Page 116 of Pet: Genesis

“Don’t act as if you care,” I snap. “You let Iriel take her away. Had he decided to kill her, you wouldn’t be here now. I am curious as to why you never thought to protect her,” I say. Iris clung to the memory of her family like a vice, always holding that locket to her chest if she were feeling strong emotions. But he doesn’t seem to care about her in the least.

“You favored her. You treated her differently. In the short time I was with both of you, I saw how much she meant to you. She is your weakness,” he says.

“And you chose to exploit her for that fact,” I growl.

“If there is a sliver of a chance that you could be defeated, I would take it. One for the many,” he says.

I’m across the room faster than his brain can process, my hand around his throat. He cries out as I smash his back into the wall, his eyes widening in terror. I can smell his fear. I can feel the blood rushing through his veins, and I latch onto it, pulling at his insides as I speak.

“I can pull the blood from your veins. I can rip your tongue from your mouth. I can implode your heart within your chest. I can drain you of your life without moving an inch. Your sister fought meknowingthis. She fought me for you and every other human on his planet, never once thinking her life mattered more than anyone else’s. Especially yours. As you sit in this cell awaiting your fate, I hope it haunts you that it lies in her hands. Theoneyou were willing to sacrifice... I will enjoy torturing you as I did Iriel.”

I silently stand in the doorway, watching the Leviathan prepare Iris for the celebration. We are leaving this planet having officially conquered it and removed all the rebels and their weapon centers. The worst thing the rebels could have done was trust Iriel to be a part oftheir cause. In the end, he turned on them immediately, using Iris as a shield. Even now, he sits in his cell rattling off information he hopes will spare him the wrath of the Leviathan society. Of course, his overall fate will be up to the Leviathan people. And he knows they will not at all be kind, especially if they decide to hand him over to me.

I study Iris as she looks toward the scenery just beyond the window. I can tell by watching her she is having trouble accepting her decision. I don’t know what I would have done had she chosen the inhibitor. I know I said I wanted to give her a choice, but the thought of leaving her on this planet to live out an emotionless existence vexes me. I am glad I wasn’t forced to show a side of me she would resent. It’s as I said before: Freedom is an illusion. She believes she made a choice of her own free will but has no idea there never was one. She’s living in an illusion she created for herself, but I am fine with that as long as she’s living by my side.

Iris

Choose life.

Those words constantly ring in my head, fueling my decision and trying their best to keep my guilt at bay. When have I ever chosen life? I’ve always chosen to throw my life away at the firstchance if it meant helping others or fighting Remus. But now, there is no one left to help and nothing left to fight for. So why not choose life?

I’m pulled out of my thoughts as I feel the cool press of a jewel along my wrist. I release a soft gasp, pulling my hand away from the Leviathan in front of me in fear. Her gaze lifts to meet mine in shock, and it takes her a moment to realize why I am so jumpy about the bracelet.

“It is only jewelry,” she says reassuringly. I watch her for a moment, studying her features. She looks young. Pretty even. Her hair is pulled into an intricate braid, keeping it all away from her face as she works diligently on dressing me. She is one of Remus’s people. She has a life somewhere and a family and she seems overall content with her life, especially if she followed her leader to this planet to live. She offers me a smile as she moves the bracelet toward my arm again, and I let her.

Remus may be the enemy in our eyes, but to his people, he is everything a leader should be. He protects his people and improves their way of life. Everything he does is in their best interest. I’ve seen it in the way they love him and in the way he leads them. I see it in the society he built on our planet and his explanations of their way of life.

“L’asciostiv ‘Ya.”1

Remus’s powerful tone washes over the room as he steps inside, making his way to where I am. My overall mood calms ashe steps closer to us, gently taking the bracelet from the Leviathan woman. It is something that I hate about myself but I cannot help since we are connected on a level I don’t quite understand. Remus said he would explain the bond more to me once I made my decision, but has yet to do so.

The Leviathan preparing me steps away, bowing before leaving the room as Remus stands over me, studying my features. He’s dressed in regal clothing and his signature white. I assume whatever is going to happen this afternoon is a big deal. Even my dress is stunning for this event. He reaches for my face, gently touching my cheek.

“If you are skeptical about the jewelry, I will not make you wear it.” He places it on the table near us, taking in my expression.

“Why do you look like you are seconds from crying?” he asks gently.

I feel myself growing small under his heavy gaze. I fear him, especially after seeing what he is capable of. And somehow, part of me knows that what I saw that day was only the surface. It explains why he was always so amused by my attempts and why he believed his way of handling us before the resistance was mercy. He never saw me as a threat, and even if he says he sees it now, I know that to him, I could never be. He is on a level no one in this galaxy exists on.

I let out a bitter laugh, pulling my face from his grasp.

“We’re bonded, aren’t we? Why don’t you tell me,” I say bitterly. He shakes his head as a smile appears on his lips.

“Itold you when you decided, I will not use the bond to understand you until you and I are both ready to take that step. And without the bond, I don’t quite understand the direction of your thoughts at times. I don’t understand why you would be crying at a time like this... at a time for celebration,” he says honestly.

I immediately think back to the day he bonded with me. Before that incident, he was telling me just how little he understood me at times. It was the first time I saw a piece of him that my human brain refused to acknowledge. And now, as he sits before me, his genuine curiosity to understand my emotions is almost fascinating.

I slowly wrap my arms around myself as I speak, and Remus’s eyes follow the motion.

“It’s a celebration for you. For me, it means the end... I should die with them,” I say honestly. I look at Remus in confusion, “Right?” I ask. He shakes his head, his amusement all but disappearing.

“No.” That’s all he offers me. No explanation along with it, just his one response. I look out the large window to the city beyond. There are so many trees and greenery wound within the buildings that it almost looks like a forest beneath us. I grip myself tighter.

“I’m not choosing you. I’m choosing life,” I clarify, unable to meet his gaze. I look up, and Remus is still watching me with that strange expression, trying to figure out the direction of my thoughts.

“I’m not choosing humanity. I’m choosing you,” Remus counters.

“It’s like I told you before. Choosing life does not put you on a side. It’s not like either of our decisions is affecting the sides we play for,” he says, directing me toward the mirror. It takes me a moment to look up, but when I do, I barely recognize the woman looking back at me in the reflection. The dress I’m wearing opens around my collarbone and shoulder, revealing the mark that Remus gave me. I study it in fascination. It pulses just as Remus’s does—his mark.

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