The Gender Fall (The Gender Game #5)(104)

I headed for the stairs with the secret entrance to Ashabee’s vault. The door was partially closed as I approached, and I felt myself shudder with fright as I leapt over an overturned chair. I needed more time. Turning, I kicked the chair at Owen. It didn’t slide far, but it was far enough for him to catch a knee on. He went down hard with a loud oof, but I’d already whirled and moved to the door, throwing it open.

“Violet!” he shouted insistently behind me.

I ignored him as I pulled back the heavy bit of door disguised as a wall, making my way down the small stairs, not bothering to close it behind me.

The room was dark, but I didn’t have time to hit the lights—I dove forward, using my memory of the place to guide me. I was so frantic, so desperate to get away, that I was moving too fast. My foot caught on something, and the next thing I knew, I was falling forward.

My head! I thought as I began to fall, my arms raising up over my face. I had seconds before I impacted, but even then, I knew my head was going to collide with my cast, shattering my skull. My second thought was, I can’t go through this again.

Something grabbed me from behind, hooked low around my hips, arresting my fall somewhat. Bracing myself, my hands shot out, the cast slipping across the floor. Waves of agony rolled up my right arm. I stayed in that position for five seconds, not trusting the sudden return of gravity.

And then I lashed out with my elbow, twisting and trying to get a good angle on Owen’s head. “Get off me,” I shouted, panic giving my tone a brittle, frantic edge. Ducking, he missed my jab and let me go. I scrambled away from him on the floor as he stood over me, his features hidden by the room’s darkness.

“Violet, please! I’m not going to hurt you!” Owen’s voice had its own panicked tone to it, something that gave me pause, egging the voice in my brain to continue its reminders that I had always been able to trust Owen.

The bitter seed in my heart formed words that I spat out as I awkwardly flipped over to my backside and sat up. “You… You brought Desmond here!” I eyed the distance between us, gauging how much I needed to kick out his knee.

“I did,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “And I’m sorry for not telling you, but this is our chance, Violet. This is our chance to kill her!”

I froze. “You’re setting me up so you can kill her,” I breathed, horrified.

“I’m setting her up so we can kill her. Please, Violet—I’m your friend. I would never betray you. Not really.”

“Do you have her?” came a muffled shout from somewhere above, and my heart palpitated in response to Desmond’s voice.

Owen turned back to me and knelt down, his hands reaching through the darkness to seize my shoulders. “Please,” he whispered, his voice thick with desperation. “Please help me kill her. I promise I will get you out of this alive.”



The end is near…

Ready for the PENULTIMATE book of Violet and Viggo’s story?



Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading—I hope you enjoyed this book. :)

Book 6, THE GENDER PLAN, is the explosive penultimate book in The Gender Game series — as we move toward the grand finale in Book 7 (The Gender End)!

THE GENDER PLAN releases May 10th, 2017.

Pre-order your copy now and have it delivered automatically to your reading device on release day:

If you’re in the US, tap here to order.

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And here’s a preview of the cover:





I’ll see you back in Matrus and Patrus on May 10th, 2017…

Until then,

Love,

Bella x

P.S. At the end of this ebook I have included bonus chapters of my new fantasy novel — The Secret of Spellshadow Manor. If you enjoyed Harry Potter, it might be up your street—and something to keep you going until The Gender Plan releases :) Keep turning the pages for the free chapters…

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Bonus Chapter 1: The Secret of Spellshadow Manor





Book description:

A spine-tingling new fantasy, perfect for adults or teens who enjoyed Harry Potter...

What would you do if you spotted a man following a young woman, but no-one else could see him?

Like most sane people, student Alex Webber thought he was hallucinating - perhaps he'd consumed something bad at the party he'd been attending that night, or he was severely overtired. But when he sees the mysterious man following Natalie again the very next day, he can no longer disbelieve his eyes.

Although Natalie denies the man's existence, Alex sees her walking with him down a road in his neighborhood he's never seen before - and can't help but follow. After a bizarre, but strangely short journey, he finds himself standing before a towering iron gate wreathed in gray ivy, behind which looms a decrepit old house named Spellshadow Manor.

Spellshadow, with its beautiful yet sinisterly decorated hallways, ever-changing outdoor scenery and very unusual residents... Alex will quickly learn it is a place that is as wondrous as it is deadly.