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

“I taught them everything they know,” she said eventually.

I frowned at that bit of information. Who were these twins and why would Ms. Dale be teaching them? I felt that pushing this woman on that subject would get her to close down on me, so I decided to go a different way.

“How can you do this to Violet?” I demanded.

Her head swiveled sharply as she looked over at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, you do. You may not have said it, but you do. Violet is innocent, and you’re willing to let these two women tear her apart. And for what? For a country that claims that they are pacifistic and peaceful?”

Her face hardened and she stood up. “Matrus is –”

“Just as messed up as Patrus. Believe me, I know.”

She let out a sharp breath, and I realized I had made her angry. Angry was good—it meant less control over the information she revealed.

“You really can’t be that naive,” she hissed. “Our queen was murdered. Murdered. And her murderer? Dead. If there is no one to hold responsible for this crime, if we can’t make an example out of someone for what they did…”

I gaped at her. “Are you insane?” She stared at me, her mouth still open to speak, but I barreled over her. “You are talking about condemning an innocent woman to death for regicide, all to maintain face. For what reason? To show that you are in control?”

“People need–”

“People need to be treated like adults. What you’re talking about is tyrannical and cruel. Which… I’ve come to expect from Patrus, but from Matrus?”

She exhaled again sharply, her body vibrating from tension. Her jaw clenched and she stood up.

“Where is Violet?”

I shook my head, clamping my own jaw down. “I don’t know,” I grated out.

“We need to find her.”

“She wasn’t downstairs when I went to look for her.”

“They are going to kill you if you don’t give them what they want.”

I bared my teeth at her in the semblance of a grin. “At least I’ll finally be able to protect a woman I care about,” I said grimly.

A pause filled the room, and she took a step closer, placing a hand on her hip. “I take it you are referring to your wife?”

I scoffed over the flare of rage and pain. “How deep does your file on me go?” I asked bitterly.

“Deep enough,” she replied, arching a brow.

Arrogant Matrian. I ground my teeth together and clenched my fists. “Clearly,” was all I could respond.

“Where is Violet?” she repeated. “Where is the egg?”

I shrugged, suddenly tired of the questions. “I honestly couldn’t tell you.”

She nodded, her face flat. “All right, let me ask you this. After you’re dead, who will be left to protect her?”

I froze, stunned by her words. It hadn’t occurred to me that once I was dead, Violet would be alone and unprotected. It was a devastating thought, one that made me sick to my stomach.

“If you help us find her, I promise you, Viggo, I will do everything in my power to help her get through this alive.”

I stared at her, allowing my disbelief and disdain to show. “I don’t know if you’ve just been doing this too long, or if you’re just a cruel human being, but you and I both know that it’s not true. I’m not even sure if you believe the lies that you’re saying, or if you’ve just bought in to them as well. All I know is this—Violet is capable of taking care of herself. And if you’re smart, you’ll walk away from all this.”

A slow sound of applause filled the air, and the twins sauntered in from the hallway. “What a lovely speech,” one of them said. “Too bad that it’ll be the last one you’ll ever make.”

Ms. Dale shot me a look of deep pity, and turned to the twins.

“Ladies, I was just—”

“We know, Melissa,” said the other one, her face twisted in a sinister grin. “You did your best, but now it’s our turn.”

Dismissed, Ms. Dale stepped over the threshold into the hallway. She took one last look back at me before she disappeared, leaving me and my fate to the two women standing before me.

29

Violet

I felt as if I had been crawling around these ducts for hours, which was actually probably true. Luckily, all of the ducts ran the same way, laid out perfectly and repetitiously. Unluckily, every single grate I tried would not open, no matter how hard I strained.

What was worse was that in his hurry to collect my things, Viggo had forgotten to pack a canteen, leaving me without water. I had been crawling and sliding around for hours, sweating profusely, and I was thirsty. Not to mention, I still wasn’t at my best. The bits and pieces of sleep I had managed to slip in had only helped steady me, not revitalize my strength.

That I was already feeling thirsty wasn’t a good sign—it meant dehydration was setting in. I needed to move fast, and get out of these ducts.

After the interrogation level and lab, I had continued to crawl downward. I hadn’t found any of the machinery responsible for pumping the oxygen throughout the facility, but I figured they had to be at the very bottom level. I hadn’t noticed any machinery on the top of the building when we had come in, and it made the most sense: It would be easier to maintain from inside.

My logic was sound, but I still felt apprehensive. Especially after seeing the level after the lab. I had been stalling for a few minutes now, trying to come up with a reason to head back upstairs that made sense, but I couldn’t come up with one.

I peeked back through the grate I was next to, and bit my lip. This level I could make out clearly from the floor. It was designed like a child’s playground.