyes.

“Don’t go. Something bad is happening, isn’t it?”

I can’t help but echo that sentiment as I try to find the words to tell my mother why I’m here. Prior to now, she was missing when we arrived toXyrannis. Only a few days ago did she reappear and still had yet to summon me. Despite her calm exterior, she’s been avoiding me. And as I study her, I realize she has a light field of energy around her. It isn’t her natural aura.

It’s hostile.