The Gender End by Bella Forrest (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📕

and wreaked havoc in the palace, it would only draw attention away from us and maybe give us a fighting chance. We skirted the new cave, the sounds growing distant behind us, and made our way to the walls, searching for the exit.

Morgan found it first—a flat piece of rock with a perfectly rectangular seam carved into it. Kneeling down in front of it, I slid my lock-picking tool out of a pocket on my thigh, and put it in the small hole carved into the middle of the slab, hoping this would work. I hit the button, and the device whirred, but it didn’t even seem to have to work before the door clicked, and the device shut off quickly.

“Huh,” I said. “I guess this one was unlocked too.”

We didn’t have time to dwell on that mystery. The door pressed inward, the gravelly sound of rock scraping on rock filling the room, and then it stopped, an inch deep, no more. I slipped the tool back into my pocket and put my shoulder to the slab.

I pressed with my legs, and the rock began to slide forward, slowly, but easily, rolling in and revealing a hardwood floor. The slab stopped a few feet in, and I stepped around the exposed sides to find myself in… an office. Backing away, I looked at the secret door I had just pushed open, and realized that when the door was closed, it blended in with the wall, a massive floor-to-ceiling mirror mounted on it. On either side of the mirror were bookcases, and on the left side of the room was a desk, two soft chairs in front of it and a massive stuffed chair behind it.

“This was Mr. Jenks’ office,” Morgan said as she stepped out from around the wall, her green eyes growing wide. “It was always such a hike down here from the nursery, and I hated it.”

“The tunnel in the castle that grants entrance to Lab 1C is two hundred feet away to the east,” Ms. Dale said, resting her back against one of the bookcases and wiping some of the sweat off her face. “And the entrance there is two floors up in the castle proper. What would that be?”

Morgan tilted her head, thinking about it for a moment, and then nodded.

“Somewhere in the servants’ quarters,” she announced. “But I’m not exactly sure where. I was never allowed in there.”

“I’ve been there,” Ms. Dale said, pushing off the wall. “I have a rough idea.”

We gathered our stuff as Ms. Dale peered around the door, checking for any signs of guards. Then she pulled it open and stepped out, looking in the opposite direction.

“It’s clear,” she whispered, and her finger flickered to her throat to turn on her subvocalizer.

Shouldering my bag, I followed her lead. We left both doors open as we exited, knowing that eventually, something would find its way out.

I just hoped that whatever it was did it soon, and didn’t kill us in the process.

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37

OceanofPDF.com

Violet

Morgan ran through the channels, testing things, and discovered our comms were active again—at least, we could contact each other—as Ms. Dale led us up a set of stairs. She didn’t stop between floors to check the doors, just continued to move with certainty while I called the names of our missing teammates over the link, trying to reach them. Static met my entreaties, and as we neared the third landing, Ms. Dale gave me a look and reached for the collar around her neck.

“We have to change channels,” she said softly but aloud, I assumed so nobody listening in would realize.

I wanted to protest. If we changed channels, Viggo would never find me, not without cycling through all the channels and listening in. But we’d done it this way deliberately—we didn’t want to risk anyone getting captured with knowledge of what comm channels we were on. We all knew the brutal reality of how cruel Elena could be, and even though Tabitha was dead, I didn’t doubt the queen had another sadist squirreled away, intended for a violent purpose. So I just nodded.

“Channel J,” Ms. Dale told me, and I turned the small dial embedded in the collar, counting off the tiny jolts that were transmitted to my neck as I changed the channel.

Seconds later I said, Violet, testing channel J. Confirm?

My mouth moved, no sound coming out, and a moment later, Morgan replied.

Confirmed—Morgan.

Confirmed—Ms. Dale.

Comms all set, Ms. Dale immediately turned toward the handful of steps remaining, climbing them quickly and stopping at the wooden door at the top. More stairs led up, and I recalled that this side of the palace was taller than the rest because the royal quarters were above.

She pushed the door slowly, eyeing the hallway, and then swung it open fully and stepped out onto the hardwood floors, checking the opposite side of the passage. We walked through the door, and Ms. Dale began leading us, checking doors as she passed them. We turned down another series of halls, and I marveled once again at the size and the scope of this palace.

Then I realized the people in here—ordinary people who lived and worked in the palace, most of whom were probably asleep right now, unless the palace had been evacuated—were at great risk from the monsters below, and I felt a wave of guilt. I hoped the wardens would do their job and push whatever we had unleashed back before anyone was fatally injured… but regardless, I had a mission to consider.

It was a hard reality, but one I accepted. I would feel guilt for it later, of that I was certain, but for now, I had to be hard. If we finished things tonight, nobody would have to suffer in this war again.

Where is everyone? Morgan asked suddenly.

It’s the middle of the night, Ms. Dale said. They might have been evacuated, or they’re downstairs dealing with whatever is coming up from the caves. Or they’re asleep.

We turned and headed down a