Page 28 of Dissent

As we hiked, a slow trickling and rippling sound greeted my ears as the smell of must and damp earth filled my nose. I became more aware of it as we kept walking, and before I could think too much about it, the greenery cleared and we were out of the woods. A vast body of rushing water greeted my eyes like I had never seen. It splashed and whirled and spiraled around, playful and energetic. I looked up and down, only to see that the river traveled endlessly in both directions. I couldn’t help it. My jaw dropped as I watched in shock.

There was so much water!

In Telvia, we were still rationing water. We had pulled out all of our plant life, replaced it with artificial greenery, and didn’t even grow food anymore because Raúl kept telling us that there wasn’t enough. That outside our walls was nothing but barren desert and dried up watering holes. And yet, here it was. It was all here. Lush trees and water racing through this forest, endless and abundant. And then I felt it. I felt the little seed of doubt Sasha had planted inside me wiggling and growing, anchoring itself to my core. Was she really telling the truth? And if she was telling the truth about this, then…

What else is Raúl lying about?

Matias laughed softly. I realized how silly I must have looked and quickly snapped my mouth closed. “Where does it all come from?”

“Well, the river starts up that way and flows down through here, and on and on until it reaches the ocean.”

“The ocean?”

He nodded as he quirked an eyebrow at me. “We’re too far from the ocean for me to take you there, but maybe one day I’ll show you.”

Heat spread across my cheeks as a smile sneaked across my lips. I looked at him only to catch his gaze on me, but he quickly averted his eyes back to the water. I did the same.

Listening to the rushing sound, a realization hit me. “Is this why you guys rebelled?”

He gave a shallow sigh. “Yes…and no. The Telvian Council uses the fear of another drought and a scarcity mindset to control the people. And they use it to keep the people divided.” Brows pinched, he steeled his eyes. “Fear causes us to see each other as enemies, focusing on what makes us different versus what makes us the same. If the Telvian people knew this was out here, that there was no need to fear, things could be different.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, feeling lost and confused. Whydidwe have classes? Why would Raúl tell us that water was scarce when it wasn’t? It didn’t make any sense. “Maybe the Telvian Council doesn’t know about this?”

“No. Don’t kid yourself. They know…but it doesn’t conform to the narrative they need to keep their caste system. I know he’s your dad, Mara, but I think you’re going to learn a lot about him. And I think you’ll be surprised at who he really is.”

I felt heavy, his confidence in what he believed to be true weighing on me like an anvil. My lips pressed together in a slight grimace. What if it was true? What if everything I had known to be reality was nothing but a myth? I blinked quickly while taking a deep breath. I needed to change the subject. “So, what do I do? I can’t swim,sooo…”

“Oh, uh, well…just a little down that way, the river softens. You’ll see some of the water branching off into a little alcove. It won’t be deep there, so it’ll be safe for you to wash up and, um—” he stammered, a flush of pink joining the brush of freckles on his cheeks. “You’ll be able to clean up, uh…privately. I’ll stay here and keep a lookout for you. If you need any help, just shout, okay?” He handed me the bundle of supplies with a sheepish grin. I found his smile contagious and returned it as I took the supplies.

I tried not to dwell on the little swirl of emotions that spun inside of me and just focused on my feet on the ground. The bank of the river had thousands of pebbles and rocks of varying sizes, making me feel unbalanced as I walked across the stones, crunching as I stepped. After walking a little way down the bank, I looked behind me and noticed that I couldn’t see Matias anymore.Good.I didn’t want him peeking as I washed up.

Looking around, I tried to see if I could find the spot he was talking about. I thought maybe I missed it when my eyes caught an arm of the river swerving off from the larger body of rushing water. The arm was gentler and went under the cover of low hanging tree branches and shrubbery. I quickened my step as I made my way, and with one last quick look around to make sure no one was watching, I stripped off the dress. I grabbed the piece of soap Matias gave me and stepped into the water. My eyes bulged out as my breath escaped me. The sensation of cold was shocking, sending me leaping out of the water.Oh god, that’s freezing!I guess I never appreciated the value of a water heater before.

Hyperaware of my nudity, I gritted my teeth and pushed myself forward into the water again. The cold whipped through me once more, and a sensation like a thousand tiny needles pricking my flesh covered my body as I felt myself wrapped in a blanket of ice. It was the fastest bath I had ever taken. I was careful to keep my bandaged arm out of the water, but I splashed some of the liquid onto my shoulder and washed my hands. My hair was more challenging. The cold felt good on my wound, but trying to comb my fingers through my long, matted hair was hard.

I made quick work of it, and before I knew it, I was as clean as I could manage. Having no tolerance left for the cold, I scurried out of the water and around the rocks and pebbles to grab my towel piled on the floor. Snatching it up, I wrapped myself in it, my teeth chattering. Taking one end of the towel, I bent over to dry my hair while keeping as much of my body wrapped up as possible. Next time, I was ordering two towels. But of course, that would probably make Chelsea say some smartass thing to me again.God, this sucks.

Snap!

I jumped, gripping my towel as though my life depended on it. Turning around, clutching the cloth against my naked body, I expected to see Matias, ready to tell him he could march his pervy ass back up river because I wasn’t done yet. But I was wrong. It wasn’t Matias. In fact, it was the last face I expected to see. My grip loosened on the towel as I stared into familiar green eyes, and my entire body froze. Because there, standing just a few yards in front of me, was Chase.

13: Wes

Iwasatacomplete loss for words. Tightness grew in the back of my throat as a lump formed. My nose prickled, and I knew that any moment, the tears were going to fall and there would be no stopping them. Because he was here. He was here, and he was alive!

I inhaled sharply, and then his name escaped my lips with my breath. “Chase…” His eyes narrowed as a stern, bitter look came over his features. His sharp, high cheekbones and angular face looked just as perfect as the day I watched him burned alive, as though they were chiseled out of stone. “I thought you were dead.” A wet drop rolled down my cheek as an immense sense of relief swelled within me. He was really alive.

My eyes caught the glint of metal, and I shifted my gaze to the large hunting blade in his hand. His features became distorted as he sneered, his jaw set and eyes cold. My heart pounded in my chest. Something wasn’t right. Something was terribly wrong. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as a deep sense of foreboding filled me.

“Heisdead,” his voice rippled out, slightly deeper than I remember it being, and on edge.

“What?”

“Wes!” another voice called out.

I jumped, almost losing my grip on my towel, but saving it at the last second. I turned to see Matias a few yards away from me.Wes?Who the hell is— It all clicked into place. I turned to look at Chase.

“Matias,” Wes acknowledged.

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