Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)

by Victoria Aveyard

“And what about me? Even if I take away the cameras, the guards’ memories, anything that could implicate either of us, the queen will know.” Shaking his head, he sighs. “She’ll take my eyes for this.” And Julian will never read again. How can I ask for that?

Gods no.. That's a horrible punishment...

Walsh hugs me, taking me by surprise. “I don’t know how,” she mutters, “but I hope you become queen one day. Imagine what you could do then? The Red queen.”

Aye title drop

“What did your mother learn of the bomb?” His voice drops to a whisper. “There was no bomb.” What? “It was an explosion, but it was also an accident. A bullet punctured a gas line in the floor, and when Cal’s fire hit it . . .” He trails off, letting his hands do the talking. “It was Mother’s idea to use that to our, ah, advantage.”

.. It was all lies. That queen is a snake and maven you're -ughhhh its not working out at all. Nothing is going well.

“I’m a soldier,” Cal spits, shrugging away from his brother’s touch. “I can’t just sit by and let others fight for me. I won’t do it.” He sounds like a child whining for a toy—he must enjoy killing. It makes me sick. I don’t speak, letting the diplomatic Maven talk for me. He always knows what to say.

I didnt read that from him at all.. He genuinely seems like he cares for all his people all of them. How he treated those 4 were as any ruler would.. Not racistly but seeing them as murderers ..

“I’ll miss you, little lightning girl.” Right now, the nickname doesn’t sound so bad.

I'll miss Julian.. I hope he's safe but actively helping somehow behind the scenes.. I hope he gets to take Sara with him..

“But not for long. Answers are coming.” “What do you mean?” “They found blood down in the cells. Red blood.” My gunshot wound is gone, but the memory of the pain has not faded. “So?”

... Holy shit do they have some sort of blood tracking system in place??

“The blood database. Any Red born within a hundred miles of civilization gets sampled at birth. Started out as a project to understand exactly what the difference is between us, but it ended up just another way to put a collar on your people. In the bigger cities, Reds don’t use ID cards but blood tags. They’re sampled at every gate, coming and going. Tracked like animals.”

.... That's the red tag they all have..

“He shot me,” I whisper. “The Sentinel shot me. It’s my blood they found.” And then his hands are just as cold as mine. For all his clever ideas, Maven has nothing to say to this. He just stares, his breath coming in tiny, scared puffs. I know the look on his face; I wear it every time I’m forced to say good-bye to someone. “It’s too bad we didn’t stay longer,” I murmur, looking out at the river. “I would have liked to die close to home.”

...

Oh. His kiss is not at all like his brother’s.

!?? That's not the best time to.. Uh.. Ok..

“The queen requests your presence on the viewing deck.” Cal’s voice grinds like stone. He sounds almost angry, but his bronze eyes look sad, defeated even.

he saw his brother kiss her.. Yikes.. This is so messy.. >-<

“These are the techies,” I whisper hoarsely, remembering the name the Silvers so blithely toss around. “They make the lights, the cameras, the video screens—” “The guns, the bullets, the bombs, the ships, the transports,” Maven adds. “They keep the power running. They keep our water clean. They do everything for us.”

... They are the literal sweatshops of this world..

“Why don’t they leave?” He just shrugs. “This is the only life they know. Most techies will never leave their own alley. They can’t even conscript.” Can’t even conscript. Their lives are so terrible that the war is a better alternative, and they’re not even allowed to go.

Ain't no way tf.. justice for them bro they need saving too also side note tf you shrugging for?? Does this not bother you??

But I have to try. If only for Gray Town, for the ones who have never seen the sun.

.. This story is all over the place with so many people oppressed htf is she saving anyone if she can't even fight her battles on her own..?

Maven snickers to himself. “He thinks speeches are a waste of time. Cal likes action, not words.” That makes two of us, but I don’t want to admit I have anything in common with Maven’s older brother. Maybe once, I thought so, but not now. Not ever again.

i dont like the way maven is acting.. Trying to act nonchalant when he's anything but.

All Red crimes, including breaking of the curfew, will be punished by execution. And”—at this, my voice falters for the first time—“conscription age has been lowered, to the age of fifteen. Anyone who provides information leading to capture of Scarlet Guard operatives or the prevention of Scarlet Guard actions will be awarded conscription waivers, releasing up to five members of the same family from military service.” It’s a brilliant, and terrible, maneuver. Reds will tear each other apart for such waivers.

That's so fucking cruel.. Gods..

Words can lie. “Long live the king.”

She's doomed. Trapped center stage. Silvers hate her and now Reds too. She has no one with her.

According to military law, all Red soldiers are to be buried in the cemeteries of the Choke. Executed soldiers have no burials and lie in mass graves. Cremation is not common. Misplaced bodies are nonexistent. And yet I found 27 names, 27 soldiers, your brother included, who suffered these fates.

Wait.. If its not common.. That means his body.. Was hiding something the silvers were afraid of

“I thought that once,” he mutters. “But it would lead to rebellion on both sides, and I will not be the king who ruins this country. This is my legacy, my father’s legacy, and I have a duty to it.” A slow heat rumbles from him, steaming the glass window. “Would you trade a million deaths for what they want?”

That is EXACTLY what is being dealt at this very moment.

“I do,” he says painfully, looking at his hands. “That’s why I gave him enough time to slip away.” “You did what?” I can’t believe my ears. Cal, the soldier, the one who always follows orders, breaking the rules for Julian.

What.? I am STRUGGLING TO READ CAL

The bloodbase. The records. “What does that mean?” I don’t have the strength to keep my voice from shaking. “Your school record, birth certificate, blood prints, even your ID card have been destroyed.”

That's both great news and horrible.. No one knows her now. But great that no one will have her blod to compare to others for that specific marker/mutation..

This was Maven’s doing. This was the shadow controlling the flame.

.. This makes me so uneasy

“My lady, you dropped this,” the little boy says. He’s probably ten years old, with one arm banded with red. “My lady?” Then I notice the scrap he holds out. It’s nothing, just a twisted bit of paper I don’t remember having. Still, I smile for the boy and take it from him. “Thank you very much.”

Sly.. Hopefully Kiddo lives a long life

When the theater darkens, Maven throws an arm across my shoulders, pulling me so close I can feel his heartbeat. He smirks at the secretary, now peeking between the curtains. “Don’t disturb us,” he drawls, and he pulls my face to his. The door clicks behind us, locking shut, but neither of us pulls away. A minute or an hour passes, which I don’t know, until voices onstage bring me back to reality.

.. Idk how to feel about this

“What do we do now?” He laughs to himself, eyes glinting mischievously. “That’s not what I meant.” But I can’t help but smirk with him.

Ugh ew.

“We’re heading south.” Farley sits back in her seat, nodding. “Yes.” “The south is radiated,” he barks, staring down at her. She barely shrugs.

I guessed it!! Who claimed the south was radiated!? Absolutely no one knows for real cause they are too scared to go

“How do you know the south, the Ruins, are still radiated?” she asks with a mad smile.

Exactly. This seems like a clever trick

“We have machines, detectors, they tell us—” Farley nods. “And who built those machines?” “Techies,” Maven croaks, “Reds.” Finally, he understands what she’s getting at. “The detectors lie.”

Brilliant

“Cal will never turn his back on his crown, on your father.” “I know my brother. If it comes down to it, to saving your life or saving his crown, we both know what he will choose,” Maven fires back. “He would never choose me.” My skin burns under Maven’s gaze, with the memory of one stolen kiss. It was him who saved me from Evangeline. Cal who saved me from escaping and bringing more pain upon myself. Cal who saved me from conscription. I’ve been too busy trying to save others to notice how much Cal saves me. How much he loves me. Suddenly it’s very hard to breathe. Maven shakes his head. “He will always choose you.”

Wtf is maven playing at here??

“The rats crawl in the old tunnels,” Ptolemus snarls, turning her over with his foot. She scrambles away from his touch, surprisingly quick for her many injuries. “We found this one trailing us near the river holes.”

Goddamn this. One vantage point and now thats basically discovered now too

No, this was an order, I realize with growing horror. She was watching the train tunnels, making sure the way was clear for us to get back from Naercey. And while we made it through safely, she did not.

Damn this. Walsh is dying today and there is nothing anyone can do to protect her anymore.

For Tristan. I can’t even mourn her.

... She was brave. And proud.

“Kilorn wanted you to have this,” she adds, holding out her hand. In it is a tiny green stone, the color of his eyes. An earring. “He said you’d know what it means.”

Yeah he's dead. That solidified it

The queen’s eyes narrow into blue slits. Her eyes, they’re the same as Maven’s. “Fortunately, that will never happen,” she says plainly.

.. The queen will betray the throne for the crown.. She'll save maven for it too

“Elara, you have to get Maven out of here,” I tell her. “Don’t worry about me, just keep him safe.” “Oh, don’t you fret, little lightning girl,” she sneers. “I don’t think about you at all. Though your loyalty to my son is quite inspiring. Isn’t it, Maven?”

.. You truly don't think the queen doesnt want her son on the throne? She will play anyone for that... You're Naive.

When Cal’s eyes meet mine, I know he understands much better than I do. Anyone can betray anyone echoes louder and louder, until it howls in my ears like the winds of a hurricane. “Maven?” I have to look up to see his face, and for a second, I don’t recognize him. He’s still the same boy, the one who comforted me, kissed me, kept me strong. My friend. More than my friend. But something is wrong in him. Something has changed. “Maven, help me up.”

.. Yeah Maven betrayed everyone. He played everyone.

The answer is frighteningly simple. Because she already knew. Because he is her son. Because this was her plan all along. The thought stings like knives running along skin, but the pain only makes it more real. “You used me.” Finally, Maven condescends to look back at me. “Catching on, are you?”

.. Julian was right from the start about Maven..

“You chose the targets. The colonel, Reynald, Belicos, even Ptolemus—they weren’t the Guard’s enemies, they were yours.” I want to tear him apart, lightning or not. I want to make him hurt. I am finally learning my lesson. Anyone can betray anyone.

On god I knew those targets were suspect!!

“Another dead boy. He makes no difference.” “He makes all the difference,” I whisper to myself.

.. Maven is going on a kill list. If the king,cal, and mare can somehow escape.. But where...? That loser maven knows everything ..

He tries to resist, struggling with every ounce of strength he has, but it’s no use. This is a battle he does not know how to fight. When his hand closes around the gilded sword, pulling it from the sheath at his father’s waist, the last piece of the puzzle slips into place. Tears course down his face, steaming against burning-hot skin. “It’s not you,” Tiberias says, his eyes on Cal’s wretched face. He doesn’t bother pleading for his life. “I know it’s not you, son. This is not your fault.”

... No one deserves this. This is cruel beyond comprehension.

When Elara screams, wailing and thrashing over the king’s body, I almost laugh aloud at the absurdity of it all. Has she changed her mind? Has she lost it entirely? Then I hear the click of cameras switching on, coming back to life.

They're framing him!! O_O

“You killed him! You killed the king! You killed our father!” he screams in Cal’s face. Only a hint of a smirk remains, and somehow Cal resists the urge to rip his brother’s head off. He’s in shock, not understanding, not wanting to understand. But for once, I certainly do. The truth doesn’t matter. It only matters what the people believe. Julian tried to teach me that lesson before, and now I understand it. They will believe this little scene, this pretty play of actors and lies. And no army, no country will follow a man who murdered his father for the crown.

Fuck this whole place is falling to pieces

Maven has betrayed me. No, he was never on my side at all.

..he played all of us

“It’s the cells,” Cal says dully. His hands draw shapes in the dirty floor—flames. “Made of Silent Stone. Don’t ask me to explain it, because I can’t, and I don’t feel like trying.”

He's being courteous .. Cause if i was betrayed and traumatized to that magnitude I'd never speak again.

“We both know I could never beat you with ability,” he says, throwing back Cal’s own advice from so long ago. “So I beat you with my head, dear brother.” Once, he told me Cal hated to lose. Now I realize the one playing to win was always Maven. Every breath, every word was in service to this bloody victory.

Maven is dead when or if these two escape.

“I was never yours, and you were never mine, Maven,” I snarl. “And not because of him, either. I thought you were perfect, I thought you were strong and brave and good. I thought you were better than him.” Better than Cal. Those are words Maven thought no one would ever say. He flinches, and for a second, I can see the boy I

Struck a nerve..

I—I loved you. I trusted you. I needed you. And now I’m going to die for it.” “I am king. You will live if I want you to. I will make it so.” “You mean if you lie? One day your lies will strangle you, King Maven. My only regret is I won’t be alive to see it.”

Girl clock that. Curse his sorry a** to end of time

“I will never make the mistake of loving you ever again.” To my dismay, he recovers quickly and smoothes his hair. “So you choose him?”

It doesn't matter who tf she chooses you dolt.

“You found him?” “Of course we did. We captured Julian and Sara both.” Maven laughs. “I’ll settle for killing Skonos first, finishing the job my mother began.

Ugh... Not them..

“I’ll make the others scream for you, Mare, every last one. Not just your parents. Not just your siblings. But every single one like you. I’m going to find them, and they will die with you in their thoughts, knowing this is the fate you have brought them. I am the king and you could’ve been my Red queen. Now you are nothing.”

.. I can already call it that he will 1000% eat those words.

I have three older brothers, so when I spit at Maven, my aim is perfect, hitting him square in the eye.

Beautiful.