The Gender Fall (The Gender Game #5)(41)

“But I should’ve done it,” the young man practically shouted, his voice belligerent. “I should’ve been the one to stay!”

I sighed and shook my head as Violet continued to pat his hand. “Let me ask you a question,” she said. “When you found Quinn, how did you decide who would carry him?”

Jay blinked in confusion. “What do you mean? Of course I had to carry him—I’m stronger, and Tim’s skin makes it hard for him to… oh…”

Violet’s voice was firm, and I continued to watch, admiring the way she had allowed the young man to come to the conclusion on his own, even as I felt deeply for him. “Exactly. You both played to your strengths. Tim is better with a gun because of his advancement, just like you’re strong enough to carry a fully grown man for a long time. Jay, I’m sure you would’ve stayed if your positions had been reversed, but… they weren’t.”

Jay’s face darkened, and he shook his head, as if shaking off the comfort. “But Tim is your brother,” he exploded. “He should be here with you! I should be the one missing.”

Violet paused for a longer moment at that one. Watching them, I wondered if maybe, just maybe, a part of her would want that. But then I saw concern blossom over her face—and tenderness. Even if she somehow felt that way, Violet would never let it conquer her.

“But then we would be just as worried about you, Jay,” she said. He stared only at her, his eyes serious. “You’re family too,” she added.

That got her a ghost of a smile, and she pulled him back into another hug. After that he seemed to feel better, because he leaned forward eagerly and peppered Violet with questions, making me chuckle.

“How are you? I have to say, I really like your cousin, he’s cool. Did you know he snuck out to go find Tim? I wish he had told me, I would’ve gone with him. Oh! And Viggo got the Liberators to join the cause! In less than twelve hours!” Violet shot me a glance at that, one that imparted not only her admiration but a bit of her exasperation at the barrage of thoughts and feelings. I shook my head, a smile tugging at my lips, and her own smile grew in response.

“Ms. Dale has been working with our new recruits, but they are really, really awful, not to mention…” the young man continued, and I decided to rescue Violet. As soon as Jay drew in another breath to speak, I quickly interjected.

“Hey, Jay, can I ask you a favor?”

He blinked in surprise. “Of course! What?”

“Could you help us out and get Violet something to eat? Dr. Tierney said if she could keep down her soup, she could have a little bit of rice, so…”

Jay was already up, practically vibrating with excitement. “Of course! I’ll be right back!” He left, closing the door behind him, and I turned back to my gray-eyed girl, who looked infinitely amused.

“Well, that was excellent timing,” she said, raising her eyebrows at me.

“Impeccable,” I agreed. “But it was probably best we stopped there anyway. You’re still recovering.” I knew better than to say ‘fragile,’ which was the word I had been thinking the whole time. “And I… Well, let’s just say it’s hard holding back sometimes.”

Violet cocked her head at me, seeming mystified but amused. “Even when I’m all bald and… and gross?” she asked.

“You’ve never been gross to me,” I said honestly, moving toward her and kneeling next to the bed, level with her face. “You were beautiful even when you were about to be operated on. Even when I picked you up off the ground in the king’s palace and carried you to the car…” It was normally hard for me to say emotional things like this, but with Violet, somehow they came naturally and felt right.

She reached out her left hand to me, and I took it gently, threading our fingers together. She didn’t respond for a while, just looked at me, her storm cloud eyes brimming with emotion that said more than words could.

“I love you,” she said after a while. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for not being dead,” I murmured. “And I love you too.”

Violet smiled at me, and then her grip slackened a little bit, and she yawned.

“Tired?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

I got up and leaned over her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Get some rest. See if you can eat something when Jay gets back. I’ll be in later to check on you—and tomorrow, I promise I’ll start getting you more up to speed.”

She nodded again, sinking more heavily into her pillow. “Okay. Just… you’re not going to sleep somewhere else, are you?”

I looked back down at her, smirking. “I’m a gentleman, Violet, not a saint. I’ll be damned if I’m going to sleep anywhere but next to you if it’s humanly possible.”





17





Viggo





I kept my arm around Violet’s shoulder as we stepped off the sagging porch together. It was Violet’s first day outside in the three days since she’d woken up properly after the surgery, and though it wasn’t the first time she’d walked around, it would probably be the longest she’d been upright the whole time.

We’d both managed to get some rest and recovery during those days, and now Dr. Tierney had given us the go-ahead to get her up and moving this morning, but had cautioned she should only have short bursts of activity. Violet, who had been begging the doctor to let her go out for almost all of those three days, hadn’t liked the news, but her desire to do something had forced her to agree.