The Gender Game by Bella Forrest (historical books to read txt) 📗

seem to be the one taking on the major risks all the time. I felt like snapping something back at him, but I held my tongue. I knew I had messed up.

Lee stood up and turned off the heat beneath the sizzling pan before proceeding to throw the food in the trash.

Even though I no longer wanted to eat, I remained in my seat while Lee prepared a second dinner for me. When he placed a plate in front of me, I picked at the food, hardly able to swallow.

I felt like I was losing myself on this mission.

I pushed the food away after I'd eaten all that I could and drank from the glass of water he'd set down for me.

Lee's mood had quieted. "Okay," he said, sighing. "Look, Violet. I know this is hard. Trust me, I do. And we all make mistakes… But you've got to stay focused. Everyone is counting on you."

I managed a nod. "A reunion with my brother is on the line, too." I wasn't sure whether he knew that.

Biting his lower lip, he stood up. "Okay. I'm heading to bed." He began moving toward the door, but as he passed my seat, he stopped. He glanced down at me still in my chair, a furtive look in his eyes. Unexpectedly, he stooped. A second later, his moist lips were pressing against the side of my neck, beneath my right ear, in a firm, chaste kiss. And then, just as suddenly, he drew away.

"Good night," he managed, before sweeping out of the kitchen.

I stared at the empty doorway in a daze, my fingers raising to the side of my neck. I felt the skin where his lips had been.

What was that about?

Why would he do it?

I struggled for the next ten minutes to make sense of Lee's kiss. It had come so abruptly. So unexpectedly. From nowhere.

In the end, there was only one thing I could conclude:

Maybe I'm not the only one losing focus.

23

My sleep was fitful that night. A recurring nightmare plagued me, a nightmare about a young boy sitting in a row boat in the middle of a river, being swept away by a current. The harrowing feeling of being able to do nothing but stand and stare remained with me after I woke up drenched in sweat. I glanced out of the window, whose blinds I'd forgotten to draw last night. The horizon glowed orange with the first signs of dawn. I checked the clock by my bedside. Five-thirty a.m.

I breathed in deeply through my nose. I wished that I could take a pill and forget about everything. Become a robot. I grimaced to myself. King Maxen's Benuxupane pills didn't seem like such a bad idea right now.

I took a hot shower, which helped to calm me. Like with Viggo, running water had a way of clearing my head.

I was no stranger to adversity. I'd been through harder times than this before and pulled through. I'd pull through again now. We didn't have long to go anyway, and then this would all be over.

After finishing in the shower and dressing—I didn't bother to dry my hair—I went downstairs. The kitchen was empty, but I could hear Lee upstairs. His shower was running.

I fixed myself some honey and ginger tea and settled down at the table. Samuel came in to greet me with a groggy woof before allowing me to stroke his head. It was raining outside, the first rain since I'd arrived.

By the time I'd finished my tea, Lee creaked down the staircase and emerged in the kitchen.

The first few seconds of his arrival were the worst. My stomach somersaulted as last night replayed in my mind. He also seemed awkward. He murmured a quick good morning before busying himself by the sink.

It appeared that he was going to act like the kiss hadn't happened.

"So, uh, what's on the agenda today?" I asked him. I was wondering what time Viggo would come for me, though he wouldn't have called yet. It was still too early.

"You're not going to see Viggo today." Lee's answer came.

I stared at the back of his head as he hunched over the sink.

What? Why? I wanted to blurt. But I held back. Why was I so bothered anyway whether I saw Viggo or not?

It was the abrupt reminder of Lee's power over me that threw me off.

"I've already left a message on his phone," he said.

“All right," I replied, trying to sound unruffled. I needed to cooperate with Lee, not fight him, for everyone's sake.

"Instead," Lee went on, "you're going to help me with something down at the lab." He turned away from the sink and sat opposite me at the table with a glass of water, still not meeting my eyes directly. He reached into his right pocket and pulled out a phone. "Alastair is due to make a call in about… one minute."

Barely a few seconds after Lee had spoken, the phone rang. The number flashed up as "Mariana"—apparently a disguise, presumably in case Lee's phone ever got stolen. Lee picked it up and pressed it to his ear. "Yes."

He uttered a few more "yes's" and "fine's", before handing the phone to me.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Good to hear from you, Violet," Alastair's pitchy voice replied.

"Things are going fine," I told him flatly, before he could ask the question. "There's really not a lot to talk about. The banquet is drawing closer and we're preparing for it as best we can."

"Good. Good. We're very glad to hear that." A pause. "You'll be seeing your brother soon, and you're making your nation proud, Violet… Never forget that."

I answered with silence. Alastair requested to be handed back to Lee and I handed back the phone wordlessly for Lee to wrap up the conversation.

"So, about today," Lee went on. "We need to leave for the lab in half an hour. I'll explain more on the journey."

I stayed in my seat while Lee left the kitchen.