The Gender End (The Gender Game #7)

“Geez, don’t say that. We can’t even contemplate kids right now, not until this whole mess is over.”

“Well, it’ll be over soon enough,” Amber sighed, and I frowned, the reality of the next few days suddenly hitting me, everything in my stomach seeming leaden while my heart began to race. Amber noticed, and grabbed my hand. “Violet, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

I looked into her earnest eyes and nodded, sucking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Amber looked around the room, her scrutiny stopping as she met Logan’s gaze, and then she deliberately turned her back to him and cleared her throat.

“What’s up with that?” I asked after a moment, nodding toward Logan.

Amber sighed and picked at the tablecloth, her mouth turning down. I almost expected her to clam up, like she had many times in the past, but this time, she started to talk.

“I told you the story about the pilot who trained me, right?”

I nodded. “And I know that pilot was Logan. How did that even happen? The heir to the Deepvox legacy getting hired on as a heloship pilot? I’m surprised he even had to work.”

“He didn’t,” Amber replied honestly. “He did it because he wanted to. He wanted to build a name for himself outside of his father’s legacy. It’s what made him so attractive to me in the first place. Y’know, a man not letting other men elevate him? Trying to do things on his own, make his own reputation? It was refreshing. And then when I could see he was attracted to me… I sort of played on it to get what I wanted.”

“Amber!” I exclaimed, and she flushed.

“Look, I was sixteen, and I did like him. I mean, honestly, I really wanted to spend time with him, as well as learn how to be a pilot.” She shrugged and took a sip of her cider, her smile catlike for a moment. “I didn’t see the harm in doing both.”

“But…” I trailed off after she fell silent, her gaze fixed on the drink in her hand.

She blinked and then sighed, setting the mug on the table. “But my father”—she grimaced—“found out. He, uh, caught us making out inside the heloship and dragged me to my room. Locked me in. At first I didn’t know what had happened. They sequestered me in my room for three days, only food and drinks and my tutors. Then my father comes in and tells me I’ll be marrying Logan. Just like that. No discussion from him, and no conversation from Logan. I was just expected to shut up and do what I was told. Everything was arranged.”

“But, if you liked him—”

“Yes, exactly! I liked him—I didn’t know if I loved him. I was sixteen, Violet! He was almost nineteen. And all I could think to myself once I found out he had arranged our marriage with my father without even talking to me was that… he was just like every other man in Patrus, and to him I was just like any other woman—marry me and keep me in my place. It could have been anybody and he would have done the same thing; preserve his reputation, get a good, obedient wife at the same time—”

She broke off, her cheeks flushed with anger, and looked around. So did I, and I realized her voice had gotten loud enough to draw notice. Glaring at the people who had turned and stared, Amber held their gazes until they turned back to the party, and then sighed, speaking in a slightly lower voice.

“So I snuck out. Jeff helped me, once I explained, and I took one of the cars over to the Vox estate and snuck in. Daddy designed their security system, so it was easy enough to bypass. I got into Logan’s room, and he looked at me like I was crazy for being there. We fought, and he just didn’t get it, so I told him to call off the contract… or have the coroner on standby on our wedding night.” She took a sip of her cider, draining it, and set the cup down on the table with a thud. “He called it off. I thought that would be the end of it, until my father informed me he’d found someone three times Logan’s age to marry me to—somebody richer, somebody who would pay even more money for me. Only a week later. That’s when I realized that was all I was or ever would be to him. So I ran away. I took a while to plan it, and looking back I didn’t have any idea what I was doing. But… Desmond found me and recruited me before I could get into any trouble.”

She fell silent, and I reached forward and took her hand. “Amber, I’m so—”

“Beautiful tonight,” said a deep voice from behind me, and I turned to see Logan standing there, two mugs in his hand. “For the beautiful bride,” he said, offering one, and I took it and handed it off to Tim, not having drained my original cider mug. “For the Lady Ashabee.”

Amber stared at the mug, and then looked at him. “No one asked you to bring that,” she said mulishly.

Logan arched an eyebrow and set the mug down. “It’s meant as a peace offering, Amber.”

“Peace?” she scoffed. “I don’t want peace from you.”

Logan’s fingers drummed against the back of my chair, and I realized he was leaning on it, staring at her. “And what do you want, exactly? Because I just want to talk. Honestly.”

Amber’s eyes narrowed, and I felt myself becoming distinctly uncomfortable with the position I was sitting in, directly between the two of them. Before she could answer, Logan stopped leaning, taking his weight off my chair, and continued.

“Listen, Amber. I’m this close to using your full name in public where all these lovely people can hear it. So are you going to keep acting like a child who has missed her naptime, or are you going to grow up and come have an adult conversation with me?”

Amber leaned back in the chair and considered him for a long moment while Tim and I shifted uncomfortably. Watching her face changing, I just had to hide a little smile behind a napkin. I liked how Logan was calling her out the same way Amber usually called members of the rest of the group out. We all knew she could be a bit vindictive, and I didn’t want her to let it get in the way of things—if Logan Vox could get her to slow down enough to consider that, I would be more than impressed.

After several heartbeats, she snatched up the mug and stood, draining it dry and setting it down next to her other empty mug. “All right,” she said slowly. “Let’s do this.”

Then she moved away to a more private part of the hall, letting him follow her. I watched them go.

“I would not want to be in that hallway,” said Owen wryly as he walked up, three plates of cake balanced in his hand. “Here, I figured you and Tim were craving a sugar high.” I reached up and took two of the plates, handing one to Tim and placing the other in front of me.

“Thanks,” I said, immediately digging in. He sat down with a sigh as I took my first mouthful, and practically died. The cake was simple—vanilla—but oh, so delectable. Within moments, my chunk had disappeared as I quickly devoured it.