Chapter 26 #2
“One by one, almost my entire family fell under his influence,” I said.
“My father’s parents, my father’s brother and sister and their mates and children, and my mother’s sister and her mate all followed my parents into the compound.
Pyru and his inner circle were masters of manipulation and brainwashing.
The only members of the family who saw him for who he was were my mother’s mother, Luvia Husiorithae, and my brother and me. ”
Out of fear of how much pain they would cause, I had never spoken these words aloud before.
And there was pain—a deep, profound ache that filled my chest and resonated through my entire body.
But paradoxically there was relief too, and comfort that grew with every word as if I was relieving pressure or draining a wound.
“My parents, Olme and Earra, believed completely in Pyru’s anti-science and anti-technology teachings,” I said.
“I was already interested in science, especially atmospheric science, by the time we moved to the compound. My brother wanted to captain a cargo ship or cruiser. He loved the technology of interplanetary flight. All that ended when we moved—or at least it was supposed to.”
I took a deep, fortifying breath. “We had extremely limited technology in the compound and very little contact with the anything beyond its walls. All learning materials and communication with the outside world had to be approved by Pyru. The isolation was supposed to ensure we did not lose our way and become ‘obsessed’ with science and tech. For Pyru, what he called ‘obsession with science and technology’ was the source of all evil and suffering and misery.” My mouth twisted.
“It was rather an open secret that in his private home he had full access to anything he wanted. My parents saw nothing wrong with that hypocrisy. They never saw anything wrong with anything Pyru did or said. And if my brother or I did object, we were punished for it. Very severely.”
With one hand, Elena cradled my head to her breast. And with the other she caressed my wing, gentle and soothing.
“Nors was better at feigning obedience and belief than me,” I continued.
“Or maybe I should say I was more openly defiant. I wanted everyone to see how manipulative and wrong Pyru was, so I rarely held my tongue. For the first three or four years, I still had hope my parents would see the truth about Pyru and our whole family would leave. I thought if I pointed out the inconsistencies and all the ways he mistreated everyone, especially Nors and me, our parents would realize they loved us too much to let the abuse continue. But eventually I had to accept Pyru’s hold was too strong.
It was a bitter and difficult realization. ”
“I cannot imagine.” Elena stroked her fingers through my hair, working out tangles. The sensation was heavenly. “How did your brother handle it?”
I sighed. “Nors did not want to hurt our parents by resisting, so he stopped rebelling and even accepted some of what Pyru taught. After that, I could no longer trust him to keep anything I said between us. I had no one to confide in and no support.”
“What about your mother’s mother?” she asked. “Did you say her name was Luvia?”
My hearts twinged. “Yes. She was not part of the sect, so we only saw her rarely. And only with one of Pyru’s inner circle present to watch and listen.
” The memory of those meetings—of my desperate need for her to hug me and bring me little gifts I could treasure, all under the watchful eyes of Pyru’s hand-picked minders—burned in my gut like coals.
“Luvia gave me my lat’sar for my tenth birthday,” I said with a fleeting smile. “I was surprised I was allowed to keep it, but Pyru granted permission as long as I only played music he composed, and played for him whenever he asked.”
“Gods above,” Elena muttered. She stroked my cheek with her thumb. “I’m very glad you received that lat’sar, Ardruc. I can well imagine it was one of the few comforts you had.”
“It was. When I played, it felt like Luvia was with me. I did not feel so alone.”
I went quiet for a while, drinking in Elena’s scent and the softness of her skin. As bad as those early memories were, the most difficult part of the story was yet to come.
“The years passed,” I said finally. “Nors and I grew from children to adolescents. For us, it was a long, unending nightmare. My parents were so happy there, or at least they seemed to be, and that made it worse. Nors was very quiet and I was miserable. As is often the case in such environments, Pyru’s views became more and more extreme, and his punishments more severe.
He began disciplining our entire family when I did not obey him without question.
By then, I cared less about my parents because they had brought this on us, but I did not want my brother to suffer.
I finally began to pretend to accept some of Pyru’s teachings and followed the rules, at least outwardly, for Nors’s sake.
I did not break, but I feared I might if I did not find a way to escape, even if it meant leaving my parents behind. ”
Elena settled my head on her breast again. “And Nors?”
“I hoped Nors would leave too, but I could not discuss it with him. He would have told my parents, and they would have alerted Pyru. Any chance of being able to escape would be gone then. I would be caged. It had happened before to others who had wings.”
Elena’s anger had grown steadily as I recounted my time at the compound, but she seemed to be able to set it aside to focus on comfort and gentle caresses. I was more grateful for that than I could have said.
I took a breath that nearly rattled in my chest. “There was, as you might have guessed, a breaking point. Just before my nineteenth birthday, Pyru announced I would be wed to another young person within the group named Aora. I barely knew her, other than she and her family were true believers in Pyru’s teachings.
I was expected to marry her and have children—as many as Pyru decided we should have.
The marriage was to take place when we both reached nineteen years of age, which he considered to be the ideal age for marriage and for the first of our children to be born. ”
Elena’s embrace tightened. “No,” she breathed. “Oh, Ardruc. Gods, that is horrific. Forced to marry and father children against your will. What did Aora think?”
I smiled, but without mirth. “Initially, neither she nor her parents were pleased. My longtime resistance to Pyru’s teachings was no secret.
But my parents and others insisted I would accept my role once we were wed and Pyru’s word was law, so she accepted it without question.
The night of the announcement, I made plans to get away, with or without my brother.
I could only hope he would see my escape as an inspiration and leave as well. ”
She brought my hand to her mouth and kissed it. She could probably tell from my tone that was not what happened.
“I knew I would only get one chance, so I had to wait until the right time and I could not fail,” I said.
“A few weeks later, my opportunity came. A severe storm occurred during a late evening meeting of the inner circle and senior adherents. A power fluctuation lowered the intensity of the perimeter forcefield. I stuffed a few things in a bag and grabbed my lat’sar and slipped out of our house.
Someone must have seen me and hit the alarm.
As I flew over the wall and made it through the forcefield, someone fired a plasma gun several times.
” I raised my wing to show her a spot where the feathers grew at an odd angle.
“Luckily, my only injury was a mild burn and some scorched feathers. Whoever fired was a poor shot.”
I did not say so because my mate already trembled so badly, but getting through the forcefield had given me a severe shock and left burns and numbness on my hands, feet, and face. I would not have made it through at all if it had been at full power.
Elena’s hand shook as she caressed my face. “What did you do once you made it over the wall?”
“I wanted to put as much distance between myself and that place as I could, so I flew almost nonstop for four nights and slept in parks or preserves during the day.” I breathed in her scent to settle my churning stomach.
“It may seem strange because I was very afraid of being caught and dragged back, but those were good days. I was breathing free air and every choice I made was my own.” I put my hand on hers where it rested on my cheek. “It was sweet freedom.”
“You know, I wish I could coo,” Elena said suddenly with a scowl. “It’s not fair that I can’t.”
Her almost petulant tone made me chuckle and lightened my heavy hearts. “Little mate, you do not need to coo. Just being near you, basking in your scent, touching your skin, hearing your voice, is all I need.”
She gathered me to her chest again and pressed little kisses into my hair. “So you flew for four nights…?”
“Yes. Once I reached a port city in another province, I found someone who could arrange to get me off-planet. I left Fortusia a week later as a laborer on a cargo carrier bound for Valodia. I have not returned to Fortusia in fifteen years.”
“And your brother?” she asked.
“Nors did not leave.” I squeezed her hand.
“I found out later that after my departure Pyru betrothed him to Aora. They wed when he was twenty, according to public record. They had three children.” I took a deep breath that hurt.
“My father, Olme, sent a message four months ago to tell me Nors had died. That was the first I had heard from him in more than a decade.”
Elena’s sharp intake of breath made me raise my head. Her eyes blazed with fury and shimmered with unshed tears. She cupped my face in both hands. “Ardruc.”
Her voice, like her scent and the tender way she embraced me, held all her care for me, and all her grief and anger and sympathy too.