Chapter Thirty-Seven
Iris
I flinch in pain as I bring the dress over my shoulders.
I wouldn’t be shocked if something was broken beneath the surface.
But I don’t have time to worry about that.
Not when I’m losing what little of Remus’s trust I had.
I slowly reach behind me for the ties on the dress, groaning in pain as I pull it to cover my skin.
Luckily, the material isn’t like anything on Earth. It doesn’t take much to fasten it.
I slowly move to the mirror, taking in my handiwork.
The dress looks even more beautiful than it did the day I wore it in the fitting.
It also covers the bruise forming on my back from Remus’s attack last night.
I look myself in the face, forcing a smile on my lips as I look down at Remus’s hairpin.
Even though he left in anger, he left it with me.
That must mean something. It’s much warmer than a piece of jewelry should be, I note, as I place it in my hair to hold it away from my face as I’ve seen Remus do.
My fingers drift from the hairpin to my mother’s locket.
I look more like the woman in the picture than I ever have.
I pull in a trembling breath as I find the strength to open it.
My family’s faded photo is still there. I’m so young in the picture.
Cypress as well. I bite the inside of my cheek as I think of my brother and our last moments together.
He was the only family I had left, and he abandoned me.
Does his life even remain in Remus’s hands? Will I never see him again?
Am I truly alone?
It feels like I am just counting down the hours until my death these days.
I am sure Remus is going to find his mother and confront her about my words to him—if he even believes me.
I can’t help but think of the expression on his face as I screamed the truth at him.
Looking back, it was a poor decision on my part.
I should have been more calculating about how I revealed information to him.
I couldn’t imagine hearing such a wild story from someone I have no recollection of after she convinced me to do something that apparently puts their society in danger.
And while I can reflect on that decision, my determination for him to see the truth has not waned.
It is why I feel so calm getting ready for this celebration.
I need to speak to him again. Even if he doesn’t believe me, he needs me.
I saw it in his expression last night, even if it ended in anger. Something I said resonated with him.
I still feel the chill of his fear and betrayal that day.
He’s going to have to kill me himself for me to stop fighting for him to come back—him or his mother.
I don’t doubt that I will be seeing her soon.
But at least if his memory ever does come back, his mother will be faced with a vengeance for what she did to me—to us.
“That your family?” I tense, looking up to see Ezra standing in my reflection.
He’s dressed in their signature white, his style less regal than Remus’s.
His features as well. Though he has the traits of his siblings, he doesn’t quite resemble them as much as they resemble one another, I realize.
He’s much easier to look at than Xion in this situation.
His attention is focused on my open locket, and I quickly close it, hiding my family from the eyes of one of the aliens responsible for their deaths.
“Yes,” I say as he enters the room.
He takes a seat on the chair nearest the window, looking at me, his peculiar gaze making me feel a little easier about this.
“Sky told me about your brother. She said she worked closely with him until Iriel came along. I’m sorry he…you know,” he says.
I laugh, shaking my head.
“Don’t be. I’ve accepted it. There’s no point in dwelling on it now,” I say.
“You sound like my brother,” he scoffs.
His smile drops slightly as he realizes what his words mean, shifting his attention back to the sky.
His mother’s rings twinkle brighter than before, easily visible in the daylight, making me curious if Remus did something different when he replaced them.
Or how he even put them there in the first place.
“And I know my brother. So…why would he remove the things he believes keep us protected out of nowhere? And not even tell us about it?” he asks.
He finally turns to look at me, angling his head. “Then just…put them back?”
I take back what I said about his gaze not being intimidating. It still shines with the promise of power beyond my understanding. And as he slowly stands, his gaze narrowing, he reaches for the hairpin.
I take a step back before he can touch it, my heartbeat giving me away.
“What did you do, Iris?” he asks.
“I didn’t do anything,” I say, determined to keep the truth from him.
Ezra studies me intensely.
“You do know Xion and I are your only allies, right?” he asks.
I scoff, shaking my head.
“Xion is already sick of me. She just wants things to return to normal,” I say.
Now Ezra scoffs.
“Things will never be normal after this. Even if you died tomorrow, we could never go back to the way things used to be. Not knowing what we know,” he says.
He sounds resentful.
“But you wouldn’t know. She would make sure of that. So what difference does it make?” I ask.
Ezra doesn’t respond. He knows I’m right. If I die, Remus won’t even have questions. The only reason he does is because I exist here and in his memory. And if his siblings bring it up, their mother will just wipe their minds as well. Sky is right. She is evil.
“Well, we’ll just have to get stronger so that can’t happen, right?” Ezra says, giving me a smile.
“Right…” I say as I come to a realization about the dynamic between these three.
Xion may have hesitancy in fighting their mother, but not Ezra.
He’s determined, making me remember Remus’s speech about his siblings that day in the mountains.
When he was explaining how different each of them was.
He said that Ezra was desperate to prove himself and I see it even now.
Ezra may be cruel, but his loyalty to his brother knows no bounds, and I’m curious why that is. His personality has definitely shifted in the time that Remus’s memory has been wiped. He’s stepped into the role of protector in his brother’s place, following his last order to him.
“If it came down to it, do you think you could actually fight your own mother?” I ask.
Ezra’s expression darkens as he thinks.
“Yes.” He’s quiet as he moves to the doorway, as if he knows more about his mother than the facts laid bare. Before he leaves, I’m calling to him.
“Whatever happens, thank you for being my ally. Even though I am mere human,” I say.
Ezra makes a face.
“You’re talking like this is the end. It’s just a party,” he says.
I laugh, looking back at the rings.
“It just felt like a good time,” I say.
Ezra doesn’t know that Remus visited me last night and threatened to kill me. He doesn’t know that beneath my dress is a bruise from his anger. This may be the last time I see Remus. Only time will tell whether it’s him or his mother who ends up killing me.
Once again, I am left in complete awe of the Leviathan celebrations on Xyrannis.
I can’t believe I ever compared this to the ones on Earth.
This one is something out of a fairytale I read as a child as we approach the venue from overhead.
It’s on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.
And right at the edge, looking as if it’s dipping into the water itself, is Llora.
The celebration is being held in what could double as a Roman-themed museum.
The columns look to be marble as they stretch as high as any building, drapes forming the walls around the celebration.
The walkway entrance is filled with Leviathan dressed as extravagantly as usual, making me wonder what this celebration is for.
Even the rings look dazzlingly otherworldly as they stretch over the sky in a streak of light that complements Llora.
My stomach dips as the ship begins its descent.
I slowly bring my hand up to clutch my necklace as I try to fight the nerves threatening to overtake me.
I’m sure Ezra suspects that I’ve been speaking to Remus on my own, and Xion is at her wits end.
I have no idea the mood Remus will be in once we land.
Will he even tolerate my presence among the Leviathan?
Or will he transport me to crush my bones within seconds of seeing me?
It takes us five minutes to land and another three to reach the celebration, and the entire time I am a bundle of nerves.
I am glad when Sky finally places her hand in mine as a source of comfort, noticing my distress.
And as I look at her, she gives me a small smile as if to say everything is going to be fine.
But once we reach the celebration, Leviathan quickly approach, bowing to greet Ezra. He speaks to them briefly before turning to Sky and me, his attention drifting between us before focusing on Sky.
“Remember our talk,” he says. He then steps closer to her, his lips hovering near her ears as he murmurs something to her that makes her grip on my hand tighten. And as he steps back, his expression is as serious as I’ve ever seen it as she nods in understanding.
He then turns his attention to me.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he says before gesturing to the Leviathan standing near.
He quips to them in their language, but I understand what he says. “Take them.”
The Leviathan moves to the side, holding his hand out for us as he leads us through a different entrance to the celebration.
No one notices our entrance as we move among the throngs of aliens. The interior of the tent is more extravagant than the exterior, the drapes inside looking like clouds surrounding us. And through the large opening, Llora is centered near the ocean.
The Leviathan moves us to an area with a thinner crowd, giving us the universal gesture for “stay” before moving on with whatever his job is for the rest of the night.
Sky’s and my grips haven’t loosened since setting foot in here, and I note she is as nervous as I am.
So, I slowly pull my hand from her grip.
“You look lovely,” I say, hoping to add some comforting normalcy to her night. I’m sure it is terrifying for her being among the aliens who invaded for the first time. And in such an extravagant way.
“Thank you,” Sky says. “So do you.”
Before we can make any more conversation, a bell sounds followed by the bustle of the Leviathan as a voice comes overhead.
It’s an announcement. I can’t make out all of it, but the little that I can translate makes my heart beat slightly faster as I look in the direction of the grand entrance.
Applause erupts as Remus steps through ahead of his siblings.
He’s a clear leader dressed in his pristine white.
Jewels native to this world adorns his attire as he moves with the grace he always has.
His ethereal gaze remains straight ahead, his expression blank.
His hair is pulled away from his face with the pendant he gave me on Earth holding it in place.
It was the one he gave me the night Xion arrived, right before I betrayed him.
He looks so cold and yet so beautiful as his people erupt in applause.
Ezra at least smiles, and Xion waves, giving them a small bit of humanity. Remus, however, looks terrifying. They truly are a picture of divinity.
Remus stops at the head of the room and begins speaking.
My ears ring from the sound of his voice, even in his own language.
He sounds confident and charismatic; unlike the way he’s been speaking to me every time he’s seen me—with disgust and irritation.
He doesn’t even smile anymore. And I hate his mother for taking that from him.
He finishes his speech, signifying the beginning of the celebration as applause erupts once again.
This time, however, he glances over the crowd, dipping his chin in acknowledgment.
My heart continues to beat faster as I am reminded of who Remus is—who he was before he met me.
He rules Xyrannis and the entire Leviathan empire.
In their eyes, he is a god. Of course, he doesn’t believe me.
I hold fast to my determination as I am forced to see just how out of my depth I truly am in this setting. But I won’t let it deter me. This Remus may be intimidating, but he is far from who he had grown to be. My Remus needs me, and I won’t give up on him.
I won’t stop fighting for him.