The Gender War

  I staggered back. “Of course,” I breathed. “That’s why Tabitha wants the egg. With it, she guarantees that her firstborn child will not only be a female, but an enhanced one, just like her.” And with Elena as queen of Matrus and Tabitha as regent of Patrus… They could do whatever they wanted with both countries.

  Amber frowned and shook her head. “But the Matrian fertility specialists have discovered how to guarantee any gender. I don’t understand—how can Dobin agree to this, knowing that?”

  “I’m sure they’ve figured something out,” I said, my mind running over horrible possibilities. “They will probably insist that Tabitha can only use Patrian doctors. Not that it’ll matter. I’m sure Desmond owns the doctors, and all they have to do is implant the embryo. The rest will just be monitoring the unborn fetus.”

  It was… smart. As horrified as I was, I could still see that. Right now, Matrus was earning major points with the locals. They had control over the media, so everything looked positive, even though I was sure that right now there were other Matrian squads just like the ones we had killed tasked with similar orders. Elena’s method was quick and efficient. She was taking out large groups of men—culling the Patrians like animals. But propaganda was a powerful tool. My guess was that once the deaths started getting to the ears of the public, they would be attributed to the ‘crazy female terrorists’ executing men who wouldn’t comply with their new world order.

  That wouldn’t surprise the people of Patrus—they had been dealing with extremist groups such as the Porteque gang for years. It would garner sympathy from those who had been desperate for the Matrian aid and support after the bombings, and, even if some didn’t believe it, frightened people who only wanted to feel safe again would probably give in. Especially with an identifiable scapegoat.

  “Amber, how long do I have to get there? Did Tabitha give you a deadline?” I asked with a renewed sense of urgency.

  Amber’s face turned grim and she looked away, seeming to calculate. “By now… a little over two hours,” she replied. “I made my way here as fast as I could.”

  I gasped—the palace was over a three-hour-drive away. “I’ll never get there in time!” I staggered back, trying to wrap my head around how I could magically make this work. I’d never driven anything other than Lee’s motorbike before, but I was reasonably certain that I could, after watching Owen in the truck.

  But even so, I still wouldn’t make it. Maybe I could find a Matrian unit and turn myself in to them? But there was no guarantee that Tabitha would give my family up after I was captured. If anything, she would torture them in front of me, just to hurt me. To punish me for the deaths of her sisters.

  My brain searched for options, but I was finding it hard to operate under the panic rising in my throat. I needed to calm down. No, I needed help making this work, making a plan, making something out of this decision I’d been thrown into.

  “Where’s Viggo?”

  I had already called out the words before I realized that I had said goodbye to him over an hour ago. Jay answered automatically: “He and Owen are out—”

  I swore, even though I already knew the answer. Why had I let him leave the compound? But how could I have known that something like this would be thrown my way?

  “They said they’d be back in an hour or two,” Jay said, his eyes wide, his face reflecting that he had no more idea how to help the situation than I did.

  “That’s not enough time,” I groaned, my stomach sinking as I realized that I wouldn’t even be able to say goodbye to the man I loved. “I have to get to that palace now. Faster than now.”

  I hadn’t even gotten a chance to respond to Viggo’s proposal.

  Once again, I raced through my options. But there was no other way that I could see. Trying to flag a Matrian patrol was my best bet, and even with that plan, there was a good chance I would be late. “Amber, can the vehicle you used to get here get me back there?”

  I turned back toward her, and she cocked her head at me, her despairing face changing to confusion. “Violet… you have a heloship. Why not just use that?”

  “I can’t,” I said, the frustration filling my heart with anger. “We don’t have a pilot.”

  Amber smiled bitterly. “I… I can fly it,” she said.

  I stared at her, a thread of pure excitement shooting through me. “Are you joking?” She shook her head, and I exhaled, my mind jumping to the new development and accelerating my plan. The heloship would make fast work of the distance, and even buy me a little more time to prepare—to get a plan going, something. Not much, but I could work with it. I might even get a chance to say goodbye.

  I gave Amber a questioning look, hardly daring to hope. “You’re willing to go with me? Even… after what you’ve just been through? You don’t want to rest, or…?”

  She gave me a determined look, straightening her spine, and nodded. Having the beginnings of a plan seemed to have cleared up most of her panic. “I owe it to Quinn,” she replied. “She just left him bleeding…” Anger hardened her tearstained face. “We need to find him and get him back. And if we can stick it to Tabitha while we’re at it, then I’m all in.”

  “All right,” I said, manic energy pumping through my veins. We can do this. “Jay, Tim, I need you to go find a handheld and try to get ahold of Viggo—”

  I stopped, realizing that both of them were staring at me intently. “Violet,” Tim began. “Us. With you.”

  “We’re coming with you,” Jay chimed in as he stepped closer. He and Tim were both grim and determined, with no trace of the excitement with which they’d usually approached such suggestions. They were dead serious.

  I stood for a moment, my mouth hanging open. An icy spear of fear had sunk into my heart at the very thought of Tim and Jay going anywhere near that palace… near Tabitha. I’d been keeping silent, letting them go on dangerous missions, knowing that if either of them got hurt or lost their lives, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself anymore. This was the moment I had to put my foot down.

  “Tim, Jay,” I said slowly, looking for words. “You can’t. Not this time.”

  Tim’s face became thunderous, and he took a step forward. “We go,” he said insistently, and I slowly shook my head.

  “I know you want to help,” I said, “but I can’t take you with me. I… The resistance… We need you both to stay here. What if Amber and I don’t make it? Can the group afford to lose both of you, too? And I can’t have you anywhere near the Matrians. If Tabitha catches you, she’ll start making you take the Benuxupane… and then you’ll be under their control. What if they tried to make you hurt one of us?”

  Tim’s gray eyes were fierce. “Never,” he said, and I understood exactly what he meant. But I still couldn’t take the chance.

  “I love you, little brother,” I begged. “But please. Please, listen to me. You can’t come. I can’t take the risk that you’ll end up imprisoned again. Or that you’ll end up like Henrik.” I looked at him, then at Jay, including him in my statement. “I can’t lose you guys, too.”

  The two young men fell silent for a moment. Then, finally, Jay gave me a look, letting out a sigh, and turned to my brother. “She’s right, Tim. This time… we should stay here.”

  I gave him a grateful look, and turned back to Tim. He wasn’t happy, but after taking a look at Jay, he nodded, then strode off, his face tight and his spine rigid. Jay followed, catching up with him and leaning up to say something to him.

  I watched my brother, wishing I didn’t have to see him leave like this, wishing I could make him smile again. But it was probably better this way. I steeled myself, telling myself that it was better he was angry and safe here, than happy to be going into danger with me. But the pain in my chest stayed.

  Finally, I turned back to Amber, who had watched the whole thing impassively, without comment. “All right,” I said. “I think… I have a plan. I’m going to go get the egg and some supplies. Could you go into your father’s secret
basement room and grab a few things?”

  “What? Secret basement?” Amber wrinkled her nose in confusion.

  I realized then that, of course, she can’t have known about it, or she would have informed us of its existence before. After I explained to her what we’d found, she told me that it must have been installed during the time she was away from home. Then she nodded at my request to go there, and listened intently as I outlined the rudimentary parts of my plan. It had more than a few bugs, and I was going to need additional assistance, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it… and hopefully not have to set it on fire in the process.

  31

  Violet

  “Are you sure you can’t get ahold of Viggo?”

  Jeff shook his head, his face reflecting genuine worry. “I’m certain he and Owen took a handheld, but since it was from Mr. Ashabee’s armory, I haven’t been able to find out which one it was to connect to them.”

  My heart sank further in my chest. “Keep trying, please?”

  “What shall I tell Viggo if I do get ahold of him?” Jeff asked, his eyes looking too keenly into my own.

  “Just… just find me and give me the handheld,” I said, and Jeff nodded. “Of course, Violet.”

  Now there was a man with some discretion. I felt vaguely guilty about not telling Jeff my whole plan, but I didn’t know what his, the staff’s, and the other refugees’ response would be. It was certain that other parts of our group would soon notice Amber’s return; the news spread fast in such a little group. But I didn’t want any of them to try to stop us—or try to join us, for that matter. This matter wasn’t up for popular vote. I hoped Jeff would forgive me.

  I ran up to the room Viggo and I shared, staring around, trying to make a quick and rational list of things I might need. I hoped that Jeff could get in touch with Viggo. I wanted his advice on my plan, and I couldn’t, wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.

  Of course, with the heloship, which could get to the palace in under an hour, there was a chance that I could wait to see if Viggo and Owen returned. I could push my luck until the last possible moment, just to get a glance at his face, then drag him—the one other person Henrik had said the whole group followed—into danger with me. Could this rebellion survive without both of us? I wanted to say it could, but I had no certainty. I had time to see Viggo again, if I waited.

  But then I would have no time to set up my rapidly forming plan.

  Tabitha had thrown down a challenge, threatened my family, taken her fight directly to what was closest to me. I was terrified, but more than that, I was angry. I was furious. I was tired of waiting for the next shoe to drop, the next body to fall lifeless to the floor. Tabitha wanted me? Fine. But if I was going down, I was taking her down with me.

  I finished packing quickly. I threw the prototype egg—Mr. Jenks’ failed test—into my bag, along with a change of clothes, the bloodstained picture of Cad and his family, and a few spare clips for my pistol, which I had kept out of our shared stockpiles, just in case.

  Looking around the room, my chest tightened. More than anything, I wanted to crawl underneath the covers of our bed and not come out until Viggo came back. I wanted him to find me there and tell me that it was all right, that Tabitha wouldn’t kill my entire family, that we would be able to go and take her out together.

  But I couldn’t wait for him. I knew, deep down, that this rebellion couldn’t lose both of us. It would be better if he stayed here. Besides, then I would have something to come back to. I was definitely not thinking of this as a suicide mission, but I was preparing for the worst.

  I placed the real egg in Viggo’s bag, which I was glad he hadn’t taken with him on his scouting mission, and then stared at it, thinking. The designs of the egg cases were identical, with one small exception. On the prototype egg, a small crack ran from the keyhole on the front up through the top. It was barely discernable, and I was reasonably sure Tabitha wouldn’t spot it. Or maybe she would attribute it to the egg’s rough journey back into her greedy hands.

  I touched my neck, where the key to the real egg still hung, secured by a chain. Pulling it off my neck, I dropped the key into Viggo’s bag too, and then hesitated, running the chain through my fingers.

  The door behind me creaked, and I started, a dozen possibilities flitting through my mind at once, so I didn’t know whether to hope or worry. Tim, coming to argue more; Jeff, coming to tell me that he’d gotten ahold of Viggo; Tabitha, tired of waiting and here to collect me herself… I shook the paranoia off. It was just Amber in the doorway. She stepped in quickly, closing it partially behind her.

  “You ready?” she asked in a harsh whisper.

  “Almost,” I said, holding up the chain. “Amber… do you know where we could get a spare key?”

  Amber frowned. “Well, the servants would probably have some for the pantry and stuff… But most of our locks are digital…”

  I shook my head. Did I want to risk bringing the original key? Or not bringing it, if Tabitha noticed? “Those would be too big anyway. We need a tiny one, one that would look like it would fit into that keyhole—” I indicated the one on the egg, glinting at the top of Viggo’s bag.

  Amber stared for another moment, and then a low, wicked smile flashed across her face. “I think I’ve got it,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” I could hear her footsteps pelting away as she ran down the hallway.

  I shoved clothes into the top of Viggo’s bag to cover up the real egg and then paced, restlessly going over my strategies for the other two missing pieces of my plan until Amber returned. She hadn’t been gone long, and she pushed through the doorway holding up a tiny silver key on a loop of pink ribbon.

  My mouth dropped open. It was perfect. “What is…”

  “It’s the key to my old diary,” Amber said, with a smile that looked both sheepish and fierce. “It’s probably better if nobody ever opens it again.”

  I couldn’t help but smirk at the thought; Amber smirked back, and I was suddenly tremendously glad she was coming with me.

  “Thank you,” I said. “It’s perfect.” We took the tiny key off the pink ribbon, which Amber tossed resentfully to the floor, and I threaded the key onto the chain on my neck.

  “All right,” I said. “Next on the list.”

  We made our way downstairs and hooked a left, heading for the dining room. There were people moving in and out of the house, but I remained cool, nodding at the mostly new volunteers as they went past. In some ways, it was better that most of the group members I was closest to were out at the moment. I had no reason to think that any one of the refugee recruits or Ashabee’s staff would find it unusual for me to be walking fast with a packed bag over my shoulder—though Amber’s dirty appearance, even after she’d changed her clothes, brought us a few stares. Still, my stomach tied itself into knots whenever I felt eyes on me, even casually.

  I pushed open the security room door, and Amber followed me. Thomas glanced at us from where he was sitting behind the desk, and then turned back to the bank of computers. He was completely alone.

  “Your boyfriend is insane,” he said to me, conversationally. I grimaced, but didn’t respond as I turned around to lock the door behind me. Amber, taking her cue from me, crossed to the other door to lock it, as well. Thomas didn’t seem to notice, continuing with his speech. “He seems to think I’ll be going with you to Matrus for your little plan—as if. You barely have a three percent chance of success, and a zero percent chance of survival, and that’s without seeing the details of where they might be keeping their Benuxupane…”

  He paused as Amber slid the second lock into place, and I heard the chair creak as he turned toward us. “Why are you locking the doors?” he asked. “And why is Amber here? She should have been in The Green by now. That route I mapped was optimal.”

  At the question, I saw Amber’s face turn hollow, her gaze going inward, as though she had momentarily forgotten the horrors of her journey. Tears rose in her eye
s, but she brushed them away.

  “Tom-Tom,” she said, her voice wavering. “It’s… it’s a long story.”

  I exhaled. We needed to cut to the chase. “Thomas, we need your help, and we don’t need an argument from you.”

  He eyed me suspiciously. “What do you need?”

  “The plans to King Maxen’s palace,” I replied. “With any and all defenses listed out.”

  He frowned. “Why?”

  I sighed in frustration. “Because the king misses his fuzzy bunny slippers.”

  “I don’t like sarcasm,” Thomas retorted, crossing his arms.

  “Okay, then.” I pressed my hands to my temples. “Because…”

  Amber interjected, “Because after that we’ll stop bothering you.”

  Thomas looked at her for a second and then nodded curtly. “That would be helpful, yes.”

  He began typing rapidly on the computer, and I pulled out the handheld I’d had Amber pick up from her father’s stash and set it on the desk. “Download it to that,” I said.

  Thomas continued to type with his left hand—an impressive feat, I had to admit—and picked up the handheld with his right, placing it in front of the tower that housed the processors for the wall of computer screens. He paused typing long enough to plug it in, and then resumed. I watched as blueprint plans flashed across the screen, too fast for me to note anything, and then a progress bar popped up, indicating they were being transferred to the handheld.

  “You know,” Thomas said, turning back to me. “Those defenses are no joke—they are automated, with several triggers, including thermal scans. It’s going to be impossible to break in there undetected.”