Archangel's Heart(24)

“This Remus guy, he’s not Keir’s assistant any longer.”

“No.” A word so razor-edged the air bled. “Remus had no business being in a healer’s employ.” Coming to a standstill beside the greenhouse, Illium looked back toward the open doors to the library. “He spent a lot of time with Aodhan while Aodhan was in the Medica. I was there, too, as were the others of us who were with Raphael at that time, as well as Raphael himself. My mother. His parents.”

He swallowed audibly. “I would’ve lived at the Medica had Keir allowed it—I couldn’t bear to have Aodhan out of my sight after what had happened.” Wings shifting restlessly, his fingers clenching down on hers again. “But every so often, Remus would tell us that as a healer’s apprentice, he could see Aodhan was growing strained at the constant companionship, that he needed a little time to find his own peace. We didn’t want to hurt him—we never wanted to hurt him—so we’d leave.”

Hairs rose on the back of Elena’s neck, an ugly feeling in her gut. “And this Remus dude would be alone with him?”

Illium nodded. “I came back early one day. I planned to sit outside Aodhan’s room until Remus said it was okay to go in again.” He broke their handclasp to spin away, a sound of raw rage erupting from his throat. “But the door was partially open,” he said without turning back. “Because it was, I went closer in case Remus had cleared visitors . . . and I heard someone whispering in there. It was Remus. He was telling Aodhan he was a broken doll and that broken dolls needed masters.”

Elena’s eyes grew hot with fury. “Bastard.”

“I didn’t need to hear anything else. It was obvious Remus was using his position to abuse Aodhan, break down anything that remained inside him so Remus could ‘own’ him.” Rage and tears vied for space in Illium’s voice. “Everyone wants to own Aodhan. He’s a beautiful jewel and the world can’t bear just to look at him and wonder at his beauty. They want to break him, cage him.”

“What did you do to Remus?”

“I threw him out of the room then proceeded to attempt to beat him to death,” Illium responded in a tone so cold it caused goose bumps over her skin. “I would’ve succeeded if Aodhan hadn’t spoken at last. It was so quiet, so soft, but I heard him. He said, Bluebell.” Illium blew out a harsh breath. “It was like a gunshot going off inside my head. I dropped the bag of broken bones that was Remus and rushed into Aodhan’s room—”

He cut off his words, as if the memory of that moment was too much to bear.

Shifting to stand beside him once more, Elena ran her hand gently over his wing, his feathers silky and warm under her palm. In profile, against the light of the greenhouse, he was a granite statue, his jaw clenched with agonizing force.

When he spoke, each word was a jagged chip of flint. “Remus was lying bleeding and broken outside when Raphael came. He didn’t ask me anything at that time, just threw Remus in a treatment room and alerted Keir that one of his people needed his assistance.”

“He knew you must’ve had good reason.”

“When I was finally calm enough to speak, after Aodhan fell into a natural sleep, I told him what I’d overheard.” He thrust a hand through his hair. “To this day, I don’t know what Raphael said to Keir, but Remus was banished from the Medica for the duration of his immortal life. If he’s ever injured, he must wait outside and hope someone comes to assist him.”

Elena thought back to her time in the Refuge, came up blank. “I’ve never heard of him.”

“He’s an outcast.” Harsh satisfaction ran through Illium’s voice. “People respect Keir no matter their political affiliation. That he banished Remus was enough for most to shun him; none of us ever spoke publicly about the reason he’d been banished.” Shoving back his hair again, his hand rough, he said, “We refused to give that bastard the satisfaction of having others look on Aodhan with pity. He survived hell, Ellie. He deserved nothing but accolades for his courage. Never pity.”

Elena connected the dots, hissed out a breath. “Shit. Aodhan’s obviously been speaking to him again.” She could see why both Illium and Raphael had reacted so badly to the idea. “You’re not worried that Remus was successful in brainwashing him, are you?”

An immediate shake of Illium’s head. “That day, when Aodhan first woke, he told me that Remus was nothing, a worm. Aodhan had blanked him out the same way he’d done the rest of the world until he heard me in a rage, beating Remus to death.”