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

Chapter 69

CHAPTER 69

Gabriel

“Behold, citizens of the Empire—the Bond Breaker Challenge!

“In this ultimate test of loyalty and perception, our champion pets must confront a gauntlet of illusions and moral quandaries, all crafted to sever the unbreakable ties they claim to share. Will they stand firm, recognizing friend from foe? Or will they fall prey to fear, confusion, and betrayal? Spectators, you have one minute left to place your wagers—for in the Bond Breaker, reality itself becomes the enemy!”

The Bond Breaker arena shimmers into view, hazy shapes solidifying into a gleaming metal path. The overhead lights dim, leaving only neon-blue strips along the floor that pulse with each heartbeat.

Off to my left, a series of hovering platforms drift in erratic orbits. Each platform crackles with electric sparks, forming a sort of gravity well trap that could pull me in if I step too close. Beyond them, an arch of swirling black energy, which I assume is some kind of portal.

In the center of the arena, I see a tall, translucent tower, almost like a glass cylinder. Inside it, resting on a dais, is the artifact I’m supposed to retrieve. It glows with a faint, pulsing light, beckoning me forward. Focus , I tell myself. That’s the goal.

The voice of the announcer echoes overhead, but I barely hear it through the rush of blood in my ears. The path forward is riddled with obstacles, an energy bridge that flashes in and out, and a corridor lined with illusions.

I also know that Briar is in there somewhere and I need to save her as well as get the artifact.

A hush falls across the crowd, as though the entire galaxy is holding its breath for me to begin. My last challenge as a human pet , I think.

I gather my courage and move. With every second, the environment seems to warp, walls shifting, illusions shimmering in the corner of my eye. I can’t lose focus.

Halfway to the tower, I notice two figures sprawled on opposite sides of the path: Fifi on one side, Briar on the other. Both are tied from the waist down and are slowly sinking into a poisonous mist that burns my nose and throat.

The sight tears at my chest. Fifi… her face is contorted in pain, her body trembling like she’s at death’s door. Briar, similarly wounded, calls out my name. This can’t be real. Fifi died a year ago. Didn’t she?

“Gabriel,” Fifi rasps, lifting a shaky arm. “Je ne suis jamais morte . I didn’t die. It’s all been an Imperial trick. I’ve been here at the Celestial Spire all along—waiting for you.” Her eyes shine with tears. “They lied to you so you’d believe I was gone.” Her French is perfect just as she was in real life. How could they recreate that? Imperials refuse to record or keep records of human languages, as far as I know.

“Gabriel,” Fifi calls out again. “Tu te souviens? It was the Imperial holiday on the Luminous Arc —everyone was celebrating, or too busy to notice. You and I pooled our credits to bribe les garcons to sneak out a bottle of Aefre’s private reserve. We laughed so much, thinking we’d get away with it. We hid in that tiny area of the cleansing room, remember? Toasting to our imaginary ‘freedom,’ just for one night. C’était toi et moi, Gabriel. The wine was bitter, but you told me it tasted like victory.” She pauses,“ Tu te rappelles, mon amour? I never forgot how you looked at me under those sterile lights… how we promised, if we ever truly escaped, we’d drink again under real sunlight. How I longed to feel the sun on my skin. Remember?”

For a moment, the illusion’s words are heartbreakingly vivid, drawing on a memory only Fifi could have shared with me.

“Je suis revenue pour toi,” she says with desperation. “Save me, Gabriel. If you leave me they will kill me for real this time. Don’t let me die alone in this place.”

Impossible. But the Bond Breaker thrives on illusions, and doubt. But what if she survived?

Briar coughs from the opposite side, tears running down her cheeks. “Gabriel, it’s a trick.”

Fifi’s words address me again, “Don’t let me die here. Don’t fail your partner again.”

“Gabriel, listen to me! This isn’t real— she isn’t real. You know that if Fifi were alive, Aefre would have never bought me. Think! Why would she suddenly appear here, in the Bond Breaker, spouting old memories? It’s exactly what these illusions do—they latch onto your guilt, your regrets, and twist them into something that feels real.

“Remember the corridor you two drank wine in? There were details that only you and Fifi would recall… except the illusion got some of them wrong. You and I talked about that night—you said the bottle was half-empty already, that it tasted stale, not “bitter.” It’s a mistake in the illusion.

“You can’t trust it. This is how the Bond Breaker tears people apart—by dredging up the one thing that makes you hesitate. You’re hesitating now, Gabriel, and it’s going to cost us everything. Fifi died—I know it hurts to accept, but you saw it happen. And Aefre, think about him. He also loved Fifi and he would never have agreed to leave one of his beloved pets in someone else’s care for a year. Don’t let the sponsors and judges exploit your pain to trick you again.”

Fifi yells to me. Her voice desperate, “Master Aefre was paid to leave me here. She’s the illusion.” She points to Briar.

Briar coughs from the poison rising faster now. “The illusion wants you to believe you can save her this time. But if you run to her, you’ll kill us both. Fifi’s gone, Gabriel. You owe it to yourself—not to chase a memory—but to survive and protect the partner who’s right here, right now, fighting to stay alive.”

“Gabriel, mon amour , you have to see the truth. That—” she hisses, gesturing toward Briar, “—that thing is the illusion. Elle n’existe même pas! They designed your collar to invent this ‘Briar’ person—how else do you explain the perfect bond you supposedly share? ?a n’a aucun sens. You’ve known me, Gabriel. J’ai été ton unique partenaire. You and I were real. But she’s too perfect to be real.”

“I’m the real one,” Briar yells then bends over in a fit of coughs.

“Notice how she supposedly understands you so deeply— tout ca, c’est faux! The collar manipulated your mind, conjuring a fantasy partner so you’d stay compliant. Je suis la vraie, Gabriel. She’s nothing more than a program feeding off your regrets and hopes. We have a history, nous avons un passé , I’m here now—your real partner. Leave that American phantom behind before she drags you into her nightmare.”

A spike of nausea grips me. I know there are clues to help me figure out what’s real, but I can’t reel in my emotions enough to focus on the details.

In my periphery vision, I see the artifact, just a short climb away through a ring of swirling energy. If I race for it, maybe I can secure our victory, maybe the illusions would disappear if I take it. But that didn’t happen last year…

What if I take the artifact and they both die?

What if one of them is actually real?

What if they are both real?

What if they are both illusions?

The announcer’s voice booms overhead: “You have a choice, Ember. Save your partner or claim the artifact. Choose wisely!”

The crowd roars, thirsting for drama.

My collar vibrates as stress hormones register my escalating terror. Memories of Fifi’s death slam into me, how I let her slip away during a previous Bond Breaker. I can’t do this again.

“Gabriel, I’m real! Don’t you see how she wants to keep you from the artifact? We can’t survive if you lose this challenge!” Briar screams, her voice desperate.

Fifi calls out to me from the other side, “Mon Dieu, Gabriel , how could you forget me so easily? If you don’t save me, they’ll kill me.”

I’m torn in two. My heart says Briar is the one I’ve fought for, the one I love now— ma partenaire . But the pang of regret over Fifi still haunts me. What if it’s really her? Could Aefre and Kaelin have lied? Another wave of illusions surges, making the floor ripple beneath me. I stumble trying to keep my balance.

I look at the dais with the artifact. If I dash for it, I risk letting one or both of these illusions die. If I try to save one of these women and they are an illusion, I die. Then if I die, Briar, wherever she is, also dies.

Briar’s desperate cry pierces my thoughts, “Don’t do this again, Gabriel!” Her voice hoarse from coughing. “I’m your partner. Please. The other Fifi, she’s not even affected by the mist! And how the fuck would she know I’m American. I could be Canadian! She’s the illusion from your mind. The real Fifi died here last year.”

The words strike like lightning. She’s right. Fifi is unaffected by the poison mist and Imperials wouldn’t know about human countries.

I close my eyes and think, Fifi is gone . I turn toward the trembling figure that must be Briar. But is she real or an illusion as well?

A final timer blinks overhead. If I don’t claim the artifact soon, I’ll fail the challenge. I glance between the artifact and Briar.

In a burst of adrenaline, I sprint for Briar.

Fifi screams my name, her voice altered by betrayal. It sounds the same as it did last year when I left her to die. My heart is breaking that I’m leaving her to die again, but I keep reminding myself she’s an illusion.

I reach Briar and throw my arms around her, ignoring the stinging mist. If she’s an illusion too and I’m going to die, I want to do it with the knowledge that, no matter what, hologram or not, I love Briar.

She gasps in relief, hands clutching my arms. “Gabriel, oh thank you, you chose me—I was so worried. Untie me.”

I swallow hard, tears from this nightmare running down my face.

The announcer’s voice booms overhead: “A risky gamble from Ember! Time is running out—can he still reach the artifact?”

Maybe there’s time. Clutching Briar, I force myself into motion. We run toward the platform, each step agony, the illusion of Fifi’s wails echoing in my ears. But I can’t look back. I push forward, half-dragging Briar to keep up with my pace, half-praying the ring of energy doesn’t collapse.

In a final burst of desperate speed, I lunge. The artifact glows within reach—I stretch out my hand, feeling sparks bite at my fingers. Focus . With a final push, I seize the artifact, lifting it off the dais just as the swirling energy crackles and the ring of energy shuts behind us.

Thunderous cheers from the audience rattle the arena walls.

My knees buckle and Briar slumps against me.

The illusions dissipate—the phantom Fifi dissolves into mist, revealing that empty corner of the arena. My chest twists with sorrow for Fifi. But it’s over. I have the artifact and Briar is safe. This time I made the right choice, thanks to Briar.

We did it. We survived the Bond Breaker. My heart throbs as Briar exhales in trembling gratitude. She looks up at me, tears in her eyes, and I know that we passed the ultimate test. No illusions could sever our bond.

I press my forehead to hers. “ Je t’aime, Briar,” I murmur.

She manages a weak smile. “We’re safe,” she whispers.

But then, suddenly, everything goes dark. The audience screams in panic. The drones overhead short out, dropping in a shower of sparks. Confusion and fear wash over the arena like a wave.

I hear distant shouting, the pounding of boots. Alarms shriek.

A figure steps onto our platform with one single, small, flashlight, half-wreathed in smoke. Gael the Returner. My heart jolts. I thought he’d been caught by security.

“Come on!” Gael shouts. “Things have changed. We need to leave now !”

I hesitate. Is this another trap? An illusion.

“It’s not real,” Briar says shaking her head. “Maybe we’re still in the Bond Breaker. Maybe winning was an illusion?”

Gael quickly whips out a blade and before I can stop him, he takes Briar’s hand and slashes a deep cut across her palm. She cries out, clutching her hand, blood flowing between her fingers.

“Holograms would never do that,” Gael tells us wiping his blade clean on his black trousers. “Allies helped push the Bond Breaker up, so I could get you now before your trainers lock you away forever. Now move! Do you want freedom or not?” Gael snarls as he deactivates the tracking on our collars with a small piece of tech. “Those will only scatter your location and make them unable to render you unconscious for a few minutes. Follow me quickly if you want your freedom. You won’t ever get another chance!” Then he jumps off the platform into the smoky darkness.

Briar and I exchange one charged glance then we hurry after him.

Just as we leave the arena through a crudely made hatch, the lights switch back on and I see Aefre, high above the arena floor looking for us. My throat constricts with emotion. I owe him everything. And I’m betraying him in front of the entire galaxy.

“Ember… Ash… don’t do this. Please…” Aefre’s voice sounds over the arena. “You can have your own room on the Luminous Arc .”

I freeze. Mon Dieu , I never thought I’d hear him beg.

Gael yells at me to keep moving, but my legs feel like lead. The collar is still there, binding me to Aefre in a way I can’t just throw away. For the last twelve years of my life, he’s taken care of me in his own alien way. I press my hand to the metal ring around my neck.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, knowing he can hear me. “I… I can’t keep living like this, Master Aefre. I need my freedom.”

Before Aefre can answer, Briar swats my hand away from my collar. “Too little too late. He should have offered us that room a long time ago. But even then we’d still want freedom, wouldn’t we?”

“Hurry the fuck up!” Gael shouts. “We are leaving with or without you two!”

I close my eyes, tears forming. I imagine the hurt in Aefre’s eyes. I click my collar to hear him again. I can’t resist. His voice is strained, “Ember, you’ll—be lost out there. You won’t be able to protect Ash or yourself. Let me help you—if you want freedom we can talk about it.”

A tear slips down my cheek. “I know,” I say, my voice unsure, “but… I have to try. I’m sorry it has to end this way. Thank you for the last twelve years. And by the way. My name is Gabriel and she is called Briar. Farwell.”

Briar grabs my arm, pulling me forward into the hatch, descending into the bowels of the arena. My collar continues buzzing with half-formed words, but I force myself to keep running.

I hear Gael up ahead. “Here they come!” he yells to someone else. “Come on Grand Champions, hustle!”

We scramble inside a transport, our hearts pounding. The door seals shut with a satisfying lock, and engines roar.

Gael hits the thrusters, and we rocket away from the Celestial Spire.

Alarms chime from the cockpit, indicating a pursuit.

Briar crouches next to me, cradling her wounded hand. My collar crackles one last time with a faint, broken transmission of Aefre calling my name, “Ember let me help…”

Gael flips a switch that cuts the feed without a word.

And just like that, I am free… But in the back of my mind, Aefre’s image lingers, questioning this choice.

Who is the stranger that I’ve entrusted my and Briar’s life to now?