The Gender Game 2 by Bella Forrest (audio ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Ms. Dale and I shared a look. I waggled my fingers at her, she gave me a look of disgust.

Violet ignored us both. “Ms. Dale—I did not kill Queen Rina. Nor did I betray Matrus.”

“Forensic evidence found your handprint at the scene. You ran away. You killed Lee.”

Taking a deep breath, Violet reached into my bag and I watched her pull out the pieces of paper—Lee’s twisted confession and the two pictures. “Lee orchestrated everything,” Violet announced, handing the papers to Ms. Dale.

I watched as Ms. Dale looked at the pictures, her face reflecting nothing. Then, she opened the letter. I observed her closely, and I was glad I did. Her lips tightened slightly as she started to read. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes, quickly hidden.

I doubted Violet noticed—she seemed focused on the letter and Ms. Dale’s opinion of it. I wanted to warn her that it wouldn’t matter—Ms. Dale would still feel compelled to take her in—Matrus needed to catch someone for the crime. Then again, I knew Violet knew that already. She was nurturing a moment of false hope, and I didn’t have the heart to remind her that it was false.

The silence stretched out, punctuated only by the sound of paper rustling as Ms. Dale read. Then she handed it back to Violet, along with the pictures.

After taking a moment to collect herself, Ms. Dale started speaking, her voice soft. “Violet, we need to return to Matrus with this, and the egg. We can sort it out when we get back. I’ll help you.”

Violet hesitated, her eyes searching Ms. Dale’s, who offered her a small tight smile.

“You’re lying,” I announced. Ms. Dale glanced at me, and then turned her gaze to Violet.

“You know you can’t trust a Patrian,” she said. “They don’t care about women. You lived over there with them. You’ve seen how they treat us. Like we’re no better than dogs.”

“Hey, Matrians aren’t much better,” I shot back. She bristled, but I barreled on. “The tests that you run on all the boys, singling them out for aggressive tendencies? You convict them before they have a chance to commit a crime. They’re innocent, but you deem them guilty, brand them, and send them away.”

“It’s to ensure the continuity of our way of—”

“Save it,” I said, cutting her off. “Patrians may place women low in social standing, but at least they still have rights. You don’t even give those boys that. You just ship them off.”

Violet had been standing silent while we argued, but opened her mouth, cutting me off. “I am not going anywhere with either of you,” she stated, matter of fact. “Because no matter where I go, I’m dead. Strung up as a villain so that both of your little civilizations can continue to spin and play your petty games.”

Ms. Dale opened her mouth to protest, but Violet waved a hand, silencing her. She leaned over Ms. Dale, her face a mask of stone. “Ms. Dale, there is only one thing I want from you,” she said, her voice soft and deadly.

Ms. Dale, for her part, looked non-plussed. “You’re not in any position to demand—”

“You are restrained, wounded, in a facility where I have a gun and you do not. I am in the position to do whatever I want. And while I don’t want another death on my conscience, this is incredibly important to me.”

Ms. Dale searched Violet’s face for a long moment, and then nodded. “What do you want?”

“Where are the mines?”

Ms. Dale sighed. “I don’t know, Violet. To the north?”

Violet absorbed the information for a moment, and then nodded. “Thank you for nothing,” she said, before stalking out of the room. I felt torn in that moment. I wanted to question Ms. Dale further, but Violet was clearly upset.

“Do you have any idea what she’s been through?” I asked abruptly, the words exploding from my throat.

Ms. Dale didn’t bat an eyelid. “That story is just that—a story. I thought maybe… but after hearing all of this… it sounds insane.” She paused, giving me a piercing look. “And if you believe it… well, then you’re not thinking with your brain.”

My jaw clenched, and I whirled on my heel and left, closing and securing the door behind me. I started to follow after Violet, but I paused, Ms. Dale’s words rolling through my head, making me second guess myself.

I wanted to believe Violet so badly at this point. Everything she had done and said… it had been in earnest. Yet, I couldn’t get past the fact that she had planned to betray me. That she had spent weeks earning my trust, knowing that I would be indicted for her actions.

I needed to think.

24

Violet

I was livid as I stalked down the stairs back into the living area. My hands were shaking with unspent rage, and I could feel red hot tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

My foot barely touched the carpet before I was running. Down stairs and through the levels, until I reached the common area. Only there could I let out my cry of frustration.

I kicked a sofa, and then snatched a throw pillow off it, screaming into it before I sent it hurtling across the room. I wanted to destroy something—to take my rage out on an inanimate piece of furniture—so that I could just get whatever it was inside of me out.

I felt like I was coming apart at the seams. I tried to sit, to calm my breathing, but it didn’t help. The sensation, the urge to fight, was crawling up from a pit in my belly and threatening to force its way out through my mouth.

I had expected… something different from Ms. Dale. At the very least, I had expected her to be honest. The way she had reacted to Viggo after he had called her a liar though… was there anyone in this world I could trust?

My heart told me I could