The Gender Lie(5)

I frowned at her. “Then that’s a good thing. Because it was not easy, and I almost died.”





3





Violet





Amber scooted forward a few inches, her face reflecting her excitement and anticipation behind the plastic faceplate of her mask. I looked around at everyone, who bore similar expressions.

Letting out a breath, I set my gel down, crossed my legs and began to explain. “I crashed into the forest thanks to a flying motorcycle, and when I landed, I wasn’t wearing a mask—I was hanging in a tree. I managed to get to the motorcycle before it plummeted to the ground and I put my mask on. Then, I heard some red flies. I leapt into a hiding place before they could get me, but I got bitten by a black centipede. I didn’t have medication, so I was trying to make my way to Matrus before I died, but I passed out. Viggo… well… he found me, patched me up, and then arrested me for what happened in Patrus.

“Anyway, one thing led to another, Owen grabbed me—although I didn’t know it was him at the time—we found Ms. Dale, ran from some more red flies, and then stumbled upon the facility. It was a hellish nightmare, and frankly, I really kind of hate this place.”

I picked up my tin from where I had set it, determined to start eating again.

“Wow… that’s intense,” Quinn said, his voice holding a note of admiration. “You’ve really been through it, huh?”

The others’ faces reflected Quinn’s admiration, in a way that made me uncomfortable.

“No more than anyone else,” I muttered.

“That’s not true,” Amber said, her voice burning with vehemence. “You’ve done more to hurt Matrus than we could ever dream of!”

I hunched my shoulders. “If you’re talking about the twins… it’s not as simple as it sounds. I… I wish…”

I honestly wish that we hadn’t been forced to kill them, was what I wanted to say, but the words stuck in my throat. It had been in self-defense, but their deaths weighed heavily on my conscience regardless, even after one of the twins shot Viggo. She had done it to save her sister, and I had killed her to save him. It was a war of attrition, one that promised to never end.

Owen quickly came to my rescue. “Violet did what she had to in order to survive, and if you had any idea what that was like, you wouldn’t push her for details or praise her. She’s just like us—she wants to take care of the people she cares about.”

I shot Owen an appreciative glance and he winked.

“Believe me,” I said, lowering my voice so that they would pay closer attention. “I would not wish what I have been through on my worst enemy.”

“Not even the queen?” whispered Quinn, his eyes wide, and I was momentarily struck by how young he was—older than my brother, but not by much.

I shook my head. “Not even her,” I said.

Amber watched me, her eyes flickering. “No offense, but I think that’s really dumb.”

“Why would you say that?” cut in Solomon.

Amber tossed a glance at him and then frowned. “The queen is the reason we’re doing this. She took those boys from their mothers and family and subjected them to that awful place.” She shuddered. “What she has done is no different than my father using me for his benefit.”

“Well, to be fair, it was Queen Rina,” Owen said, standing up. “Queen Elena might be a nicer person—we don’t actually know.”

Quinn scoffed and banged his empty tin down on the ground. “They’re all the same,” he said. “I mean… aren’t they trying to frame Violet for something she didn’t do?”

I leaned back, my eyebrows climbing to my forehead. “There aren’t many secrets in this group, huh?”

Amber rolled over on one side, propping her head up with one hand. “Not many, though we didn’t know what happened while you were in The Green alone. I don’t even think Desmond knows actually… and she knows everything.”

I nodded. “Right, well, yes, blaming me doesn’t speak too kindly of Queen Elena. Not to mention she left the boys in the facility, presumably to cover up what her mother was up to. Except…”

I trailed off, my mind working. The group sat patiently for a few seconds before Owen chimed in.

“Except what?” he asked, his blue eyes on me.

“Except… why would Queen Elena? They were close to achieving their goal, right? Even without Mr. Jenks, there was a chance someone could be hired to replicate his work, but they would need access to his original research and test subjects. Why did the queen just abandon the facility instead of destroying it, if her goal was a cover-up?”