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

relinquish my grip. I let go a second prior to his boot hitting the metal. Before he could withdraw it again, I clamped my fingers around his ankle and jerked downward with all the strength I possessed.

I heard the scraping of his second boot against the motorcycle's uneven metal floor. He was sliding. Then he was shrieking. He was falling. Past me. Way past me. Down, down, down. And then, within the blink of an eye, he was lying spread-eagled on the pretty brick path that ran through the queen's back garden. Rigid and still.

35

The dose of Benuxupane Lee had given me wasn't strong enough to suppress the fear ripping through my chest. Clinging to the base of the aircraft, the blood rushing to my head as I gaped down at Lee's dead body, I felt paralyzed. I was barely even aware that the aircraft was continuing to soar ahead unmanned. I was lost in the past, reliving every second of the last ten minutes.

What just happened?

Why?

Why did he do it?

My sweating right hand sliding on the bar snapped me back to the present. I felt numb all over from shock, but I had to climb up onto the motorcycle unless I wanted to join Lee in the queen's ornamental grounds.

Gradually, I managed to maneuver my way upward, making use of my left hand over my right as much as I could, until I was perched on the motorcycle's seat, my feet planted firmly on either side of me. I gripped the base of my seat and gazed back at the increasingly distant palace. Lee's form fell out of my vision, the high wall bordering the palace concealing him. The aircraft no longer seemed to be ascending much, but it was hurtling forward with unnerving speed. I looked ahead of me, over the sprawling city, and the suburbs beyond. Terror clawed at me. I had not the first clue how to navigate this thing. It was a wonder to me that it was even still flying, that it hadn't crashed to the ground the moment Lee fell out.

Where am I going?

What. Just. Happened?

I didn't know how to start making sense of it. But what I did know was that I had to put as much distance between myself and that palace as possible, as fast as possible. I didn't know how long it would take for the queen and Alastair's bodies to be discovered. I cursed myself for making so much noise when shouting for Lee. After discovering their corpses, I'd fallen into a stupor of disbelief and been so stupid as to place a hand upon the queen's shoulder. A bare hand. I'd left behind my trace. And whoever discovered them would notice that the door that led up to the rooftop had been left open. They'd search the roof, notice Lee's body, if that hadn't been discovered beforehand. And realize I would be missing.

I didn't know whether anyone else in that palace was aware of the mission Lee and I were supposed to be carrying out in Patrus. Whether they knew that we were due to return in Lee's makeshift aircraft. But if anyone did know, surely the first thing they would assume was that I had gone flying off with it. They'd send a horde of helicopters after me.

This could be happening at any moment.

My heart quivering, I fixed my eyes ahead and dared place my hands on the handlebars for support.

How does this thing work?

I'd caught a glimpse of Lee twisting the throttle while riding it, the way you would twist the throttle of a regular motorcycle. Was that action spurring the aircraft forward? Were any of the bike's other parts used for similar functions? The brakes for slowing?

God. This is insane.

Sweat dripped from my forehead as I mustered the courage to twist the throttle. The engine chugged. The rotors spun faster. The aircraft's speed increased. I blew out unsteadily. I'd figured out how to accelerate. Stopping—and eventually landing—would be another terrifying experience entirely. But I had no idea when I could stop or land. I couldn't anywhere in the city, or in the suburbs. With the queen's death, this entire area would soon be swarming with wardens. I had to go further. Beyond the suburbs…. The Green. That was where I would reach if I kept moving. And then? Once I reached The Green? Then what?

What had Lee been thinking? Where had he been planning to head? Back to Patrus? Was that where his loyalties really lay?

Then why the hell would he agree to blow up the lab and attempt to kill the king in the process?

He couldn't have been loyal to Patrus. And I couldn't believe that he would head back there. He had been navigating northward. In the same direction I was going now. The Green.

Where was Lee's backpack? I couldn't see it hanging anywhere. And, for that matter, where was the egg? That blasted egg. They must be in the compartment beneath my seat.

Before I could even begin trying to formulate my next step, I had to attempt to figure Lee out. How could he have been playing both sides all along? And why? For the egg? Why did he want it? It struck me that he must have taken the key from Alastair before he murdered him. Hopefully it hadn't still been on Lee's person when he'd fallen.

I threw another anxious glance over my shoulder. I could barely even make out the palace anymore.

The city was slipping away beneath me, and soon, so were the suburbs. I twisted the throttle, increasing the aircraft's speed further.

Daring to stand, I unlatched the seat to reveal a much larger compartment than I'd expected to find. Shafts of moonlight escaping through the clouds revealed Lee's backpack, dozens of tins of food, bottles of water, three guns, four knives, five aerosol sprays (the same variety that Ms. Dale had brought with us to The Green), spare clothing, a flashlight, a breathing