My Wild Pet (Whispers from the Imperial Cage #2)

Chapter 61

CHAPTER 61

Briar

The whispers in the training hall this morning confirmed what I had already suspected, that the individual challenges for women are different, designed to fuck with your head. In a matriarchal galaxy, females are seen as the thinkers, the intellectuals, the manipulators of mind and strategy. They believe even human female pets possess these same qualities, so they test our minds too. And I’ve been told more than once that the Garden of Shadows Challenge is as much about survival as it is about unraveling who you really are.

That’s a terrifying thought. I’ve only seen glimpses of my true self and she’s a fucking ruthless bitch and she’s going to eat me alive.

I stand at the threshold to the challenge. The artificial sunlight from the arena has been replaced by a dim, eerie glow filtering through twisted, alien trees. The “garden” sprawls before me, its paths shifting like something alive.

Aefre said, “This is for your mind, Ash. Show them it’s as strong as your body.”

The gate behind me hisses shut, sealing me in.

The first step I take onto the soft, moss-like ground sends a shiver through me. The plants seem to react, glowing faintly, their bioluminescent tendrils curling toward my feet. They pulse in time with my breath, or maybe my heartbeat. I can’t tell. It doesn’t matter. It’s creepy and unnerving.

The lead judge lists my objectives: “Retrieve the Orb of Essence from the Heart of the Garden. Survive. Twenty points.”

I move forward cautiously. The garden is watching me, reading my mind, feeding on my thoughts, and my fears.

And then it begins.

The first apparition appears so suddenly I trip on the moss and nearly fall. A small figure stands in the path ahead—a child, no more than three years old, with golden curls with ombre pink tips, and piercing green eyes. It’s the child from the mirror maze, the one with my hair and Gabriel’s eyes.

“Mommy,” it whispers, its voice soft but chilling. “Why did you leave me?”

I freeze. “You’re not real,” I say aloud, trying to convince myself as much as the hologram.

The child takes a step closer, a tiny pudgy hand reaching out to me. She looks so real, my heart stops for a second.

“Mommy, don’t leave me here. Maman, je ne veux pas rester ici! Take me with you. We have the same collar. I belong with you and Daddy on the Luminous Arc . Don’t leave! I don’t like it here!”

I force myself to move, stepping around it, but the child follows, its voice growing louder speaking a mixture of English, Imperial, and French. It’s the most frightening thing I’ve ever encountered.

“Mommy, why don’t you love me anymore? Why won’t you save me? Don’t you want me?”

Tears run down my face, but I shake them away. So many times I wondered why my father chose suicide over me. And I used to wonder why he didn’t want me. This child’s voice sounds exactly the same as mine used to, when I would cry into my pillow, “Daddy, why didn’t you want me?” I stop and let the memory run its course. Then I turn to the little girl. “You’re not real,” I repeat, louder this time. The garden seems to laugh, but then it concedes and the child finally fades into mist.

I don’t get far before the path shifts again, leading me into a clearing. There, standing together, are my parents. My father’s warm brown eyes and my mother’s long blonde hair. They look just as they did before they were taken from me.

“Briar,” my mother says. “Come here. We’re so proud of you.”

“Mom?” My voice cracks, my feet dragging me closer even though I know better.

“Come home, Briar,” my father says, his voice steady but filled with pain. “You don’t belong here. It was all a misunderstanding. All of this. We didn’t die. You were the one in a coma. All this has been a dream. It’s time to wake up now and join us.”

My chest tightens as they step closer, their hands outstretched. I want to run to them, to feel their arms around me again. I want to believe this has all been a dream. “Everything? The social workers, the foster homes, my job, the aliens, Gabriel?” My mind centers on Gabriel and I feel something shift. This isn’t real and if I run to them I’ll probably fall to my death.

My mother gives me a sad smile. “Yes it’s all been a dream, baby. We’re so happy you’re waking up from your coma. We will have such a wonderful life together. Come here and give me a hug. I’ve missed you so much.”

I take another step toward them. I long to have parents. Sometimes I even forgot that I had them. I felt as if I was just born into existence from the sea foam and found on the beach.

But, is this real? Was I in a coma all this time? Did the nurses have on the television that’s led to this nightmare? How do I know what they’re saying is true?

I say the word out loud, “Trust.” And then I think of Gabriel. “You’re not real,” I whisper, backing away. Their faces twist into grotesque grins before vanishing entirely.

But the garden isn’t done with me. The path curves sharply, leading me into a dark alcove where a single figure kneels in front of a painted wooden cross. I freeze. Rebecca.

Her blonde hair hangs limply around her face, her skin pale and translucent, as though she’s fading with each passing second. She looks up at me, her eyes hollow. “Briar,” she whispers. “Pray with me. Help me find my way back to Earth. To Heaven. Saint Peter says we can only enter together. You must pray with me. Don’t leave my soul with these devils.”

I shake my head, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Rebecca, I’m sorry, I can’t?—”

“Please,” she begs, crawling toward me in an unnatural way. “They took me, Briar. Just like they took you. Help me find peace.”

“I can’t. It’s not real,” I say.

Rebecca moves forward abnormally and grabs both of my hands in her cold ones. She speaks in a demonic voice, “It’s real. I’ve seen the monsters here. They chase me and they’ll chase you too after you die, which won’t be long now. Pray with me now and our souls will be returned to Earth, where we both belong. You know the words. Pray Briar or risk eternal alien slavery in their Afterlife.”

I stumble back, shaking my head violently. “You’re not real!” I scream, my voice echoing through the garden.

Rebecca’s face changes to something akin to a monster, her eyes darkening as she lunges at me.

I cry out, falling backward as her form dissolves into a swarm of glowing insects that scatter into the trees. I realize I almost fell off a cliff into a valley. I pull myself up and sit down for a second. I have to collect my thoughts. My heart is pounding in my ears. Nothing here is real , I remind myself. Then I get to my feet. I must keep moving.

The garden grows darker, the air thicker, and I can barely see the path now, but I know I’m close. I can hear the Orb of Essence chiming in the distance.

I hold my breath looking at the orb. I just have to grab it, right? That’s all. But a figure steps out from behind a tall hedge, blocking my view of the orb. At first, I think it will be another hologram, but when I see the measured stance of the figure, my heart stops in a panic. Aefre.

He stands with his arms crossed as his cold eyes assess me. Exactly how he appears in real life: the trainer I’ve relied on, the man who molded me from day one. In so many ways, he’s been an authority figure, teacher, captor, lover, and I don’t want to admit it, but father figure as well. Seeing him here, blocking my path, sends a jolt of confusion throughout my entire body.

“Master Aefre? What are you doing here?”

Aefre doesn’t answer. He takes a step closer, his green eyes locked on me.

My mind races with possibilities. Is this another illusion? Maybe something is wrong with the challenge?

“You’re not supposed to be in the female’s individual challenge,” I say. “This has to be a trick.”

“A trick?” he echoes. “You’re the one who’s been tricked, Ash. Look at you—bleeding, trembling, and doubting yourself. I came to collect you before you fail this challenge and die.”

His words hit me like a punch. That calm and condescending tone. It’s exactly how he’s reprimanded me before. It’s so authentic, so hurtful, and real. I doubt my own senses for a second, but then I say, “Stop. Please move. I need to get the orb.”

He takes another step towards the orb like he’s going to take it himself. Could it really be him?

I make a fast move trying to grab the orb to end the challenge. Then I’ll know what’s real and what’s not.

Aefre lunges and manages to strike me. Pain explodes across my ribs as I stagger back, away from the orb.

“Think carefully, Ash. If you fail this challenge, you fail me.”

I’m struggling to stand up straight. My mind is reeling. Is he real?

Aefre strikes again, a move he taught me himself. A kick at my Achilles tendon. I barely move away in time or else I’d be on the ground right now.

My heart is beating so quickly I can hear it in my ears. It isn’t him. It can’t be.

But am I sure? If I strike a trainer in the Grand Championships, I’ll probably be put to death .

Before I can think about it further, Aefre rushes me so fast I don’t have time to defend myself.

I let out a strangled cry from the hit. Tears begin to blur my vision. I remember Gabriel reminding me that illusions can kill here if I let them. This is no harmless nightmare. Even if this is a hologram, my death will be real.

I muster the last bit of strength I have and attack Aefre with another move he taught me. I was never a fighter before I became a pet.

Aefre staggers for a second and I reach for the orb but he quickly blocks me and pushes me to the ground.

My lip is bleeding. I look up at him. His eyes are narrowed in a savage way I’ve never seen before.

Aefre surges forward, a vicious strike that leaves me struggling to catch my breath.

“I can’t do this,” I gasp. My vision begins to black out at the edges. “Please Master Aefre…”

His face contorts with something like triumph. “You never were worthy to be partnered with Ember.”

A wave of heartbreak floods me. Is that something Aefre might actually say?

“I know from the collars that Ember imagines Fifi when he’s fucking you.”

Fury gets me to my feet. I make eye contact with Aefre. I drop into a low stance. My muscles protesting with every move I make, but I have to fight.

The orb gleams just beyond him. But that’s not what I’m thinking about right now. Lunging forward with all the strength I have left; I sidestep his incoming blow and drive my elbow into his sternum.

He reels, but not enough. Aefre retaliates by gripping my wounded arm and twisting it until intense pain explodes.

I bite down on my scream, driving my knee upward into his gut.

Aefre stumbles and releases me. When he catches his breath he says, “I wish you would have been the one to go out of the air lock on Abyssal Nexus. I never wanted you.”

His words hurt me so much whether he’s real or a hologram I’m going to kill him. I put my entire body weight behind a final strike to his temple, the move Aefre taught me specifically for subduing monstrous creatures. The irony. The blow connects with a sickening crack.

Aefre’s eyes widen in shock.

Did I just kill my trainer?

If I did then it’s time to pray because I’m definitely going to be put out of an airlock.

I stare at Aefre’s dead body. Time seems to slow as I panic. Was I supposed to control my anger? Was that supposed to be the challenge and now I’ve failed by killing? Aefre always reminding me that humans have no self-control and largely act on instincts alone.

Then with great relief, I watch as the illusion of Aefre disappears just like the others before him.

I drop to my knees, crying. I can’t do this anymore. The holographic Aefre’s words still ring in my ears, “I never wanted you.” After a minute, the glowing orb catches my attention, as if it’s calling to me.

I crawl over to it on my hands and knees. Then I close my fingers around the warm orb and a brilliant surge of light engulfs me.

When the light fades, I’m back in the arena.

The hush of the crowd is eerie, like everyone witnessed me do something unspeakable. I clutch the orb against my body, tears mixing with sweat and blood. I raise my eyes to the trainer’s level, half-expecting to see the real Aefre scowling, arms crossed. But my chest throbs with confusion when I can’t find him.

An announcer’s voice booms overhead, rattling off my success in crisp Imperial and then the audience roars.

The orb dims in my grip, its purpose fulfilled.

I struggle to my feet, vision hazy, clutching the orb like a lifeline. Tomorrow will bring new horrors, new trials. But I survived another day, if just barely.