Page 38 of Dissent (The Dissenter Saga #1)

“Whoa now…” My stomach felt like a ton of bricks just dropped in. “We’re just friends.”

The subtle smile returned, but the twinkling in her eyes told me she wasn’t buying what I was selling. “Of course,” she cooed, “just friends. Understandably so.” I gripped my teacup again, taking another swig to calm my nerves. “From what I hear, he seems quite taken with you.”

I choked on my tea again, spitting what I had in my mouth back into my cup. “He’s what? What does that mean? What have you heard?” My questions came out in rapid succession, and if Sasha had any doubts about how I felt about Matias before, I definitely just played my whole damn hand.

She cocked a brow. “It means that he seems very concerned about you and your wellbeing.” She lifted her own teacup, sipping some of its contents before continuing. “He was here early this morning.”

Sitting up straight, I was suddenly enthralled by everything she had to say. “Why? What did he want?”

She took her time, sipping more of her hot brew, while I sat in my chair feeling my insides crawl.

Finally putting her cup down, she continued again.

“He seemed rather insistent that I reassign him to your training. Matias is usually very good at accepting orders, but he was fairly intent on giving them instead this morning.”

“He did?”

She nodded. “Yes…I don’t think I’ve ever had Mr. Alvarez giving orders to me before.” She watched me silently, and I could just feel the seconds ticking by. “I told him I would take his recommendation into consideration.”

Chewing my bottom lip, I mulled over her words in my head. It didn’t take long before she was asking me another question.

“Tell me about your relationship with Wes.”

I couldn’t help it—I snorted. “Oh yeah,” I drawled sarcastically, “we’re total besties.”

The corners of her eyes wrinkled as the line of her lips curved into a knowing smile. “It’s going that well, I take it.”

“Ha!” I let out before tipping the cup back, only to discover that I had already emptied it.

“Yeah, it’s awesome .” I knew it wasn’t her fault.

The bitterness in my tone wasn’t meant for her, but I just couldn’t control myself.

Thankfully, Sasha seemed forgiving enough and her demeanor shifted slightly to let me know she was listening.

I groaned, “He’s just such a jerk. I’m pretty sure he hates me, and it doesn’t matter what I do, he just goes out of his way to make my life miserable.

” I slumped into my chair. “It’s not like it’s that hard to do anyhow,” I added bitterly.

Sasha watched quietly, eyeing me. “You know, he is hurting deeply, child.”

“Yeah, well, that makes two of us,” I muttered, staring at the floor, not wanting to meet her gaze.

“I know you can understand his pain better than most. But you should not begrudge him so much. He really is quite the sweet boy—”

I snorted again, cutting her off. “Oh yeah, I’m sure.” The words tasted bitter in my mouth. The truth was, I knew there was more to Wes, but I was also horribly confused by him. And frankly, the situation going on between us was getting really old.

We sat in silence for a moment before I started up again.

“Ugh! I just don’t know what his problem is.

I mean, I get it, I really do. I liked Chase, and when he died, there was a part of me that felt like I died too, you know?

Chase represented hope for me, and when he was gone, it just felt like the hope was gone with him.

” The sting of tears pricked my eyes as Chase’s memory flooded me.

“And then I come here and find out I was just some sort of mission for him.”

Sasha stayed quiet, making sure I’d finished before she spoke.

“Chase was a fantastic soldier. He was loyal, brave, kindhearted, and always willing to accept his duty, no matter what I requested of him.” I sniffed, wiping my nose, watching Sasha’s expressions carefully shift as she spoke.

“I loved that boy dearly. He reported frequently while he was in Telvia on his assignment, keeping me updated.

In the beginning, his reports were to the point, brief, giving me the facts and nothing more. But then…something changed.

“It was subtle. So subtle, in fact, I didn’t even notice it at first. His reports carried just a hair more detail, and his choice of words or what he reported on shifted.

And at one point, I finally realized what had changed.

Chase’s reports were no longer just of what intel he had gathered.

The subject of his writing became more focused, and that focus was you. ”

My breath caught, lips parting in a silent gasp.

“Chase began telling me all about you , Mara. How you wore your hair, what pains the First Lady of Telvia put you through. He would tell me of your plans for your eighteenth birthday, and he even asked this old woman for advice on the perfect gift.”

One blink. That’s all it took…and then the quiet tears were rolling down my cheeks. He cared. He actually cared.

“Chase might have entered your life because he was assigned to, child. But I can assure you that he remained in your life because he grew to care about you very much.”

Wiping my tears with the back of my hand, I sniveled.

“If I were you, child, I would stop questioning his care for you. He might have been betrothed to you by duty, but Chase’s devotions were born of his own heart.”

I nodded in acknowledgment, accepting the truth of her words until her words registered clearly. “Wait a minute. What did you say?”

Sasha looked at me, perplexed. “He cared for you, child.”

I shook my head. “You said betrothed . What do you mean by that? I wasn’t engaged to Chase. We weren’t even technically dating yet.” I watched Sasha carefully now as her eyes seemed to widen in recognition. “Sasha,” I treaded cautiously, “What did you mean by that?”

Her lips parted as though she was about to speak and then closed. The silence stretched as she seemed to measure her words, calculating what she was going to say next. Finally, she answered, “I thought you knew by now.”

“Knew what?”

Once again, silence. Sasha inhaled deeply, appearing to ground herself.

“I suppose it is better from me than from someone else. Remember, Mara, that many events were placed into motion during the last war. Raúl had taken control of the West, but we knew he wanted more power. He envisioned an empire, and it was only a matter of time before he would seek support from the other regions and enslave this entire continent. Intelligence reports suggested that he had his eye set on the South next, but President Smith lacked the manpower to defend her region against a Telvian attack. She had other resources, however. Resources that the region to the North desperately needed. And they had the manpower we required.”

I pressed my lips together, body stiffening. I had a funny feeling I knew where this story was going.

“The North was powerful—by far the most powerful of the four factions—but not powerful enough. It came to my attention that they had concerns of Raúl conquering the South. They worried he would seek to take the North next.” Sasha lifted a finger, eyeing me like I was her pupil at the academy.

“To fight the West was one thing, but to take on a battle against the West and South was another. The North didn’t have the capacity to wage war against half of the UFA.

” She dropped her hand. “So, we came to the bargaining table. We promised to supply them with the resources they desired if they provided the manpower to help defend the South and recapture the West. They were open to those terms, but they were hesitant. They were worried that, should we regain control of the West, we would be too powerful and turn on them just as Raúl had turned on all of us just a few years prior.”

Sasha reached for the tea kettle and poured herself another cup.

“We agreed to form an alliance, but the North was not willing to accept the agreement unless there was a way to guarantee we would not turn on them in the end. It was decided that marriage would be the ultimate sign of trust and loyalty. The ruling family of the North were the Calvernons, and they remain in power to this day.”

My heart dropped as the realization of what she said hit me. “Chase.”

Sasha nodded. “Yes, Chase. Chase was the oldest—by minutes mind you—but oldest nonetheless. We agreed that the First Son of the North would marry the First Daughter of Telvia. In this way, the North did not need to fear being taken over since this union would hold both sides in an alliance of peace.”

My eyes drifted to my lap, staring but seeing nothing. “Chase and I—”

“Were promised to one another, yes.” I looked up at her, catching the pitiful look she gave me.

“You were to be wed following your eighteenth birthday. Of course, that was before we lost in the uprising. Never did we imagine Raúl would still reign for this long. But our pact was still in place. So, when Chase was old enough to train, he did. And once he was of mature enough age, he was assigned a false identity and began working his way up in the Telvian system. He was tasked with befriending and protecting you in Telvia.”

“Oh my god,” I muttered, gaze drifting to the distressed wood of her desk. This…this couldn’t be real.

“He was aware of the alliance agreement and accepted it was his duty. But then, I think he rather enjoyed the idea. And eventually, he confided in me that, although Raúl remained in control and he was not required to wed you until after the successful completion of the rebellion, he wanted to move forward with asking you to marry him. He was hoping to do so shortly after he had been approved as your match, of course.”

Fog filled me, and I felt overwhelmed by emotions. Chase cared about me, and he was going to ask me to marry him?

It all felt so wrong and so right at the same time. As much as this new revelation brought me comfort—reassured me that at least some of what I experienced with him was real—it brought with it new devastation over his death. And then, it hit me…

I had been promised.

I had been betrothed .

Who the hell had the right to betroth me to anyone?

Jaw clenched, I scorched Sasha with a gaze I was sure could melt titanium. “Who in the world thought they could promise me off to somebody? Because I know damn well Raúl didn’t do it. Who the hell do you think you are, Sasha? How could you!”

A flicker crossed her eyes as a small grimace took over her wrinkled lips. “I did not promise you to Chase Calvernon. Your anger is misplaced.”

I scoffed, “Well then who, Sasha? Because last time I checked, you run this place.”

And then I saw it. Grief crossed her face, but she maintained her composure as she rose to my challenge. “The only person who had the right to do so, child. Your mother.”

My jaw hit the floor.