Chapter Thirty-Six
Iris
Whatever has summoned the Divine Three to the capital must be important enough for me Sky’s presence to not matter.
My stomach coils as we approach the meeting room behind Ezra, and Remus is waiting at the door.
His amethyst gaze shifts past Ezra to both Sky and me and narrows slightly before we both crash into an invisible wall.
We stumble back, Sky in more shock than I am from the sudden force that prevents us from going forward. It reminds me of that moment in the dressing room when Remus placed a forcefield to prevent me from touching him in my excitement. He’s never used his power so often and so menacingly.
He was so different by the time we’d encountered one another.
Ezra’s irritated tone pulls me out of my thoughts as he snaps at Remus for his actions in their language, but Remus isn’t bothered in the slightest. He ignores his brother, making his way into the meeting room just as Xion approaches as well.
She gives Ezra a warning glance before entering, and Ezra watches both of them enter before he finally comes to face us.
He moves to Sky first, his touch is gentle as he runs it over her cheeks and neck, holding her gently.
“Are you okay? What he did was unnecessary,” he says. I’m shocked at how gentle his tone is. But Sky places her hand over his, lowering his touch as she looks at me.
“We’re fine,” she says.
Ezra furrows his brow, shifting his attention to the door. I note that council members have begun to enter, meaning this has nothing to do with our current issues. It especially won’t have anything to do with their mother.
Ezra releases a deep breath.
“Don’t go far,” he says, before shifting his attention to me. “I mean it—no spontaneous trips to the records rooms. Stay close. If she comes back, I won’t be able to protect you if you are too far away,” he says, his expression serious.
“I won’t,” I say, trying to hide the quiver in my voice.
Ezra gives us one more stern look before making his way into the meeting. We both remain silent, watching him depart until the doors close completely, signaling the start of something I can only hope they will be able to handle.
It never occurred to me, the other issues that could have or already have arisen since Remus’s return. Now it weighs on me that there may be more to pull the attention away from their mother’s wrongdoings, prolonging this version of Remus.
I’m pulled from my thoughts as Sky laughs next to me, walking up the hallway.
“What do you think it could be now?” she asks.
I shrug, shifting my attention to the tall glass windows that overlook the city.
I want to tell her that Remus has been visiting me, and what’s worse is that his last visit left me feeling uncertain, especially since it was on the heels of this meeting.
But I can’t. Not with this threat lingering in my mind.
“Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling,” I say. It’s the most of my true feelings I can get out without putting her life in danger.
My footsteps falter as Ezra’s warning comes to mind.
“Do you know much about their mother? About her history with this planet?” I ask.
Sky pauses, looking at me in confusion. “Why would I know that?” she asks.
“Ezra tells you everything,” I say.
Sky stops walking, giving me her full attention.
“Why are you asking?” she asks.
I take a deep breath as I think of Noah’s words to me this morning. Ever since this started, I’ve only felt the desperation for Remus’s memory returning. But the conversation has made me see this for what it truly is. Children against their mother—against their lives. All they’ve ever known.
“Have you ever thought about how all of this ends? I mean, what’s the solution to it? That Remus remembers that his mother fucked him up for most of his life? Ezra and Xion are aware, and they still are having issues coming to terms with it,” I say.
“And you think knowing her history will do what?” she asks.
“It will at least let me know if there is a way to control her—that she isn’t as powerful as Remus,” I say. “I just don’t see this ending well, is all.”
Sky scoffs, pulling my attention.
“So you think we can pull off what an entire planet managed to do centuries ago?” she asks.
“Of course not. I just need to know I’m not fucking up their lives with no solution to it all. I don’t want the solution to be them fighting their mother to the death,” I say softly.
Silence passes between us, and Sky steps closer to me.
“I thought you cared about him,” she says.
“What?” I ask.
“I thought you said you cared about him,” she repeats.
“What does that have to do with—”
“It sounds like you’re quitting before you’ve even tried. Like you want them to go on living their fucked up existence for the sake of…what, exactly? Peace?” she asks.
She looks away from me, her attention focusing on the city as she continues.
“Their mother is evil. She is a wicked, evil being with no regard for life. She wiped the minds of her children. She’s manipulated them over the years without their knowledge.
” Sky gestures to the rings visible in the sky.
“She’s fucking holding them and this entire world hostage.
And you’re willing to let her get away with these unforgivable crimes for the sake of their peace? The aliens who fucked up our lives?”
“No! It’s just…” I trail off, my mind drifting to Remus. “I’m scared of what he’s capable of.”
Sky releases a bitter laugh.
“Whatever it is, it can’t have been worth all of this,” she says more to herself than to me.
“Did Ezra ever specify how she was sealed away?” I ask.
Sky shakes her head.
“No. But with all the ways she’s manipulated their minds, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a lie, too,” she says.
My heart beats faster as she casually floats the theory.
She’s right. Their mother somehow manipulated Remus into killing Iriel, something he was firmly against for the sake of the Leviathan.
There’s no telling what else could have been a lie, including the history of this world, and her place in it.
I exhale in irritation, rubbing my temples as my frustration mounts.
“Don’t worry, Remus won’t kill his own mother. His siblings will be okay at the end of the day. They may be shocked at how much of their lives are a lie, but they’ll live,” she says matter-of-factly.
I laugh softly as I move to stand next to her.
“I care about Ezra, too, you know,” she says after a moment of silence.
“It’s fucked up, but I do. He deserves the truth. He deserves to know what parts of his life are a lie, and you’re the only one who can make that happen, Iris,” she says.
I smile, but it’s sad as I see her in another light.
“So you’re just using me?” I ask.
She shrugs. “If you want to see it that way. I know you care about Remus, too. You’re the only one who can really fight for him at this point. Because those two are lost without him.”
The mood is somber as we arrive back at Ezra’s.
I’m glad to be among more familiar faces, even if he’s been avoidant.
Xion’s home is slowly becoming more hostile with each passing day, and I finally understand why.
She is beginning to resent me for what might happen in the future.
She’s had time, just like me, to think about the consequences.
And in her eyes, there are more cons than pros at the end of this.
“Something’s entered Anafalta. It doesn’t seem to be hostile, and we don’t know its trajectory at the moment,” Ezra says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
It takes me a moment to realize he’s speaking to me and Sky alone. Xion isn’t here. As I look at him, I note that he looks concerned with the information, and when I look at Sky, she seems confused as well.
“Why is that worth a meeting? If you’re aware intelligent life exists outside of your planet, doesn’t it make sense for there to be others searching out intelligent life?” I ask in confusion.
Ezra shifts his attention to me, shaking his head.
“My brother really didn’t tell you anything, did he?” he says in disbelief.
“People don’t just enter Anafalta. It’s a protected star system. Why do you think the Leviathan here only know peace? Why do you think we venture out to conquer? Or why do you think it was such a shock that Xion’s human crash landed here?” he says.
“Well, like you said. He didn’t tell me,” I say, my irritation mounting at his attitude. But after a moment, I realize it’s not from anger, but anxiety. He’s nervous about this news.
“So what does this mean for us?” I ask.
Ezra shakes his head.
“I don’t know. But I have a feeling it has something to do with—” Ezra trails off, his eyes widening as he looks past both me and Sky.
We both follow his gaze, my heart sinking into my stomach. The glowing beams that once covered the sky, crackle and ripple, slowly dissipate from existence. I thought that when this happened I would feel excitement, but as I stare into the sky, my stomach sinks.
He did it. Remus destroyed the rings.
Ezra moves past us, stepping onto the patio to get a better look, and I follow.
The news of a new arrival into this star system can’t be a coincidence to Remus’s action.
Nor can his spontaneous visit. It has to be connected.
And somehow, even though it has happened, Remus has decided to go ahead with my suggestion and destroy the rings.
I want to feel proud of myself for somehow convincing him to go through with it.
But as I’ve learned from being by his side, nothing is ever in my control.
It only ever is to his benefit.
The night sky is empty. The streak of light that usually covers it has been dissolved, leaving only Llora to illuminate the night.
Because his siblings were unaware of his plan, the panic that has consumed them has been difficult to watch.
The destruction of the rings was our theory.
Neither of them had spoken to Remus about it. In their eyes, this is sudden.