Page 90 of Pet: Torment

The most vivid being saving her life on Earth. I pulled her from burning rubble when I should have left her for dead. And though she should have died that night from her injuries, I took a chance by infusing her with my essence to save her. The memory was brief, but with it came feelings I never thought I was capable of having—desperation for her survival being the most intense. It felt so real, waking up in a panicked sweat, leading me to her for answers.

But her answers were so enraging, so filled with obvious lies that even now, I can’t understand how she seems to be telling the truth each time she utters them. What’s even more irritating is my sibling’s reaction to it all. They each expressed anger at me for punishing her. At first, I thought it was because one of them wanted her. But as I watch them once again flocking to their chosen partners, I see that they only seek to protect her.

It is obvious they are keeping things from me, making me curious about the human’s lies. Xion refused to tell me anything about her beyond her being brought from Earth. Ezra has avoided me entirely.

I shift my attention away from the party toward the sky.

The new set of rings I put in place dazzles more brightly than the ones my mother had around our planet. I destroyed hers, curious about the effects since what the human said to me made sense at the time. My initial anger was because there wasn’t a change in my mental state after I got rid of them.

Now that I’ve replaced them with my own, the more time that passes, the more my mind is flooded with visions I can’t understand. Some feel like memories, while others are accompanied by a voice that feels familiar, but I do not recognize calling to me.

Only a rare few involve the human, making me wonder why she is so convinced that she was so important to me. I look away from the rings, in search of her. She’s moved to a corner with her back to me where she thinks no one will hear her tears. But I can hear them. They’re soft, and breathy. She’s a beautiful woman, and while I wouldn’t mind spending a few nights with her, I can’t bring myself to believe we were bonded.

Of all of her lies, that one is the most unconvincing. Her body would still carry my essence if that were the case, but it doesn’t. There’s no trace, and removing a bond is impossible. Unless Iris is right, and my mother is lying about more thingsthan one. Hearing Iris say my mother is responsible for this situation was enough for me to end her life right then and there. Unfortunately, my mother’s presence is nowhere to be found, including in her dimension. It makes me skeptical enough to not discount the theory so soon.

“Remus, there’s a problem.” I look away from Iris to see Xion standing next to me. Her expression is troubled. I’ve remained distant from my siblings since the human appeared. But knowing that they are lying to me, as well, shows me that I cannot trust them. Especially after what I sensed in Iris the night I transported her to my home.

“What now?” I ask.

“The entity that entered the star system is approachingXyrannisat a speed we can barely keep up with,” she says.

“I am aware,” I say.

Xion is silent for a moment, surprised by my response.

I’ve known for a while. I’ve been monitoring it since it entered the star system. Things don’t just enter our star system so easily. Our mother has a barrier that only reacts to certain signatures. This one was foreign, and yet it entered with no sense of direction until I removed the rings. I’ve kept this information to myself, not knowing who I can trust.

“You knew and you didn’t think to tell us? Maybe even the council?” she snaps.

I laugh at her accusatory tone. She’s been willingly keeping the truth from me. HerandEzra. I’m not sure if it’s the amount of overwhelming information I’ve been receiving since the rings, or if it’s the tension between me and the human from across the room, but my usual reserved demeanor melts away as my anger boils over.

“The same way you didn’t think to tell me that our mother wiped my mind?” I say in a calm voice.

Xion hides her shock extremely well.

“What are you talking about?” she asks.

My gaze narrows, and with it comes the slip of my control as my anger intensifies. The ground shudders, cracking slightly, and her mask of deceit finally falls away as she realizes the danger everyone is in.

I ignore the gasps of the surrounding Leviathan as I step closer to her, speaking in a foreign language so that no one but her can understand me.

“Who is she to me?” I growl out.

For the first time, Xion is without a response. She’s been caught in her own lies, and she knows that with this, the has been damaged. I won’t trust her ever again. She doesn’t respond, trying to come up with a way to lie again, no doubt, and my anger intensifies.

I shift my attention to the human she cares for across the room, his pained grunt filling the air as I use my pull to drag him across the room. Gasps fill the air, but I ignore them, using the same force I did on Iris that day to slowly crush him in front of her.

Xion’s expression shifts to panic, but I’m stepping closer to her, forcing whatever she was about to say to remain lodged in her throat.

“You’ve watched me on several occasions come close to killing her. Do you think I am above making you watch me do the same to him?” I ask, intensifying the pressure. His groan of pain fills the air. “Who is she, Xion? I want the truth.”

“Remus!” I hear Ezra, but I ignore him, my gaze remaining on my sister. I intensify the pressure on her lover, his groan of pain the push she needs. She lowers her head, clenching her fists.

“She’s…the human you bonded with on Earth,” she says.

My ears ring as my rage intensifies.

“And I am unaware of this why?” I growl out.