13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Iris

Warmth slowly molds itself to my wounds, finding its way into each crevice to give it a comforting massage. It feels like the water is alive, purposely coming to my aid as I slowly regain consciousness. I blink rapidly to sharpen my blurry surroundings. It takes me a moment to realize I am in a tub, my lower body submerged with only a clear cover between my neck and body. A warm purple glow emanates from the baseboards of the room, illuminating it ever so slightly. I shift my attention to the clear cover, noticing that it's foggy, blocking my view from my body. But the water is warm, and my limbs feel refreshed.

Before my mind can wander any further, the door to the room opens, and a Leviathan walks in. She's as stunning as the rest of her race, her physical features softer than Yura's. Her hair is short and black, cut into an edgy bob with braids on one side. She's also barefoot as she steps in, with loose pants and a tank top. She looks up from the illuminated tablet in her hands, her eyes meeting mine. A smile forms when she sees I'm awake.

"You're awake." She makes her way to a chair that floats on its own, plopping down in it. She then pushes her legs as if the chair has wheels, and sure enough, she floats in my direction with her atop it. She's next to my tub, her eyes roaming over me in fascination.

"Well, Remus really did a number on your body. The tools he used were still in the testing phase. They temporarily disrupted your nerves and released them all in one moment, creating an excruciating experience, seeing as your body overcompensates to calibrate. All the while, more currents of electricity were moving through your system. It did a lot of damage to you internally." She lightly taps the tub, her smile widening. "But thanks to our rapid healing technology, I was able to fix you up good as new," she says.

I stare at her in shock, my body trembling out of instinct. Her smile drops as she notices my mood, and she places her hand against my cheek, rubbing her thumb in a soothing gesture.

"Calm yourself. Don't get worked up." Her smile is strangely comforting, and I find myself wanting to follow her command. "You've been in a rapid healing tank for a few hours now. The liquid in it is combined with nanotechnology and the proper minerals from your planet. You should return to normal after a few more hours of soaking." She looks back to the tablet, using her finger to scroll as she reads something. I take note that her nails aren't painted, and I find myself wondering more and more about the Leviathan society and its norms.

"It's a good thing Remus brought you in when he did. If he had waited any longer, you may have gained some irreversible scarring," she frowns.

"But don't worry. I specialize in all things human. I am the equivalent of what your planet refers to as a doctor. Or specialist, to be more specific. I know everything there is to know about your people and your planet's resourcefulness to you. That's how I was able to come up with such advanced and compatible treatments for you and any others there may be. You'll be fine," she adds. Irritation simmers up within me as images of the humans who were beaten only hours earlier flash into my mind. They won't be fine. They will be irreversibly damaged.

"Why would you need medical advances for humans when all you want to do is wipe us out and enslave us?" I hiss.

My voice cracks from the sudden use after hours of screaming, and I begin coughing. She quirks a brow at me, laughing to herself as she reaches toward the nearest counter, grabbing a glass cup with a glass straw. She brings it to my lips, and against my better judgment, I gulp it down, mentally thankful for the soothing drink. I hadn't realized just how parched I was until now.

The Leviathan chuckles as she places the glass back on the counter.

"You cannot rule or enslave a species if you don't know how to preserve it. Our goal here isn't to wipe you out; your planet is too valuable, and your species is too intelligent to waste. If Remus has shown us anything as our leader, it's that he will give a purpose to even the lowest of species. That species, however, must first learn its place in society," she says, repeating Remus's philosophy.

I slowly shake my head in disbelief, but she doesn't seem too inclined to argue with me about it or even punish me for being disrespectful toward her ideals. She's eerily pleasant and eager to speak with me, even if we aren't on the same page.

"Your treatment will take the rest of the day to complete. Remus will retrieve you then," she says softly as she rises from her seat. I expect her to leave, but she doesn't. She slowly turns to face me with a troubled expression.

"Why did you do it?" she asks.

I look at her in confusion, but she's more than happy to elaborate.

"Why did you challenge him? You must have known he would kill you. He must have warned you, and yet you defied him in front of a large crowd, almost getting yourself killed in the process." I watch her in mirrored confusion. She seems genuine in her questioning. It shows how structured the Leviathan society is. No one defies Remus sheerly because of his power. Of course, it's strange when someone they see as weak does so.

"Your leader seems to think that just because we are faced with fear, we won't do what's right to protect our own. When he conquered this world, he encountered the corrupt men in power, not the weak, who would die for their own. He has a horrible misconception that we are selfish, and he takes that misconception, trying his best to make it a reality against me. But that is not who I am. I will never stand idly as another human being begs for mercy. I will never let my fear control me," I say.

Her eyes grow wide with each word I say, and she looks at me as if I'm the crazy one.

"Our leader has never taken a personal servant of any kind from any of the worlds he's conquered—none of whom he left with their free will. Word is spreading fast as everyone tries to uncover why he would take a human of all things and allow you so close to our world without an inhibitor. But I see it now. The rebellion in your eyes. That spark of life… the challenge." She breaks into a fit of giggles, shaking her head as she dims the lights.

"You are aware he has conquered entire planets, right? You are a blip on the life he has lived. And when he breaks your spirit and makes you swallow those words, you'll wish you had let that fear control you."

The ride back is silent. Remus has, for the most part, taken my challenges in the past with a playful undertone. But as I think of what transpired to force me into a tank to heal me, I get a sickening feeling in my gut. The Leviathan doctor explained not only what those torture weapons were but just how damaging the result was for my body. Remus was content to leave me suffering for my actions. I don't know what changed his mind at the last minute to show only me mercy .

I place my finger against the window and take in the city beneath us. I can't believe a world like this exists on the same planet I grew up on. It's all foreign buildings on land that was once a thriving society belonging to someone else, and they've come in, establishing their way of life as if we never even existed. And among the people in this society is a cruel way of life that has no room for humans, as they proved at the event. We are a nuisance in their eyes—in the way of their progress.

"How are you feeling? Physically?" Remus asks, breaking the silence between us.

I slowly maneuver my gaze toward him. He doesn't regret his actions at all. I find a small bit of strength, looking back out the window as I ignore him and luckily, he's back to his relatively playful mood because he laughs.

"There should be no more pain. Petra is the leading specialist in healing the human body. She trained for years to join this mission," he says.

I tense when I feel his fingers trailing down my cheek to my neck. "She healed you up quite nicely," he says.

I pull away from his touch, looking at him with a narrowed gaze.

"After you caused the damage," I emphasize.

Remus must be in light spirits because he once again laughs, this one louder than the last.

"Do you still think that it was worth it?" he asks. I take in the intensity of his gaze, and it dawns on me that he and Petra are one and the same in their curiosity. He wants me to regret my decision, and he's hellbent on proving to himself that I am like the rest of my race. He wants to prove that, at our core, humans will save themselves over others if pushed far enough. It shines a light on why he was so excessive in his punishment.

"I'll always think it is worth it," I say. "No matter how many times you break me down to prove to yourself otherwise," I add. Instead of anger, Remus raises a brow. The blue within his eyes illuminates, pulsing in excitement as he studies me. I don't know why I provoke him. Sometimes, I do so without meaning to.

"With every passing day, I like you more and more, Iris," he laughs.

"Bear in mind I could have stopped you at any moment. I could have ensured you never even left the platform. I haven't seen that kind of fight in you since our first encounter. I guess I placed too much trust in you to believe you would remain docile so soon," he says.

Realization dawns on me as I acknowledge what he's telling me. The bracelet was around my wrist, meaning he could have prevented everything. But he didn't. He waited until I was in the middle of the room and had already caused a scene in front of the people of his society to unleash his wrath on me.

"You catch on quick," he laughs, taking my silence as understanding. "What you fail to understand is that I enjoy a challenge. And you give it to me each time you see one of your own suffering, without fail. You gave me the perfect opportunity to not only display what will happen to the humans in attendance if they disobey but to demonstrate how easily outmatched they are. It wasn't a shock that you rebelled. I'm honestly surprised it took you so long. I really thought you weren't going to react for a second. You knew what would happen. You felt what would happen. Yet you did it anyway."

My emotions are numb as Remus recounts his experience of the night. I don't have any one emotion to feel anymore. Anger, disbelief, disappointment: they all swirl inside of me, overwhelming my senses as Remus once again looks at me.

"Are you even aware of the difference in power between you and me? Are you truly aware?" he asks. I ignore his gaze, trying to force myself not to lose control as he provokes me. I've seen Remus do strange things, for sure. I've experienced firsthand something only an extraterrestrial like him can do, like taking my "essence." But the way he speaks cryptically about our differences in strength is beginning to make me feel wary.

Remus takes my silence, finally shifting his attention away from me. "I'm sure you will see soon enough. Then, the real challenge will begin."

Once we arrive back at Remus's residence in the city, he leaves me with Margot to keep me company. I don't know if he keeps her near me to torture me or to remind me to behave. Either way, seeing her in this state makes me uncomfortable. My eyes drift over the room, taking in the abundant space. It's large for a temporary home, but I guess the Leviathan society believes in only the best for its leader. My eyes fall on the bookshelf in the far corner of the room, and I find myself drawn to it.

I take a few steps, looking back at Margot, who watches me silently, but she doesn't object to the direction of my movement. Once I reach the bookcase, I run my fingers over the spines of the books. They aren't books like ours. The spines are a foreign translucent material that lights up with my touch, showing me the Leviathan language. It stays like that for a moment, and when I don't grab the book, the words darken, leaving a blank spine. I grab the book from the bookshelf, and upon my touch, it lights up again to reveal a title I can't read. It's interesting to know that books are something all societies share.

I look back to Margot, who is silently standing in the same place, her eyes dull but focused on me. I've decided that each time I'm with her, I will do what I can to strengthen her brain. Remus said that the brain is like a muscle. If I can somehow reach her consciousness, I can allow her a chance to break free. Or at least have a chance of fighting back.

"Remember in the blight, when we would find all kinds of burned and destroyed books? We would spend hours trying to make sure our literacy didn't disappear even though the books were charred ash at that point," I chuckle bitterly.

Margot doesn't respond. She doesn't even shuffle.

I release a deep breath, looking at the book in front of me. Although we tried, we didn't have time to scavenge for books to preserve our ability to read and write. It was about survival. Not intelligence. Even now, I barely remember the basics. I haven't picked up a pencil since my last day of school. I had no idea that the following summer would change my life forever. I open the book, looking at its contents. The pages are heavier than paper but thin. And the language moves across the page, building until it stops. I couldn't even begin to understand the Leviathan language. They don't look like any words I've ever seen. I close the book in irritation, moving to put it away.

"You don't like Ifasy ?" I flinch, spinning around to see Remus standing behind me, his eyes focused on the book in my hands. My gaze immediately drifts to where Margot once stood, but she's no longer there.

"Where—"

"She's off doing her duties," Remus says as he steps around me.

He gently pulls the book out of my hand, placing it in its rightful place on the shelf. I take in his stature as his back is to me. He's wearing white, but the shirt is a loose, delicate material that breathes with his movement. It's the strangest thing seeing him in what I assume is his kind's loungewear. Up until now, all I've ever seen is him dressed in regalia.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, facing me. I narrow my gaze, wanting nothing more than to lash out at him, but then I recall the pain of the weapon he tested on my flesh. The pain of my bones breaking. And the pain he caused just by looking into my eyes. Remus is a puzzle to figure out, and I don't think provoking him will help me or Margot in this situation.

"Fine," I say softly. He raises a brow at my response.

"Fine," he repeats before stepping away from me and into the kitchen. I slowly follow, my eyes lingering on the bookshelf. He still has his back to me so I reach for a book, pulling it out of the shelf as I make my way to where Remus is now pulling out ingredients in the kitchen .

My gaze narrows as I watch him act human. He places vegetables and meat on the counter, separating them to begin preparing. His amethyst gaze meets mine briefly before drifting back to the book on the counter.

"Why do you have that?" he asks as he turns away from me to grab a knife. I watch him closely, his movements are so inhuman even as he cuts through the vegetables sitting on the counter. I study the strange book as my desires come to the forefront. Maybe if I can't challenge Remus physically, I can mentally.

"I want to learn your language," I say softly. Remus stops what he's doing, his eyes drifting up to meet mine.

"Why would I teach you that? You have been disobedient and rebellious and are a slave to the empire. You have no right or reason for learning," he says matter-of-factly.

"So I'm only here for you to fuck whenever you feel like it?" I ask.

Remus thinks for a second before answering with a smirk. "Yes. Reading is a privilege, Iris. Something that comes with earning my trust. And you have done nothing to earn any privileges from me."

Silence stretches between us as he focuses on what he's doing. He's making food. I assume for me since he admitted to me himself that he doesn't eat. In all the time I've been here, I've never seen Remus make my food. Usually, it's already prepared and brought to me. But now, he's the one preparing it so knowledgeably as he reprimands me for having the nerve to want to learn his language.

"We still have yet to discuss your act of rebellion at the event," he says, breaking the silence .

I narrow my eyes at him. "I figured the beating you gave me was discussion enough," I say.

Remus laughs. He actually laughs, shaking his head.

"The ‘beating' was retaliation. You still haven't been properly punished for openly disobeying me," he says. My heart sinks when I notice his eyes. The black is slowly dilating. He's serious. He stands tall as if a switch has been flipped, placing the finished plate in front of me.

A delectable-looking sandwich with sauce spilling over the sides of it sits perfectly plated.

Remus watches me expectantly. "I know you're hungry. Eat."

I slowly pull the plate to me, my stomach growling in response to the sight and smell of food. He's right. I am hungry. Tears burn my eyes as I study the sandwich. Not because I'm hungry but because Remus knows and controls everything about me. All the way down to my ability to eat or learn. He is superior, his words from earlier blaring in my brain.

"Are you aware of the difference in power between you and me? Are you truly aware?"

At this moment, I feel a small piece of me breaking.

Remus lets out an irritated sigh before leaning over the counter. He grabs the book from me and walks past me to the shelf to replace it. He doesn't say another word as he leaves the room, leaving me to cry in my own pit of despair.