Chapter Twelve
Remus
“What has you so distracted you don’t even acknowledge my arrival, Remus?” I ignore Xion’s entrance as I continue to study the source of my attention.
Iris.
She’s in the courtyard, leaning over the edge of the railing as she takes in the city below.
A small smile graces her lips as she studies Xyrannis in awe.
The breeze is light, causing her dark hair to bristle slightly now that it falls past her shoulder blades.
It’s grown so much since we first encountered one another—we’ve grown.
It’s interesting getting to know a new side of her.
On Earth, her one goal was to fight me for her planet.
Now that those obstacles have been removed, and she is forced to acclimate to this world, she is showing a side of herself that is full of curiosity.
And that curiosity has been directed toward me.
She is trying to humanize me in any way she knows how, including asking about my childhood.
I laugh aloud at the shock on her expression when I gave her my response.
Her subconscious has refused to accept that I am nowhere near human.
I’m not even Leviathan. There is no comparison for the lives we’ve both led.
I’ve lived much longer than she has, and now, thanks to the bond, she will live much longer than her biology originally intended, though I won’t tell her about that until the time is right.
Even if the malice between us has calmed a little, it’s too soon to reveal the life-changing news to her about anything involving the bond.
Xion comes to stand next to me, scoffing in irritation when she sees Iris.
She doesn’t like Iris. She doesn’t like any human, for that matter, not after what they did to her and the man she claims as her own.
It didn’t help that Iris had a hand in sabotaging Xion’s arrival on Earth.
It will be a while before she warms up to her presence, just as Ezra and I have yet to warm up to the man she brings around.
I turn away from Iris to face Xion as she speaks.
“How are you feeling these days? You look better,” she says, pressing her hand against my cheek. I swat her hand away as I move to the other side of my desk.
“I told you I was fine,” I say, shifting my attention to the screen that projects the schedule for today.
Today, the council will decide on Iriel’s trial date and all that it entails.
And as Aureon, I will be there. If it were up to me, Iriel would have died on Earth.
Seeing him drag Iris away and threaten me with her life, twists the emotions within me to more extreme than before.
It makes me want to disregard all the laws I swore to keep in check.
But I could never act on my own. It would go against my role as Aureon.
“Fine doesn’t mean shattering tables, Remus. You can’t just say you’re fine when things like that happen. It’s dangerous for all of us,” Xion says, plopping into the chair across from me.
I take a deep breath, shifting my attention to the window.
Iris’s questions on the way in come back to me, and for once, my curiosity about my past is peaked.
My childhood is something I never thought about.
I’ve never bothered to want to think about it for some reason.
And with Iris’s questions, I find myself wondering about it.
And why there is nothing about it in my mind except for visions that I don’t recall ever happening.
“Do you remember our childhood?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” Xion responds.
“It’s all very…fuzzy. Like it didn’t happen. But lately, I’ve been having these visions, and they feel so real. Like they’re memories,” I say.
Xion’s frown deepens, and she stands.
“Like what?” she asks.
“Me. As a child. Unable to control myself…massacring hundreds,” I say.
Xion’s expression shifts.
“You never went anywhere alone. We were raised in our mother’s dimension and weren’t set free until we could control ourselves,” she says.
I raise a brow.
“Is that all you remember? Is there nothing else? Nothing deeper? Maybe more specific?” I ask.
I can tell by her expression that she’s beginning to realize the same thing as me: we don’t remember our childhoods at all.
“That’s normal, Remus. We’ve lived a long time. It’s natural for us to…” she trails off, experiencing the same confusion I did.
We’re both at a loss.
“Have you spoken to mother about this?” she asks. “She could probably explain it better than our speculating,” she says.
I pull in a deep breath. “Something in me is telling me not to.”
Something is off about this return. Our mother would have come to one of us by now, especially Ezra.
But she has not. And I think it has something to do with the strange visions I’ve been having.
The other day, I left to try to find her, but once again she was nowhere to be found.
Not even in her own dimension. I couldn’t even follow a trace.
“Remus, if something is going on with you, you need to talk to her. She will know what to do,” Xion says.
I shift my attention to her. I see the concern in her eyes. Xion knows how dangerous it is for me to lose control. There’s a devastated planet on the edge of our solar system that can attest to that.
“Do you think what happened at the council meeting has something to do with the visions?” she asks.
I nod.
“Maybe. They’ve become more vivid lately. I thought I had everything figured out, but if these are my memories…then what the hell am I? What am I capable of? How did something that gruesome get so buried within me that I can’t remember it?” I ask.
Xion places her hand on my shoulder, offering me a soft smile.
“You’re my brother. You’re our leader. You’re the one responsible for this empire and for all the victories.
And you would do anything to keep us safe.
Don’t overthink it. It could just be your essence playing tricks on you for bonding to a human.
There’s a reason she told us never to bond to a weaker species.
Just go see Mother. She’ll have the answers,” she says.
I release a deep breath, my attention shifting back to the courtyard when I see another person joining Iris. It’s the woman Ezra took from Earth.
Sky.
“Ezra has arrived,” I say.
I note Xion still has a concerned expression on her face.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let things get out of hand. I’ll go see her soon.”
Trials on Xyrannis are a rarity. The customs on Xyrannis and Earth are extremely different when dealing with offenders of society.
If an act is done against an individual, it is left up to that individual how the offender will be punished.
Only if an individual commits a crime against the Leviathan society as a whole is there a trial.
And unlike Earth, it is not a jury of peers who decides what happens to them.
It is the council. And it is a very public event.
Today, however, it is between us, the council, and Iriel as we prepare for his trial.
The door to the chamber opens, and Iriel steps in with his hands in energy cuffs.
His face is set in a stern and indifferent expression, but I know him better than he knows himself.
And underneath the outward anger, he reeks of fear.
His face still has hideous bruising from my attack that day, and I find myself wishing I could snap his jaw once again for everything he’s done.
Iriel’s eyes shift past the council members to where I and my siblings sit. He smiles, shaking his head.
“Iriel. You have been brought before the council to answer for your crimes against the Leviathan society. You have been found to have given important confidential information to rebels, given them access to our technology and weapons, and conspired to kill the son of our founder and savior. You have been the cause of hundreds of needless deaths on a colony world, and for this, you have been brought before the council to decide your fate.”
Acacius, one of the elders on the council, stands as he reads Iriel’s crimes aloud. But Iriel isn’t focused on him. His eyes remain on us, shifting between me and Ezra.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Acacius asks.
Iriel laughs.
“Does it matter? You will all follow your Aureon’s decision, regardless,” he says.
I stand.
“So, you are angry with leadership then? That is why you betrayed your planet?” I ask.
Iriel’s eyes widen slightly, but he composes himself.
“I saw Earth for what it was. I have given my life to the armada, and I deserve to rule—”
“Oh? Because when you were given the chance to rule—to even fight for what you deserved, you ran, shielding yourself behind a human. The entire time, you hid behind humans, letting them run you. That is the mark of a coward. And I am disgusted that I ever saw something in you and chose you to be a part of this,” I say.
I gesture to Acacius as I sit, watching Iriel’s expression as Acacius reads off the results of the trial.
“Iriel. If you are found guilty, you will not serve your days in prison. Since you conspired to kill one of the Divine Three, your life will be his to decide. And anyone who shares your blood will be cast from this society,” Acacius says.
Iriel visibly pales, stumbling as he realizes what this means.
“Do not worry, Iriel. It is not me who will pass your judgment, but my brother who you focused your anger on,” I say, gesturing to Ezra.
I know more went on with Ezra and Iriel, and it has to do with that woman. Iriel would be better off ending his life himself. If it were up to me, I would just take it, like a whisper on the wind. But Ezra…he’ll stretch it out as long as he can. He’ll want revenge.
“Now. If that is all, let us move on to the logistics of the trial date.”