American library books » Other » The Gender End by Bella Forrest (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📕

Read book online «The Gender End by Bella Forrest (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📕».   Author   -   Bella Forrest



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a situation much like your wife did.”

She pulled out a teapot and set it on the tray, pulling off the lid. She began putting tea into the mesh steeper, her crooked fingers moving with more dexterity than I would’ve thought possible.

“That’s why I tried so hard to change the laws for men in Matrus—not just Patrian males but all men. I figured if I could give the Patrian males fairness in the system, they’d be less inclined to make their wives move, and we could keep our citizens safe. But once they cross that river, their fate is out of our hands.”

Her message was clear and painful, but not unexpected. There was nothing she could’ve done about Miriam, either. She finished preparing the tray and looked up at me.

“The water should be hot. Pour some in here, and let’s see if anyone was silly enough to sit in my favorite chair.”

“How would they know that?” I asked as I began pouring the water, steam wafting up around my head, a few drops of sweat pearling on my forehead.

“Because it’s my chair,” she said, and I turned, holding out the pot. She shook her head. “Leave the pot over the fire. We’ll be coming back for more soon, I bet.”

She moved, leaving the tray for me, and I quickly replaced the pot on the stove burner and grabbed the tray, following her as she strode out of the kitchen and into the parlor that sat right across the hall.

Alyssa’s parlor resembled a library more than a sitting room. Ceiling-tall stacks of books lined the exposed walls, and stuffed chairs spread out around the room. Violet and Ms. Dale were sitting nearest a wooden rocking chair with a cushioned seat. As soon as I spotted it, I realized what Alyssa meant about it being her chair—it stood out alone in the room, much like she did.

She moved to it, sitting and pulling the blanket draped over the back onto her legs, smoothing down the soft fabric. I followed, weaving around a few chairs until I got to the middle of the room. I put the tea set down on a little coffee table, gently shoving aside some books to make room, and began setting out the cups.

“So I hear you have a story for me,” she said after taking a few long moments to get comfortable. “Please help yourself to the tea, but talk and drink—I am old.”

“Alyssa, thank you so much for this,” Morgan said, and Alyssa held up a hand.

“By ‘old,’ I meant ‘impatient and cranky.’ Let’s get to the point.”

I listened as Morgan began telling her the story, starting with the circumstances around her and her sister’s enhancements. When she got to Violet’s part, Violet took over and began telling our story, starting with her mission to Patrus. I interjected a few times, but mostly kept quiet, listening.

Tim spoke next, filling Alyssa in on some of the more… gruesome details of the experimentation performed on him. It was difficult to stomach, but he spoke with clarity and honesty, his broken words still completely able to convey the horror he’d witnessed. I watched Alyssa’s face closely as she listened, and was pleased to see that she was affected by his tale, her color draining slightly as he spoke. He wanted to demonstrate his ability for her with a knife trick involving his hand, but she called him off, telling him that wasn’t necessary, and Violet resumed her tale.

Even with only the most pertinent details, it was a long story, and it took the better part of an hour to get out—during which time Alyssa sat calm and attentive, occasionally asking a question, but for the most part silent and thoughtful. Everyone had spoken about something, including Logan, who described life inside the Patrian city before, during, and after the Matrian attack.

After our tale came to a close, Alyssa leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers against the armrests.

“I don’t suppose you have any proof of all this,” she said after a pause, and Morgan raised her eyebrows, nodding.

“Actually, we do.” From her pocket she pulled a data chip and held it out toward the old woman. “This contains all of the documentation we could recover from the lab in The Green, the raw video Violet took of Tabitha talking about the boys and Elena’s plan to kill Maxen, the video we made to show to the Patrian people, footage of the sabotage of the water treatment plant recovered from their security cameras… Everything.”

Alyssa leaned forward and took the data chip from Morgan, setting it on the coffee table in front of her. Immediately a green light came on around it, and a screen came up, flat and glowing, right in front of Alyssa’s face. She began swiping her hand over it, and I heard Thomas give an excited gasp.

“Interactive holotable,” he said in a high-pitched voice, and I smiled at his obvious enthusiasm, even under the circumstances.

She thumbed through files, her expression thoughtful as she flipped from one to the next. “This is a lot of material,” she said. She continued flipping for a few more seconds, then dropped her hand and picked up the chip, the screen and table returning to their original state. “What are your intentions here?”

I looked over to Violet and then leaned forward. “Morgan said you might be able to help us. We’re trying to stabilize Patrus, but we can’t keep doing that as long as Elena is queen.”

“So you mean to assassinate her?” Alyssa’s eyes were hard.

“No,” Violet said quickly. “We intend to have her stand trial for her crimes. The victims of what she’s done deserve to tell their stories. Everyone should hear it, and she should be punished.”

“She really should be killed,” Ms. Dale said crossly. “But Morgan correctly pointed out that her death wouldn’t help our credibility.”

“It wouldn’t,” Alyssa said. She opened her mouth to say something, and then shut it, as if reconsidering her words. “These are extremely serious

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