The Queen Trials by Penelope Wright

Author:Penelope Wright [Wright, Penelope]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2022-10-01T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

“I… I…” I think back to just a few moments ago in the exam room, and honestly, I don’t know how to answer Glory’s question because I don’t really know why Luna ran from the room. So I can’t tell Glory why I thought I failed the exam, precisely. I can only tell her what happened and hopefully, she’ll be able to figure it out for herself and then tell me why I’m wrong.

I take a deep breath and I try again. “They did their measurements and it wasn’t terrible, but then they made me lie back and it got terrible really fast,” I say in a small voice. “Then one of the doctors said to stop, and I thought he was talking to me, to tell me to stop fighting them, but the other doctor is the one who stopped. He came up beside me and put his face right in mine and he said something like, ‘You really are a virgin.’ I don’t remember exactly.”

“Of course you are,” Glory says staunchly. “You’re a good girl.”

Hot anger flares in the center of my chest. “We’re all good,” I spit out. “It’s the derigueurs. They attack us in the mines. They mostly target the women, but the men aren’t safe, either. I’m not any better than any other chipper down in the shafts. I’m just very lucky.”

Glory’s mouth drops open in horror, and she’s making tiny fluttering motions with her hands. Her eyes fly to the corners of the room where the cameras are mounted, and when she speaks her voice is tight. “I’m sure the Rotunda would never allow that sort of mistreatment. If it’s a new issue, they’ll sort it out.”

It’s not a new issue. It’s one of the oldest issues in our world, along with constant hunger and thirst, but Glory is twisting her fingers until they crack and begging me with her eyes not to say another word about it. My emotions burn inside me as I wrestle for control. She knows I’m not lying. I clench my back teeth together and press my lips in a firm line until I’m certain I won’t say anything to endanger either of us. “Like most of the people in my locality, I am a good person,” I finally say. “And I wasn’t lying when I said I’d never been with a man. Apparently, their exam proved that, and they stopped.”

“Yes,” Glory says, relief washing over her face. “Once they determined that medically, they had to stop because they could have potentially damaged you.”

I’m pretty sure they damaged me already, but not in the way Glory means. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to scrub the image of that bloody tool lying on the table next to me out of my mind. I don’t say that, though.

“None of that explains why you would think you’d failed the exam, though, Clio.”

“Well, um… after the doctor said that to me, I spit in his face.”

She gasps. “You didn’t.”

“I did.”

Her hand flutters to her mouth and I am astonished to realize that she’s trying to hide a little grin.

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