Page 50 of Pet: Torment

I slowly look at her, my confusion mounting.

“Are those his words? Or yours?” I ask.

Now, she laughs.

“His. The logical course of action would be to banish him toRit. And let him live out his sentence there,” she says.

My confusion deepens as she starts using words I’m not aware of.

“Rit?” I ask.

“A prison planet. It’s on the outer edge of thisAnafaltasystem. If you’re lucky, you are a prisoner there,” she says.

“How do you know so much about all of this?” I ask.

She shrugs. “There are no secrets between us. Especially something that should be common knowledge,” she says.

Her response is innocent enough, but it still feels like she is poking at me and Remus—as if she knows things that I don’t.

“Okay…you obviously know that Remus keeps things from me. And you know what those things are. Can’t you just tell me instead of being cryptic?” I ask, my irritation shining through.

Sky shakes her head. “I can’t. It’s that simple.”

I release an irritated breath.

“I didn’t realize your loyalty had shifted,” I say.

Sky laughs again, and the sound makes me angry.

“Shifted?” she says, looking at me.

“I’ve been very clear about my loyalty. Do you not remember our conversation that day in the resistance? Humanity hadnothing for me. All they did my entire life was take. And I have nothing for them. Not even you, Iris. Me ‘being cryptic’ is my way of protecting what little peace I have. Because I know how impulsive you can be. And so does Remus which is why he’s still keeping things from you,” she says.

I scoff in disbelief.

“You realize nothing I do has any effect on him. It doesn’t matter if I’m impulsive, he’ll always do what he wants in the end. Most of the time, I’m doing what he wants without even realizing it. I don’t control him,” I snap.

Sky looks at me, her eyes shifting to the pin in my hair before settling back on my face. She laughs, her brows furrowing as she tries to understand me.

“Yes, you do,” she says simply.

Silence stretches between us, and when I realize I have no rebuttal to her observation, I shift my attention back to the scenery. It’s interesting how starkly different Remus and Ezra are in so many ways. Remus is reserved and patient, content to slowly steer you in the direction he wants, letting you feel like it was your decision. Ezra, however, is boisterous and charming, happy to crush every decision you make while making you feel hopeless about it. Even their living arrangements are polar opposites. Remus chose a quiet, frozen wonderland. And Ezra chose a sunny home by the sea.

It makes me wonder about their sister, who still remains as much a mystery as their mother, the woman who placed rings around this world and raised her son to desire nothing other than conquering for a world she doesn’t even live in anymore.

“Has Ezra told you anything about their mother?” I ask.

Sky doesn’t respond immediately. She’s thinking of what she can and can’t tell me.

“I’ve met her,” she says.

“Really? How?” I ask.

“She came here to check on him,” she says.

My curiosity morphs into deeper confusion. She came to visit Ezra but never visited Remus? My mind suddenly shifts to all the times I asked him about her, and he brushed me off, saying I wouldn’t be meeting her any time soon. Unless he met with her and lied to me about it, but then again, why would he lie? Why would he keep it from me?

I shift to my knees, facing Sky.