Page 4 of Dissent (The Dissenter Saga #1)

A ll I could do was stare at the words, reading them over and over again.

Dissent

Resist

Rise

I knew rebel activity had been growing in the Subclass district. There were even some rumors of it spreading to District 2…but District 1 ? Raúl was going to lose his mind, especially with Election Day only two months away.

“Do you think he did it?” I was pretty sure the boy was innocent, but another part of me was growing nervous. What if he did do it? What was going to happen to me if that man told my parents I intervened in an Enforcement Officer’s duties?

Chase came up to stand beside me. “No, I really don’t.” Silence filled the space, but only for a moment before he bumped my shoulder. “Letting him go home was the right thing to do. You made the right call.”

I glanced at him before shifting my gaze back to the blaring red letters smeared across my father’s face. “Did I?” I blew out a breath. “I hope you’re right.” Silence fell between us again as we both took in the vandalism. “Why would somebody do this?”

Chase snorted. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“What?” I frowned.

Chase looked at me straight on. Nothing about him gave off any sense of hesitation.

“What part of this is confusing to you? Telvia’s growing restless, Mara.

People aren’t happy.” He looked back at the poster, seriousness enveloping his angular features.

His words came out low and deep, as though he had forgotten I was there and was thinking aloud. “Raúl’s overstayed his welcome.”

Something ignited within me. “Are you nuts? He’s been voted in twice already. Clearly , the people love him.”

Chase crossed his arms, eyes never wavering, “Could it be the election’s a farce? No one’s ever run against him, so of course he would win every time.”

My jaw hit the floor. I couldn’t believe I was hearing this from him. Yes, it was true no one ever ran against my father, but clearly no one thought they could do better, right ? An inkling of doubt settled deep within me, and I hesitated.

No . Raúl was a good leader. Everything he did was to protect the Telvian people… all of them. I had to believe that. I was his daughter. Because if I didn’t believe it…if I was wrong about him, then—

I couldn’t finish the thought. That kind of thinking only led to trouble. And I had enough trouble plaguing me already.

Chase turned to face me, arms still folded across his chest. “It’s only natural that when people feel oppressed, they rise up.” He pointed at the ruined campaign poster. “I mean, look at this. This isn’t District 3, Mara. Someone in the Noble Class did this.”

I didn’t want to hear it. My mind attached to one word, and that word kept zipping through my consciousness.

“ Oppressed? You know, it’s not like shit’s been easy for him.

And clearly the Telvian people placed him in power because they believed he could guide us through the drought.

That was some real crap, Chase, and you know it. And he did it. He got us through.”

Chase looked up at the sky as he exhaled, exasperation setting in. “Yeah, he did, Mara, but he’s been in power too long—”

“ What? Are you insane?” I looked around, checking to make sure no one heard him. Grabbing him by the shirt, I shoved him deeper into the alley before whisper-yelling at him. “Are you crazy? How the hell are you even talking like that? Someone could hear you!”

His brows knitted together, tension growing thick between us. “Who cares who hears me?” It wasn’t a question, but a challenge.

“ I care! Last time I checked, you wanted my father’s favor, remember ?” That did it. Chase’s eyes flickered, emotion passing through them before he blinked. When he opened them again, his expression softened as he cleared his throat.

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” He looked over his shoulder before looking back at me.

“I’m sorry. I’m—I just…I just want to make sure that stuff like this doesn’t happen anymore, ya know?

And figuring out why someone would defile your dad’s poster is an important step in making sure that something like this doesn’t happen again. ”

I guess that made sense…kind of. But it didn’t help me feel any better or any less annoyed with him. I crossed my arms, giving him a dubious look.

He shifted his weight, inhaling deeply before speaking again. “I’m sorry, Mara. I…I don’t know why I got all fired up. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Part of me felt relieved, but something else told me this wasn’t over. He must have noticed that I was unconvinced, because he gave me that smirk I loved so much. Two simple steps and the gap between us dissolved as he planted a simple kiss on my cheek.

“I’ve got to go,” he said.

“Go?” I started, confusion mixing with my unease. “What do you mean go ? Aren’t you going to walk me home?”

“Yeah, um…” he stuttered, looking off into the distance. “I forgot I have something to do for work. You can get yourself home, though, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I can get home from here,” I replied. This was so not like him. I mean, WTF?

“Good.” He walked backwards as he began to leave the alley.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Then he turned and left me standing there…

alone, feeling like, somehow, I was the one who did something wrong.

Reaching for my little heart, a shiver flowed down my spine, and I suddenly felt cold in the shadows of the alley.

***

My mind was a whirling mess of thoughts as I sat in my brother’s car. I kept replaying the interaction between Chase and me over and over again, but no matter how often I reviewed it, I couldn’t figure out what went wrong. What the hell happened?

“And that’s it? He just walked away?” Jacob was driving his coup, an initiation gift from our parents.

They were so proud when he was assigned a position at the REG two years ago.

He was an amazing older brother, but I couldn’t help but feel the sting of jealousy from time to time.

Why was it that everything he did was great, and everything I did was crap?

“Yeah, it was super weird. I mean, did I say something wrong?” I stared at him. With blond hair trimmed short, a powerful jaw, and blue eyes like the sky, he looked so much like my stepmother.

At one point in my life, I held that against him, but it wasn’t his fault he was a spitting image of Belinda.

She was his mom, after all. I , on the other hand, was a completely different story.

The kind of story no one wants to acknowledge—let alone admit—to anyone else.

I was the bastard child. Raúl de la Puente was my dad, making me the result of a one-night stand.

Jacob was the true de la Puente child, the true heir to Raúl’s presidency.

Everyone fully expected him to continue Raúl’s legacy when the time came.

“No, you didn’t. He was wrong.” Jacob clinched the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles glowing white.

His head swayed side to side, barely noticeable, but I knew he was getting angry.

It was his tell. Ever since we were kids, whenever he was upset, his chin would shift side to side, almost as if his body was gesturing what he wanted to say— no.

“Don’t get mad, Jacob.”

“I’m not mad.” He glanced my way, but catching my skeptical expression, he cracked a smile. “Damn, Mara. How do you do that? You always know what I’m feeling.”

“Nah, you just have a crap poker face,” I laughed softly. He chuckled too. “Thanks for picking me up. I could have walked home, but I didn’t feel like going all that way by myself.”

After Chase left me in the alley, I called my brother.

Of course, I had to tell him why I needed a lift, which led to telling him about the poster and the argument we had.

I left out the piece about the Enforcement Officer and the boy.

Although I wasn’t worried about Jacob’s opinion of me, I figured fewer people knowing what happened was better.

I hoped the officer would let it go and not mention my intervention in his report.

Concern seeped into his eyes. “Yeah, sure, no problem. You know I’ve always got your back.” I smiled at the sentiment.

Jacob had always been there for me, never holding Raúl’s infidelity against me. Out of everyone in that damn house, he was the only one that told me I was worth something. We were two years apart, but it felt more like we were twins sometimes. He was my big brother, but he was also my best friend.

We sat in silence for a minute. Watching the city pass by as we drove to the Presidential Palace, I was consumed by my thoughts. The memory of the beaten boy filled me, and I could feel the nausea returning in my belly.

“Mara, I’m concerned about you and Chase.”

“What? Why? You don’t have to worry about us. It was just a stupid fight, and he apologized and everything. It’ll be fine.”

“No, I don’t mean like that.” He licked his lips, clearly trying to find the words to express himself.

“What you told me today, it sounds to me like…” He faltered, glancing out his window before shifting his gaze to the road once more.

“What if he’s a Subclass Sympathizer? I mean, why else would he say those things? ”

I froze. “No. No, don’t even start with that,” I said as I twisted in my seat to look at him. “Don’t even joke about that.”

He kept his focus on the road, but his head was shaking again. “I’m not joking, Mara. I’m serious. What if he’s a rebel?”

“Stop,” I warned.

“What if he’s one of them—”

“ Stop ,” I said more forcefully. I couldn’t handle this right now.

I couldn’t go there. The day had been a mess ever since the park, and I didn’t need this on top of everything else.

“Chase supports Dad,” I reaffirmed. “His parents are huge with the Council, remember? The Beckhams are Telvians through and through.”

“I know you like him, but just because—”

“Stop it! For real, Jacob. Knock it off.”

“It’s my assignment, Mara. Remember? I could get into huge trouble—not to mention lose my job—if I don’t report him to the REG.”

I shook my head vigorously, desperate for this conversation to end.

“ No , Jacob. I know Chase. He’s not a Dissenter.

He was just having a bad day.” The tears were welling up in my eyes.

I couldn’t do this right now. I just wanted this day to end.

“Please, don’t report him. You know how that would look, and…

” And they would deny his application to be a match for me.

I didn’t want that. “ Please ,” I begged. “For me?”

He was pensive, and I knew exactly what he was doing—calculating his choices, determining the best option.

I knew he was supposed to report this incident.

Any suspicion was supposed to be reported immediately.

With the election around the corner, they had tasked the Rebel Enforcement Group with sniffing out any rebels, reeducating those who were salvageable, and incarcerating the rest until the Council could try them for their actions against Telvia.

It was a merciless job, but someone had to do it.

He sighed loudly. “Fine. I’ll keep my mouth shut.” The pained expression on his face told me that holding back this secret was going to kill him. But Jacob was a man of his word, and I trusted him.

I blew out a breath. “Oh my god, thank you. Thank you so much.”

The stern lines on his face said it was taking a lot for him to agree to this.

I asked him to do something that went against everything he had been trained to do, acting against his country and our father.

And this realization hit me, crushing me with guilt.

My brother idolized our father. Jacob risking our dad’s approval for me was huge, and it left me feeling like a rotten sister for asking this of him.

But I was also immensely grateful. I would have to return the favor to him one day.

He said nothing more, and silence encircled us both as we drove the rest of the way home. It was uncomfortable, but I kept my focus outside the window, trying to steady myself before we got home.