Desmond sucked in a deep breath of air and turned around, clutching the handrails tightly. I took a half step back, expecting an attack from her at any moment.
She stayed in that position for a long time, and then slowly turned back around. “Thank you for your honesty,” she said hoarsely.
I froze, unprepared for her response. My brows furrowed in confusion. “Don’t you want revenge? To punish me somehow?”
She gave a bitter laugh and shook her head. “When society believes that an eye for an eye is acceptable, eventually everyone will go blind.” At my expression, she sighed. “It’s not your fault. Not really. I gave Lee the order to terminate everyone involved with the mission.”
“But I—”
“You defended yourself, Violet,” she said with a heavy sigh. “You had no idea what the big picture was. If I had known how resourceful you were, I would’ve had Lee bring you to me. But to me, you were just another pawn, and I was ready to sacrifice you. It’s not your fault my son is dead—it’s mine.” She held up the letter. “I never knew he felt like a pawn as well, though,” she said wistfully, her fingers stroking over the letter. “I thought he wanted to help me. But it seemed he had other plans.”
It took me a second to understand her cryptic statement. Then I remembered the letter, and how it had described his plan to continue northward.
“He wrote the letter to leave to you,” I said softly, and she nodded, a tear escaping the corner of her eye.
I bit my lip, taking a step back. I couldn’t begin to process everything that was happening. A part of me wanted to retreat back to my room, pull the covers over my head, and forget everything that had happened.
Yet curiosity won out. I took a step forward. “What do you want from me, Ms. Bertrand?”
Desmond looked up at me, her blue eyes tired. “I’m not going to lie, Violet. I’m not a good person—I’ve never pretended to be—but what Matrus is doing is wrong. And I want to stop them. For good.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’m talking about a rebellion. A real one. And I want your help.”
I scoffed, taking a step back again. “You can’t! They’re too strong. You have how many people?”
“More than you think,” she replied.
“Well they have more. They have weapons. They have supplies.”
She held out her hand toward the cubes, her voice dangerously low. “We have the very boys that they cast out.”
I stared at the cubes. “They’re broken,” I whispered, thinking of my brother. “Traumatized.”
“Then we’ll help them,” she replied simply.
“What do you expect me to do?”
She gave a great sigh, and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look her in the eyes. “Let me ask you this question. What are you willing to do? Go through the options, and you tell me which one is your best one.”
I hesitated, suddenly feeling lost. On the one hand, I hated Matrus. I wanted to see them pay for what they had done to my brother. To Viggo. On the other hand… the cost of waging a war would be high. Innocent civilians would suffer in any conflict. I wasn’t sure I could shoulder that burden.
“Can I… Can I think about it?” I asked.
Desmond nodded, releasing my shoulders. “Of course. You must be hungry. And I assume that you will want to check on your people. Owen?”
I nearly jumped three feet as Owen appeared out of nowhere, light dancing across the fabric of his suit until it faded to black.
“I’ll take her,” he said in a chipper voice, offering me an arm.
I gaped at him. “What the… How did you do that?”
He gave me a little smirk. “One of the tricks of the trade,” he said.
My mind suddenly made an intuitive leap. “You’re the thing that grabbed me in the forest,” I said.
Owen exchanged a look with Desmond. “I’ll explain everything, if you decide to join us,” said Desmond.
I looked at both of them, too overwhelmed to respond. “Just take me upstairs,” I replied, pivoting on my heel and heading back to the door as fast as possible. The room felt tight, like it was closing in. I needed to escape from there, and make sure Viggo and Tim were all right. Ms. Dale as well, although she was a dim after thought, at this point.
Owen jogged up behind me, slowing down to a walk as he caught up. “That was a lot, huh?”
I glanced over at him, and shook my head. “I really don’t know what to make of all this.”
“Yeah. I, uh… read your file and kind of pieced together what happened in here. You’ve been having a pretty rough time, huh?”
I paused mid-step, my head whipping around to look at him. “Rough time?” I hissed, spearing him with a look. “You have no idea what I have been through. So don’t offer me your false sincerity or pity. Just shut up, and take me where I need to go.”
Owen’s face became neutral, but I detected a small flash of pain before it disappeared. “All right,” he said in a clipped tone.
We remained silent as we made our way upstairs. I grabbed an apple off the tree as we passed through the greenhouse. Once in the living quarters, Owen opened the immediate door to my right, revealing Tim.
He was sleeping on the floor, blankets and pillows piled up around him in a makeshift nest. I started to say something, but Owen shook his head and closed the door softly.
“Don’t try to stop me from talking to my brother,” I whispered angrily, trying to push past him. He placed a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“The last time someone accidentally woke your brother up, he broke their jaw. I just didn’t want him reacting strongly and accidentally hurting you.”
I stared at him for a long moment, the anger draining out of me. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, but I remembered how animalistic he had seemed fighting Marina. I didn’t know the extent of his problems, which meant I had no idea what it would take for him to get better. “Is he okay?”
Owen hesitated and shook his head. “Not exactly. Desmond will have to explain more later, but for now, you can see he’s safe and sound. We haven’t hurt him.”
“Then show me Viggo.”
Owen hesitated again. “He’s upstairs,” he said softly.
I pushed past him toward the next staircase. Owen padded along beside me silently as I pushed through the door.
Once upstairs, he pointed me to a room and I went in.
Viggo was lying in the bed, hooked up to machines. They were beeping softly, monitoring his vitals.
He was unconscious, but he looked better—there was more pink in his skin than when I last saw him. I let out the breath I was holding and moved closer, taking his hand in mine.
I expected him to wake up when I touched him, but he didn’t. My heart sank into my stomach as I stroked my thumb over his hand. I wanted to cry to see him like this. He was strong—how could a simple gunshot bring him down like this?
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked Owen without looking at him.
He cleared his throat. “He's not so good, actually,” he replied, and I shot him a look.
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
Licking his lips, Owen fidgeted. “He… um… well, according to the Matrian spy, he used an excess of adrenaline to fight. It um… it damaged his heart.”
I blinked absorbing the information. I reached out, smoothing a lock of hair on his forehead. “C-Can you fix it?”
Owen sighed. “Not with the equipment we have here,” he said tiredly. “We need access to a surgical laser to repair the tear in his heart. Without it…” he trailed off, and I stared at him.
“Without it, what?”
“He’ll die.”
I sat down heavily in the chair sitting right next to the bed, a hard rock forming in my stomach.
“Violet?”
“Go away,” I said, shutting my eyes. I heard him hesitate for a second, but after a moment, he left, leaving me alone with Viggo.
I sat there for a long time, ho
lding Viggo’s hand, silently willing him to wake up and tell me that Owen was wrong. Yet he never did.
I hated seeing him like this, so helpless and vulnerable. How was I going to get him out of here if I didn’t accept Desmond’s offer? I was in no position to carry him and Tim out of here. Where could we even go?
My mind drifted to Desmond, and I sighed, leaning back in the chair. She seemed so in control. Everything about her threw me off. I knew I couldn’t trust her—not completely—but a small part of me wanted to.
Truth be told, I admired her. She was so calm, so collected, so rational. My emotions felt like a stone tied around my neck. I had no idea what to do, where to go, while she seemed to have plan after plan ready to go. And there was a small nagging voice inside me reminding me that I was all alone, and I needed help.
She was offering me a hand up. I felt torn and conflicted. I wished Viggo were awake—he would have an opinion on what to do.
“You stupid idiot,” I whispered to him, stroking my hand over his. “We were almost even.”
“Even with what?” came Desmond’s voice from the door.
I glanced at her, turning around to face her. “It doesn’t matter. What do you want?”
“You’ve been in here for hours, Violet. I came to check on you.”
I stared at her and she sighed. She moved into the room and sat down on the desk. “Ask your question.”
“Is it that obvious?”
There was a flash of a smile. “I was a pretty good spy, once upon a time.”
“Fine. Did you do this to Viggo? Is this your way of trying to control me?”
She shook her head, her mouth tightening. “No, Violet. I can understand why you would think that, though.”
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
Leaning back, she sighed. “You don’t. I can only try to earn your trust from here on out. Step one of doing that is to do everything in my power to help Mr. Croft here get better.”
I watched her closely. “What’s step two?”
She didn’t say anything. Instead, she stood up and went back to the door. Reaching down, she picked something up and carried it in.
It was my backpack, the one I had left with Tim. She held it out to me, and I took it. Opening it up, I saw all of my belongings and the false egg inside. She had even returned my gun.
“I leave control of the egg to you, although I do ask if you will allow my scientists to study it. However, it is up to you. Keep it, throw it away, destroy it—whatever you want.”
I stared at her for a long moment, baffled by the woman in front of me. “I don’t understand you,” I whispered, clutching the bag to my chest.
Desmond gave me a look of sympathy. “I bet. Lots of people have tried to use you, Violet, so your distrust is perfectly understandable. But I don’t want to use you. I want to help you and I want you to help me.”
“How can you help me?”
She ran a hand through her hair. “Well, for starters, I can help you get what you need to save Mr. Croft’s life.”
I scoffed. “For my help?”
“I would like your help—your willingness to help—but I won’t blackmail you into it. That doesn’t bode well for any continued relationship.”
I frowned, not anticipating her reaction. Every time I thought I could predict how she wanted to use me, she proved me wrong. It was weird, but I was beginning to like her. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do though.
“So even if I don’t help you, you’ll still help me? Free of charge?”
She laughed, and the sound reminded me of wind chimes—bright and beautiful. “Nothing is ever free, Violet. I would, of course, ask you to accompany Owen on any expedition to steal the equipment needed, but I assume you would want to go along anyway.”
I frowned. Again, that blunt information, freely given with an intense sincerity. For good or for bad, she didn’t pull a punch.
“Why are you so…” I waved my hand, trying to pick a good word that wouldn’t insult her.
“Blunt?” she offered, a small smile playing at her lips. I nodded and she shrugged. “Honesty is an undervalued commodity. Keeping secrets is the cancer that is slowly killing Matrus and Patrus. Given enough time, and lies, both places would fail, and the last vestiges of humanity would disappear from this earth. I don’t have time for it. And also, I have found that honesty can inspire people. I won’t let my people go into any situation against their will, and I won’t lie to spare them uncomfortable truths about what they are getting into. It builds trust, and separates me from Matrus and Patrus. I don’t have time to be anything but honest.”
I stared back at her for a long time, wrestling with my indecision. Everything she said struck a chord in me. I wanted to believe her. I chose to believe her.
“Okay,” I said. “So, if I helped you, what would you want me to do?”
She shot me a beatific smile, her face lighting up from within as she replied, “I’d want you to help me win a war.”
Ready for the next part of Violet and Viggo’s story?
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading The Gender Secret. I truly hope you enjoyed it!
If you did, I would be very grateful if you could write a review on Amazon (even if it’s just a sentence or two). Every review makes a difference and helps other readers discover the story!
As for Book 3 of the series, the title is The Gender Lie, and it will release on New Year’s Eve, December 31st, 2016.
Not long to go!
You can pre-order it now for your convenience, and it will be delivered automatically to your reading device on release day:
If you’re in the US, tap here to preorder.
If you’re in the UK, tap here.
For any other country, tap here.
Here is a preview of the awesome cover (you may need to turn the page for it to be visible):
See you December 31st!
Love,
Bella x
P.S. Sign up to my VIP email list and I’ll send you a reminder when my next book releases - tap here: www.morebellaforrest.com
(Your email will be kept 100% private and you can unsubscribe at any time.)
P.P.S. I’d also love to hear from you — come say hi on Twitter or Facebook. I’ll do my best to respond :)
Also by Bella Forrest
THE GENDER GAME
The Gender Game
The Gender Game 2
The Gender Game 3
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Series 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Gl
ory (Book 32)
Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians
A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
A Race of Trials (Book 35)
A King of Shadow (Book 36)
An Empire of Stones (Book 37)
A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY
A Shade of Dragon 1
A Shade of Dragon 2
A Shade of Dragon 3
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net
Join Bella’s VIP email list and she’ll personally send you an email reminder as soon as her next book is out. Tap here to sign up: www.morebellaforrest.com
The Gender Game 2: The Gender Secret Page 26