He exhales too, his expression unreadable as he releases my face. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
Maverick
Present Day
“Females are to remain docile in all things. A combative spirit shall be seen as proof of her moral depravity.”—EXPECTATIONS FOR FEMALE BEHAVIOR, N.A.L. 6 § 16
“What is it?” Delilah’s shoulders immediately tense, her anxiety palpable.
“Come on.”
I ignore my instinct to reach for her hand and force my hands into my pockets instead, walking back toward my tent. Delilah falls in step beside me, picking at her cuticles, something I noticed she does when she’s nervous.
We make it back to my tent, and I light the lantern by the bed which bathes the small space in a warm light. I gesture for her to take a seat on the bed and grab my laptop off the desk, noticing a folded sheet of paper in the corner with the nameElizabethwritten in dainty letters. “You wrote your mom a letter?” I ask.
She looks up at me in surprise. “Oh, yeah.” She bites her lip, another nervous habit. “Do you still think you’ll be able to get it to her?”
I give her a solemn nod. “We’ll try our best.”
She smiles weakly as I sit next to her on the bed. “Thank you.”
I open the laptop and connect to the internet through the portable Wi-Fi device, searching Gabriel’s name. Thousands of results pop up, from news articles to podcasts analyzing the video in its entirety, but I want the original video that was broadcast straight from the source. After they took over, the Brotherhood’s social media presence dwindled to practically nonexistent, which is why this video is making such huge waves across the globe.
“Maverick?” Her voice shakes. “What is this?”
I click on the video and angle the screen toward her, watching her as Gabriel’s voice fills the tent. Zeus growls at the sound from his spot at my feet, like he somehow knows the owner of the voice is a royal prick. I resist the urge to tell him what a good boy he is.
Delilah’s hand comes up to cover her mouth in shock, countless expressions flitting across her face in rapid succession. Shock, concern, confusion, until eventually, the one that seems to stick is anger. Her brows pull down and her gaze hardens, and I can tell she’s biting her tongue. I barely even hear what Gabriel is saying, and I don’t have to. It’s all bullshit, anyway.
Finally, the video ends, and Delilah stares at the screen for several seconds in silence.
“When did this air?” she asks, still staring at the black screen.
“Yesterday,” I say, watching her.
She looks over at me. “But he’s lying.”
I huff a pathetic laugh. “That’s what the Brotherhood does best.”
She ignores my comment. “You’re not dangerous.”
“To New Athens I am.” I shrug. “If I could, I would dismantle everything they’ve built tomorrow. Nothing would give me more pleasure than watching the Brotherhood and everything they stand for burn to the ground.”
She stares at me, concern marring her brow. The question is, though: who is she concerned for?
“Why?”
“No one should be forced to live a certain way. The Brotherhood has lied and cheated and forced their way into power, eliminating anyone who sees things differently. By removing the right to choose, they’ve stripped away everything that makes people unique, instead creating men whose only motivation is power and women who obey mindlessly.”
Her lips pull tight and she nods, and I instantly regret my choice of words. “It’s been a long day. I should probably get some rest.”
Fuck.“I didn’t mean—”
She cuts me off. “Yes you did.”
I forge ahead, hoping what I’m about to say doesn’t offend her further. “You were a child. A literalchild, and they took you away from everything you knew. They killed your father and stole your family and taught you that submission is love, then married you off atfucking fifteen to a man eight years your senior. You are a victim of the system just as much as the next woman, and it pisses me off to see you hurting because of them. Because ofhim.”
Her face remains stoic. “I was perfectly content until you came along and did the exact same thing you’re accusing them of doing.”
