40. Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

Iris

My brain doesn't seem capable of deciphering what it is I am looking at exactly. Remus and Xion seem to be committing a massacre without the human eye being able to detect their presence. I find myself blinking rapidly, trying to at least follow Xion's line of attack, but like the soldiers in her way, I can't. Her body is a blur. Even Remus still stands above her at the entrance, watching the bloodbath. He has yet to join, letting Xion enjoy herself. He is, however, keeping the weapons from touching his skin. Iriel himself was a general alongside these two, if not three, including Ezra. If Iriel has ever seen them like this in battle, I don't know why he would ever think to turn against them. Even now, he trembles behind me as the screams of humans fill the air.

He's as helpless as we are .

I desperately start to pull against Iriel as they easily wipe out the army the rebels have put forth. The fear I feel is like a crushing weight as I think of the night Cypress helped me escape. I shot a weapon at Remus with the intent of killing him. And according to Cypress, I succeeded. According to Cypress, Remus disappeared into nothing, the weapon wiping him out on a molecular level. But Cypress was wrong, and as Remus wipes out the first line of defense, his eyes roam over the ruined land with intent. He's looking for something.

I cry out when Iriel roughly undoes my cuffs and wrenches my arm behind my back, holding me flush against him.

"Iriel." Iriel turns us both to face Cypress, whose expression is pale as he watches us. The weapon he once held with confidence now loosely hangs from his palm as the rebel behind him steps away after delivering the news.

"Ezra is gone," he says.

I flinch when Iriel's grip tightens on me, his strength too much for my body. Silence overcomes everyone who is standing near us as the reality of our situation sets in. Iriel doesn't seem inclined to make a decision as his world and plans unravel before him. Cypress steps forward, speaking to everyone as he finds some form of resolve.

"Get to the tunnels. We made them for this exact situation. I will hold Remus off," he says confidently.

Iriel lets out a bitter laugh, looking at Cypress .

"Do you think I'll just hand her over to you? She is the thin line between us dying this day," he growls. I cry out as he roughly shoves me in the opposite direction of Remus and his sister.

"Do what you were brought here for. Protect the resistance," he snaps. "I will take care of her."

My eyes widen as Iriel pulls me away from the fight. Beyond Remus, I see that the Leviathan army has begun to enter the cavern, clad in their alien armor. It's over for all of us. I look at Cypress in desperation, as he seems to be the only one with any kind of sway over Iriel.

"Wait, Cypress, don't let him do this!" I scream. Cypress doesn't look at me, however. He avoids my gaze looking to where Remus and his sister are currently fighting. He lifts his weapon, readying it for battle as he moves away from us. Iriel roughly shoves me away from the battle, and Cypress does nothing to stop him. He stays following the cowardly order of Iriel. I fight back the tears threatening my eyes. Remus did not look to be in a merciful mood. He's going to kill them. All of them.

I begin to struggle against Iriel, trying to break free of his grip.

"Let me go!" I scream. Iriel isn't having it with my struggles, however. I feel the weight of his grip on my forearm until the bone shatters beneath his grip. A scream leaves my lips from the pain that ripples up my arm.

Iriel whips me around, his palm striking me across the face hard enough to whip my head in the same direction before he roughly shakes me, forcing me to meet his gaze .

"Do not test me," he growls. "You are going to keep me alive until I can get out of here." He doesn't give me a chance to respond as he grips me and continues his escape.

"Remus won't let you get away," I slur as I try and keep my head up. Iriel chuckles humorlessly behind me.

"Oh yes, he will if it means your life will be spared."

We pass through the resistance, allowing me to see the familiar sight of humans running from Remus's wrath. People are clinging to their families and loved ones, not knowing where to go. Part of me feels happy about their dismay. I suddenly understand Sky's words to me. All my life, I've been subject to the consequences of their actions. They were all willing to stand idly by as the world suffered so that they could live once all of us on the outside were dead. And now, they are experiencing what I and my girls went through on a more devastating scale.

I cry out just as a piece of the cavern ceiling breaks in front of us, crashing into the dirt. My gaze shifts up, and I can see the top of the cavern crackling, pieces of the sky beginning to peak through. Remus really is going to destroy this place. We never stood a chance. It was as I told Cypress. Remus always held back with humanity, dealing with us on our own level. He seems to have changed his ideology in our time apart, dealing with humanity in his own way.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Iriel quakes, giving way. We both cry out in panic as the ground sinks within itself, and it takes me a split second to notice that it's a concentrated area. Iriel's grip around me loosens as the ground collapses in on itself, and we both fall into the new hole that's been created. I scream as my stomach dips from the sudden shift in gravity, the rocks around me crushing the both of us. My arm that Iriel broke does nothing to soften my fall, and luckily, I land on my back, crying out from the wind being knocked out of my lungs. I don't know how long I lay on my back staring at the ground above our sinkhole, my breathing coming out in pants as I try and control it.

The screams above mingle with the rumble of rock being ripped away from the force of the aliens who came to claim our planet, bringing me a sense of deja vu. I see the brief shadow of people running around the sinkhole, until another large gust of wind blasts overhead. After a moment, a large body stands over the edge, looking down upon us, its features hidden by the light behind, creating a silhouette. Then, the body drops into the sinkhole, only giving me a second before Iriel roughly pulls me through the rubble, placing a gun at my head. I hear the familiar wave of sound as it charges up, ready to fire.

In his fear, Iriel switches to his native tongue, his voice coming out in a threatening manner as we both take in the being who steps into the light.

Remus.

His face is clear of all emotion as he studies the both of us, his eyes roaming over my body to linger on the broken limbs and bloody bruising. It's as if the world around me disappears. Even the feel of the gun Iriel holds seems like a distant entity as I stare back. The pounding in my head finally calms to a dull throb until it mellows out into nothing, and the world seems to grow quiet. Nothing else matters. Nothing else exists—just me, Remus, and my fate.

I flinch as I'm pulled out of my strange trance, the feel of Iriel's gun pressing hard against my temple, forcing me to focus on the situation. Remus opens his mouth, his words coming out smooth and confident. Whatever it is he is saying has Iriel all but terrified as he trembles and screams his response behind me.

Remus visibly frowns, and I don't have the physical ability to register his movement. Iriel is wrenched from me, his body crushing into the ground next to me. It takes me a moment to realize Remus is inches from my face, his eyes focused on Iriel's unconscious bloody form. He silently pulls his palm away from Iriel's body, still not bothering to speak. It's the first time I've seen Remus use his hands to physically attack someone.

My body begins to tremble just from his close proximity, the heat from his body calling to me even though my brain is screaming at me to run. Remus slightly leans back, his deep purple gaze roaming over my face. I don't know what it is he's feeling as he watches me. All my emotions hit me at once as tears spill down my cheeks, my body trembling.

Remus gently places his palm against my cheek, still refusing to speak. My body trembles in fear, and I can barely move as it consumes me. I slowly close my eyes, letting the tears fall. I lower my head in defeat from everything I have witnessed up to this point. The fear, the rage, the reality that is humanity, and I find myself unable to cope with it all .

"...Please," I whisper. I don't know what it is I'm begging for. Maybe death... maybe mercy... maybe the promise of forgetting any of this ever happened. But Remus seems to understand what it is that I don't. He inhales as he studies me.

His eyes dip to my lips before he leans in, pressing his lips against mine. It shocks me for an instant, the passion behind his kiss. But as his other hand comes around to grip my face, I feel myself becoming lost in his scent. His tongue dips into my mouth, deepening the kiss, and the warmth of his body consumes my own, my wounds and pain all but forgotten. He swallows my being with his kiss, making me forget everything that has happened.

Suddenly, I feel the familiar prick of an inhibitor against my temple. I flinch as it latches itself to my nervous system, controlling every muscle in my body and preventing me from staying awake. I pull away from him in shock.

My eyes focus on Remus, straining to stay conscious as he takes my freedom. He still gives me no emotion, no inkling of whether or not everything will be okay or if I will ever wake from this dreamless slumber. But I find myself grateful, if only for an instant, as the weight of my stresses disappears with my consciousness, and the world is taken from me.