The Gender Fall (The Gender Game #5)(17)

Owen raised his hand to his forehead in a mock salute, which was spoiled by his wide grin. Then he and Amber turned and headed back outside to the barn to gear up.

I turned to Ms. Dale, who frowned as she met my gaze. “It’s good you’re going,” she said after a pause. “Just, please, be careful. I do not want to end up doing this alone.”

I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile, then headed down the hallway. Carefully, I pushed open the door to our room. Violet was just as I had left her—eyes closed, breathing deep and even.

She, Quinn, and Henrik were all sleeping in these rooms because they were either sick or wounded. The rest of us were relegated to sleeping in tents, which was only fair. Those of us in charge had decided early on that we needed to show the refugees we were all in this together. However, I was exempt for the time being, as I wouldn’t leave Violet’s side for longer than I had to… and sleeping next to a sick girl didn’t take up any more bed space in the house.

Grabbing my bag, which I’d left under Violet’s makeshift sickbed, I did a quick check to make sure my gun was there, then left space for the equipment Owen would be bringing me for our mission. I took the egg out—a gleaming silver case, deceptively simple in its design, but heavy in my hands. The egg had been at the center of all this mess, and while in some ways I owed my relationship with Violet to its very existence, I hated the thing for what it represented. If I had my way, we would toss the abomination into the Veil River and be done with it.

But the egg was still our most effective bargaining chip, if we could use it correctly. It was the physical manifestation of research started by the previous Matrian queen, Rina, and Mr. Alistair Jenks to create artificially enhanced humans. Elena had been the first child to receive this boost; her mother had allowed Mr. Jenks to experiment on her daughter in the womb. However, like most cutting-edge research, the treatment had a barrage of side effects, ranging from emotional to physical, which seemed to have made the advancement more of a curse than a blessing. I knew this firsthand after seeing the boys they had experimented on to create this supposedly flawless version of the egg.

It was Elena’s endgame—she was going to force humanity to advance, setting up a dynasty of super humans, but under her rule. It was ambitious, but horrifying.

But as long as we had this egg in our possession, we had something Elena wanted desperately. And now that everyone thought the real egg had been destroyed in the palace when Violet had detonated the false one and taken out Tabitha, it was even more crucial we kept this secret until we needed it the most. I tucked some spare pillowcases around the damn thing and rolled it under the bed for now, making a mental note to tell Ms. Dale where to find it and begin guarding it properly, as we probably should have from the beginning.

I shouldered my bag and made my way to Violet, kneeling by the bed. “Violet,” I said softly. She didn’t stir, which was for the best—with her head injury, her waking moments seemed to leave her in states of confusion, pain, or fear, and I didn’t want her panicking over me leaving without her. Or, worse, trying to make me take her with me. I hated the idea of leaving her without a proper goodbye… but we didn’t have time. The sooner I did this, the sooner I could come back with Dr. Tierney and the equipment to save Violet’s life. That provided maybe the only motivation that could have forced me to leave her side.

All this running through my head, I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “It’s my turn to go get you some help,” I whispered into her hair. “Please… please still be here when I get back. Please… just keep on breathing for me, okay, baby?”

Then I stood and headed toward the door before my tired mind could urge me to forget about going with Amber and Owen and instead climb into bed and hold Violet close until I drifted off into sleep. The image was sweet, so tempting, and I promised myself I would get to have that moment with her. Just… after I had negotiated a peace with the rebel faction and secured a doctor and the equipment needed to save her life.

Amber and Owen were waiting on the porch as I exited the house, having taken next to no time to find the gear they needed. Amber quickly straightened, picking up her bag from where it was resting against her shin, and headed toward the forest, where we’d been keeping the heloship. It was a half a mile away, hidden in a clearing.

Night had fallen an hour ago, and the sky was clear, the light from the half-moon illuminating our path, even through the forest canopy. The air had a slight chill to it, a sign of the changing season, and my breath crystallized as soon as it escaped my lungs. I made a mental note to put someone on firewood duty, and another note to send out a search party for another place to house our small forces when it got too cold for the tents. Winter was coming, and there was no telling how long this conflict would last.

We reached the heloship quickly, and within minutes, we were in the air. I watched the small farmhouse disappear through the bubble window in the front, where Amber sat at the controls. I had only flown in helicopters a few times during my career as a warden—since flight was so restricted in general by both Matrus and Patrus—and only once in a heloship, when Amber had picked us up the day before, and I had remained in the cargo bay with Violet the entire time. So it was an interesting experience watching the dark mountains framing the rolling farmland beneath us. The lights of the city shone bright in contrast, but soon the glow faded as we moved steadily deeper into the mountains, away from humanity’s prying eyes. The world where I’d grown up seemed so tiny and insignificant from up here.