Page 77 of Pet: Torment

“Iriel can’t be the only reason you’ve decided to question things,” I say, looking at him. I can tell that he doesn’t like the way I am speaking to him. But he doesn’t react to it. Answers are too important to him. That is a trait of Remus’s that I have always admired. His ability to put aside his personal feelings.

His eyes remain lined to mine as he reaches behind his head. His hair falls out of the tight half-updo it was in, flowing freely around him as he reveals the hairpin he took from me. I know he can sense my reaction to seeing it. Even I feel my heart beating slightly faster as I take it in.

“You said I gave this to you. Tell me again,” he says, watching me carefully. He’s seeing if I’m lying.

“You gave it to me,” I say.

His eyes narrow. He doesn’t trust me or understand why I seem to be telling the truth.

“Why did I give this to you?” he asks.

I stare at it for a moment, gathering the courage to speak without giving him an answer.

“Aren’t you more interested in why you don’t remember—mph!”

Remus’s hand lashes out, his grip like iron as he covers my mouth. An eerie rage fills the deep crystalline pools of his eyes as he glares at me, warring with himself.

“You seem to have forgotten yourself and why you are here. The only reason I didn’t let you die in the snow is that I want answers—”

I jerk away from his grip, tears burning my eyes.

“You want answers? Maybe you should go find them somewhere else, then!” I shout. “You don’t think this is hard for me? To watch you exist without me? When you told me we would—” I trail off, not wanting to reveal our last conversation. It would only make him go after his mother.

For some reason, he hasn’t responded or attacked me for my outburst, so I pull in a deep breath, calming myself before I speak.

“The questions you’re asking are dangerous. Why do you think Xion and Ezra are lying to you? Why do you think they are trying so hard to protect me? Me, a human who has no connection to them. And you have no recollection of,” I say.

I told Xion I would tell Remus the truth if I got the chance. But I see now that I have to be calculating in speaking to him. I have to do as he does, and allow him to think he is in control of the situation. I have to lead him to do what I want.

“Kill me if you want. But if you want the truth. Therealtruth, you have to get rid of the rings that surround this planet,” I say.

I close my eyes, waiting for the pain of his torture to come for speaking against his home world. But it doesn’t. So, I slowly open my eyes, looking at him. He leans in close, his scent filling my senses, and I fight the urge to throw my arms around hisneck and hold him close. He isn’t my Remus. I have to remember that.

He releases a bitter chuckle. “And if I say I’ll flatten you until you’re a puddle of bone and mush, if you don’t tell me yourself, what will you say to that?”

I meet his gaze. “You will come to regret that decision.”

We both glare at one another, except my bravery is false bravado. On the inside, I am terrified. But this is the only way to help him. This is the only way to get through his hatred of what I am to make him see the truth.

He scoffs, standing.

“Don’t move. Or else you may arrive back at my sister’s place with a missing limb,” he says, holding his hand out.

“Mngh!” My insides twist, and I recognize the feeling. He’s transporting me again. This is it. This is all I have left of speaking to him.

“Wait! Aren’t you curious why you don’t remember me?” I ask, shifting forward in the bed. Remus narrows his gaze slightly at my lack of obedience before moving to the edge of the bed. He leans into me, his hair falling between us as his eyes line to mine. His gaze holds mine and I feel his hand close around mine as he places something in my grasp.

“Keep this night between us. Oryouwill regret it. I know more than you think, Iris.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond as the world tilts around me, my insides turning to mush. Everything disappears, and I am unable to breathe as my body goes into shock from the sudden shift. It takes two seconds, but I am suddenly in a bed again, looking up at a familiar ceiling as I gasp, unable to inhale.

I pull in a heavy breath, my lungs filling with air as my mind and body slowly connect. I am back in my room at Xion’s. Remus sent me back after forcing me to give him the most minimal of answers to his questions.

I didn’t even get to tell him who is behind this. Or warn him not to look.

His warning rings in my mind. He wants me to keep this to myself. I saw no semblance of my Remus as he spoke to me. Even so, he knew my name. I missed hearing my name come from his lips.

As I settle into my body, I slowly sit up and I realize I’m holding something in my hand. I open my palm, gasping as I recognize it.