The Gender End Read online

  Raevyn frowned. “Very well. Why don’t you take a moment to collect yourselves, and we will wait outside to take you back to the ship?”

  “Thank you,” Violet said, inclining her head. “Or… Tahatlana? May your waters run clear?”

  Raevyn blinked, and then her face twisted up into a surprised smile. “Something like that,” she chuckled. “You have a good ear.”

  Violet shrugged, and Raevyn and Devon slipped out the door.

  When the door swung closed, I was already moving forward. Violet and I rushed toward each other, and I threw my arms around her, crushing her to my chest and holding her there. She sniffed, nuzzling her cheek against my chest.

  “You smell awful,” she commented, and I laughed.

  “Hey, I had a really busy morning,” I replied in self-defense. I knew she didn’t care—there had been more than a few times when both of us were less than fragrant, especially after life or death situations. And Violet herself wasn’t in much of a position to critique my cleanliness.

  She laughed a little and then stopped abruptly, looking up at me with huge gray eyes. “Oh my God, Viggo, how are you here?”

  I took a step back. “It’s kind of a long story, but to sum up, we used the last of our heloship fuel to take several pilots and pilots-in-training to the Matrian airfield, and we took everything we could, including several of their ships, and then blew up the others.”

  Her eyes widened, and then a smile crossed her lips. “Seriously?”

  I shrugged. “It was Henrik’s idea, and it was the best shot at getting to you quickly. Elena was thorough. She disabled the entire Patrian fleet and took their fuel before we got to them. There’s a chance she stored it somewhere else within Patrus, but we just didn’t have time to look.”

  She nodded, and then pulled me close again. “I was so scared that I’d never get to see you again,” she breathed into my chest.

  “I know,” I soothed her as she trembled slightly. I understood completely—I felt exactly the same way. That fear had been tearing me apart for the last few hours… even now, it scared me more than anything how much sheer luck had led us to find her so quickly. I mean, we’d used what information we’d had, and made some very educated guesses, but luck was definitely a factor. “So, what is the deal with this place?”

  Violet exhaled as she gently extracted herself from my arms. “Viggo, there are people here. I’m not entirely sure what to make of them, but they’re people just like us. Those black stick things the knights are carrying give off an electrical charge, so watch out for that. CS Sage is ninety-two years old. And oh my God, look!”

  She held up her arm, and I suddenly realized I had completely missed the fact that her cast was gone. I had been so glad to see her alive, I had only given her a cursory glance, making sure she was relatively unharmed, before trying to appraise the situation with the others in the room. I gently took her arm, giving her a questioning look, and she beamed, nodding.

  “This can apparently repair broken bones in twenty-four hours.”

  I softly prodded the plastic encasing her arm, realizing there was some sort of gelatinous fluid inside. “Fascinating. Do you think they will be willing to meet with us again, at a later date?”

  Violet hesitated, and then gave a shrug. “I have no idea. They are very suspicious, and I get the feeling they really don’t want us to be here. But honestly… maybe? Devon—the Knight Commander—wants to keep us here so he can take apart the, uh, gyroship,” she gave me a pointed look, and I caught on quickly, “and reverse engineer it.”

  “I see. But that means we might have something they would be willing to establish a trade for.”

  “Weirdly, they also don’t know what guns are. They didn’t even react to mine until I had to fire it.” She quickly explained the circumstances, and I nodded, listening intently, trying to absorb all the new information. After she finished, I frowned.

  “That is weird. Our history books said that guns were everywhere before the Fall. It seems odd that these people wouldn’t even have a record of it.”

  “I agree, but they clearly don’t.” She paused, and then looked up at me, the color leaving her face so quickly I almost thought she was injured again. “Oh, Viggo. Jay! I can’t believe I didn’t ask earlier. Is he—”

  “I don’t know,” I told her honestly, my own heart sinking at the thought of how we’d left the young man. “April was working on stabilizing him when I left. Tim stayed behind to be with him. Morgan also got Cody out of the water. He’s alive, but he was shaken up pretty badly. I don’t know how things will go with him if… when… we get back.” Now wasn’t the time to speculate about the young man, and after hearing the new horrors Desmond had put him through, I had no idea what to expect.

  Violet exhaled, relief flickering over her face, and then tilted her head up at me. “What about the plant? I know you got the purge to work—but was anyone hurt or… or killed?”

  “Gregory didn’t make it,” I replied reluctantly, and reached out to grab her hand as her face filled with sadness. “A few others. Alejandro’s hand got smashed. And Harry’s hurt. He got smashed by a door. I’m not sure if he’s going to make it. Ms. Dale is fine.”

  Violet opened her mouth, and I interrupted her, knowing her next question before it slipped through her lips. “Owen is fine. Amber and Logan Vox flew the heloship here—they’re upstairs right now. I went ahead and asked them to transfer Solomon to our ship. What about the Matrians? Should we—”

  “Offer them a ride home?” Violet considered it for a long moment. “We can, but I doubt they’d take it. Things, uh, weren’t exactly copacetic between the three of us.”

  “Yeah. I was surprised they let you down here on your own.”

  She grinned up at me, her face smug, and quickly explained what had transpired after Desmond had been thrown from the ship. I felt a stab of pride. “You handled that extremely well—which I would never doubt—but still, getting them to work with you in spite of their Matrian prejudice? Impressive.”

  “Well, with you and Ms. Dale as mentors, how could I not succeed?” she said, and I felt my love for her deepen, expanding in my chest like a never-ending fountain. Leaning over, I pulled her to me and pressed my lips to hers—just a gentle brush.

  “And the award for fiancée of the month goes to…” I breathed after I pulled back, and she laughed a little. “Shall we?”

  She checked her watch again and nodded. “We really should,” she said.

  I took her hand and led her to the door, throwing it open. The two guards outside had disappeared, and Raevyn and Devon were waiting patiently for us. I paused, but Violet was already moving back in the direction I’d come from earlier. She moved quickly, pulling me with her. I followed, trusting her instincts.

  Raevyn and Devon sprang into motion behind us after a surprised pause, the sounds of our boots echoing heavily down the narrow hall. Violet led with confidence, and I realized she had memorized the path here. I had done the same thing—naturally—but I still couldn’t help but feel proud of her as she moved down the long hall.

  The windowpane on the left side of the hall slowed us both as our heads, unbidden, swiveled to take in the view of the buildings inside. Without discussion, we came to a stop at almost the same time. I studied the construction, the lines and angles as well as the practicality, but most of all… the sheer size and scope of it all. It was so dense and compact—and I could make out people from far away—men and women both. It felt ridiculous to have discovered something this big and be leaving so soon, but our own troubles were still waiting for us.

  “We really should be going,” Raevyn said softly, and I reluctantly started to turn. Violet lingered, her gray eyes darting around as if she were trying to memorize the place, and then turned as well.

  She moved a few more feet down the hall, and then turned around the correct corner, moving down the tight passageway toward the door. I moved ahead of her and opened it for her, as Devon’s voice
carried down the hall from behind us.

  “How did you know that was the right passageway?” His voice was sharp, edged with suspicion and mistrust.

  “I memorized the route when you guided me here,” Violet replied curtly as she stepped through. I held the door open for Devon, Raevyn, and MacGillus, watching them closely as they moved past me. “Just in case you tried anything.”

  “Smart,” said Raevyn. “You’ll understand if we continue to escort you, of course.”

  It wasn’t a question, but I replied for us both. “I would do the same thing if our positions were reversed.”

  She gave me a considering look, then began moving down the stairs. “Never fear, Miss Bates, Mr. Croft—we will return you to your ship whole and in one piece.”

  I was tempted to say “We shall see,” just to test their honesty, but there was no reason for it, and judging by her expressive body language, I was inclined to believe her. We moved in silence after that, with Violet taking the lead. Devon put himself in the rear—something that didn’t make me entirely comfortable. Raevyn seemed to have taken up our cause. With him, I wasn’t so sure.

  Going down the stairs was much better than going up. As much as my adrenaline was holding me up, it didn’t mean I didn’t feel the aches and pains from the night before. My ribs were still sore, and I was still out of shape from the surgery I had undergone—not long ago, although it felt like lifetimes. I did my best not to let the effort show, keeping a careful eye on Violet. Her injuries were more recent than most of mine, but she seemed to be holding her own just fine.

  Violet stopped on a landing about halfway down, turned and looked at the door. “This one, right?”

  Raevyn moved past her. “Indeed,” she said dryly, pulling the door open and stepping through. The passage was short, and in under a minute, we were back outside. The heat was stifling—I was certain the sweat that had instantly formed all over my body was immediately evaporating under the dry heat.

  We made our way across the glass surface—as bizarre as that was—heading toward the damaged heloship. I could make out CS Sage standing by the open cargo bay, tending to the brown-haired woman wearing an olive green Matrian uniform. The tall, broad-shouldered blonde wearing a sky-blue version of the same uniform stood next to her, watching him with her arms crossed.

  As we neared, CS Sage looked up, and then patted the dark-haired woman on the shoulder, giving her an encouraging nod. She was holding up her hand, clearly marveling at the plastic now surrounding her fingers.

  “That’s it?” she asked, blinking up at him.

  “That’s it,” he said with a broad smile. “Just leave it on for a day, and the bones will be completely healed. These”—he extended a hand with a packet of pills inside—“are for your internal injuries. Take one of each, twice a day, with food.”

  The blonde woman accepted the packet, moving with a swiftness that belied her size. “Thank you, Mr. Sage,” she said begrudgingly, and he patted her on the shoulder. Not for long, as she took an alarmed step back, her hand going for a gun at her waist and then stopping halfway when she realized he wasn’t actually attempting to hurt her.

  “Ah! The alien girl and her alien fiancé have returned,” CS Sage announced, seemingly oblivious to the blonde woman’s alarm. “Have you told them?”

  “Not yet,” replied Raevyn from behind me, at the same time that Violet asked, “Told us what?”

  “The council has decided not to meet with you after all,” Devon drawled, hooking his thumbs through the belt around his waist. “In fact, we have been asked to relay to you that you leave immediately, and never return.” He looked at the rest of the group, muttering, “Waste of resources, if you ask me,” and Raevyn frowned deeply at him, shaking her head, while Jathem and MacGillus stayed silent but seemed distinctly uncomfortable.

  Warning bells went off in my head, but I was still blinking at his declaration—an abrupt departure from what they’d said just moments earlier. What could have changed their minds so suddenly? If their council had such an immediate influence on their minds, it must be a very controlling system. And the idea of such absolute control had never struck me as safe.

  “Wait,” I tested, unable to really comprehend the decision, “never return? Why? Surely our two cultures could help each other in some way. Even establish a trade of some sort?”

  It was Raevyn who answered. “Our system is perfect as it is. We lack the resources to support outsiders. What’s more, the council feels that even the knowledge of a society that exists outside of the tower could jeopardize everything, which is why we are going to eradicate all knowledge of your existence. If people learned there was another place they could survive in, they might panic or even try to leave.”

  “Surely they should have that choice,” Violet started to say, and Devon gave her a look so derisive that she dropped the sentence, confirming my hunch—control issues in this society ran mile-deep.

  The Knight Commander said archly, “Everyone in the tower has a function, a duty, a service that is essential to the operation of the tower. Ours is a delicate balance, one we cannot compromise on. If people decided to leave, our entire way of life would dissolve. The council has decided that, as advantageous as your technology might be to us, your very existence is a risk, and we cannot excuse your continued presence just because you want to make friends. We’ve already put ourselves out in order to heal you… I suggest you not waste any more of our time.”

  Condescension and disdain were thick in his voice, and I fought off the urge to deck him, reminding myself that we were on their turf—and we did want to leave, after all. I also knew KC Devon wanted the heloships. For all I knew, he was trying to provoke one of us into violence so that he could be justified in acting in self-defense in an attempt to secure our technology. His eyes blazed in open challenge. It was probably better for his sake that I wasn’t a man who lost his head easily, and I met his gaze with a hard one of my own.

  CS Sage looked from me to Devon and back again, the slow swivel of his head catching my attention from the corner of my eye. “Men,” he sighed, scratching the back of his neck. “Am I right, ladies?”

  His delivery was as surprising as it was humorous, and I heard Violet struggling to keep a laugh from spilling from her throat. I turned away from Devon first to see her hand over her mouth, her eyes sparkling. Raevyn was not as amused: a dour frown hovered on her lips, and her eyes were troubled more than anything, sending additional warning signals to the base of my brain. Maybe it was just because she was used to CS Sage’s quirky sense of humor, but I got the feeling that something more was definitely up. But I had no way of knowing what, exactly. For all I knew, she didn’t agree with them asking us to leave, but couldn’t say anything at this point.

  “Anywho, goodbye, little alien girl,” CS Sage continued, moving over to Violet and dropping a chaste kiss on her forehead. “If you come back, we’re going to blow you out of the sky!”

  He held up his hand, his index finger and thumb held up so that they formed two guns, and then he made a pew pew sound as he mimicked shooting. Violet’s gaze moved up over his shoulder to find mine, alarm filling her gray eyes, and then CS Sage was moving away, Devon and Raevyn moving past us to head toward the door with him.

  She turned to watch them go, and I moved up behind them. “I think we should go,” I murmured.

  “No kidding. Just give me a second to talk to the Matrians, and we’ll get going.”

  “You want me to join you?”

  She tilted her head up at me, and then shook her head. “Nope, I got this. I’ll see you in a minute.”

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  12

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  VIOLET

  I moved toward where Belinda and Kathryn had retreated inside the bay of the repaired Matrian ship. Kathryn saw me coming and gave me a brusque nod. “Seems your people came for you,” she commented warily, eyeing Viggo from over my shoulder.

  “They did,” I replied
. It was unnecessary, but it was nice we were keeping some semblance of civility. “You going to try and stop me from going with them?”

  Kathryn gave me a stern look, turning her gaze toward Belinda, clearly gauging her reaction. Then she shrugged. “I’m just a pilot. Prisoner acquisition isn’t in my wheelhouse.”

  I smiled. Maybe I had made a bigger impression on Kathryn than I’d thought. More likely, however, she was just as eager to get back home as I was, and didn’t want to further risk her life by getting into a shootout.

  “Is this thing good to go?” I asked, my eyes moving around the cabin.

  “The patch Belinda made isn’t pretty, but it’ll get us home,” she said. “And thanks to the treatment we got from CS Sage, I should be recovered soon. Was that your doing?”

  I shrugged, not really certain how to answer or even whether I should tell her the truth. We might be in a better place than we were a few hours ago, but that didn’t mean they would take the truth willingly, and they might not even believe it if I told them. Better to change the topic and let them speculate.

  “Are you sure you want to take this thing back?” I asked. “Even with the patch, the whole thing could crash.”

  “What are you proposing?” asked Belinda, breaking her stony silence.

  I hesitated at the suspicion in her voice, on the verge of not even extending the offer, but then decided to go for it. “Look, you can come with us. I give you my word of honor that we will deliver you as close to Matrus as we dare.”

  Belinda cocked her head at me, clearly surprised by the offer. But the mistrust was still there, brewing behind her eyes. Kathryn gave us both a look, and then shook her head. “The repairs are solid,” she said confidently. “We can get ourselves home.”

  The urge to protest—at the very least make a case for it—was strong, but I decided it was a waste of time. I couldn’t blame them; if our positions were reversed, I would feel a similar level of distrust.