Page 22 of Resist

My stomach twisted with anxiety. Why did I get the feeling I wasn’t going to like where she was going with this?

“In order to convince the North to utilize those resources to save your brother, it will need to benefit them in the end. To do that, we need to offer them something in exchange for their assistance.”

I felt the nausea clawing in my belly, my heart picking up the tempo as an ominous feeling filled me like dark tar that weighed me down. “What are you planning, Sasha? What are you going to give them?” I had no clue what schemes she was concocting, but something told me I wasn’t going to like it.

Silence clawed at my senses, and I swore I could hear air swooshing around. Resting her hands on the table, Sasha rose to her full height, which wasn’t much more than my own five feet and five inches. Her eyes revealed nothing, but the lines of her face were hard, revealing none of the usual softness that they often held when she regarded me.

“I told you that human beings are motivated by wealth, power, survival, and revenge. The Calvernons will need to know that rescuing Jacob de la Puente will result in their survival, increased wealth and power, or revenge for the death of their son.”

“Well, how the hell are we going to do that? I don’t have a penny to my name. I’m sure as hell not powerful, and there’s no way I can guarantee their safetyorgrant them revenge. I have nothing to offer them.”

“That, child, is where you’re wrong. Rescuing Jacob holds the promise of increasing our chances of winning this war. Asgeneral of the REG, your brother will have intel that would take us years to obtain.”

“So we tell them that Jacob can help them win the war?”

“Yes, but it won’t be enough. Marissa Calvernon is a very unforgiving woman, and a mother’s wrath is not easily quelled. She wants revenge against the de la Puente family, and the only thing that will satisfy her is an eye for an eye. Raúl executed the First Son of the North. She has every intention of having the First Son of Telvia share the same fate.”

“Jesus…” The image of Chase melting as the flames consumed him resurfaced in my mind, causing the nausea to spike. It was an image that still haunted my nightmares, and it took everything within me to beat the imagery back. I couldn’t allow my brother to share the same fate. “So money? I don’t have any.”

“No, child, you do not. Nor would all the money in the world satisfy Marissa’s need for vengeance.”

“Well, what then?” My volume rose a few decibels. This was getting old, and I was hungry as all hell, and all I wanted to know was what I had to do to get my brother back.

Sasha clasped her hands elegantly in front of her. “You might not have wealth, child, or be able to guarantee safety and security to the North. But you have one card left to play, my dear, and it is a very good one.”

My chest tightened. The anxiety of not knowing what the hell I had just signed up for made it hard for me to take a single breath. “What are you promising them, Sasha?”

“You.”

And then my world collapsed.

13: Promised

Isat in an open field, eyes gazing at the tree line across the field but not actually seeing it. It was nothing but a blur of dark green brush strokes rising from the golden hues of meadow grasses. Fort Warren was forgotten behind me as I chewed my nails, trying to calm my frazzled nerves.

Promised.

It wasn’t the first time I had been promised to someone. My mother had promised me to Chase Calvernon in an effort to secure an army from the North and solidify an alliance in the last war. But when Chase died, my obligation to marry him once I was of age disappeared, and I was free to make my own choices about who I wanted to marry.

An image of Matias came to mind—his deeply tanned skin, dark brown hair and matching eyes, along with his sweet, boyish smile that always caused my heart to melt. I had met him at the rebel camp—my personal security detail. And we grew close…super close. Complete with locked lips, wandering hands, and a fiery desire that threatened to consume me whole.

But things were weird between us. He was spending all his time caring for his ex-girlfriend at the Institute on the account that she had gone postal the night of the Telvian attack. I hadn’t seen him for months. We exchanged some texts back and forth, but they felt stiff and unnatural. Nothing like the flirty vibes and playful teases back at the rebel camp. And some part of me wondered if our shared interests in one another burned that night…the same night he tried to kill my brother but shot me instead.

It was…it was heavy.

And now this?

Sasha had laid it out very clearly for me. Before even asking me, she had discussed with Charles Calvernon the possibility of renewing the promise my mother had made to the Calvernons. But this time, I would be promised to Wes.

Charles would ensure aid to the rebellion and attempt a rescue operation for my brother, but in exchange, I would marry the First Son of the North. Our union meant that the Calvernon family stood to gain new territory as part of the agreement. The South would be awarded to the Calvernons, making the UFA a collection of three factions instead of four. It seemed crazy to me…overwhelming, really. But as Sasha tried explaining, I was the First Daughter of Telvia. In the UFA’s culture of monarchs disguised as presidents, I was a modern-day princess. My marriage to Wes meant the North would become the biggest faction, with the most land, resources, and population.

Apparently, Charles liked these terms very much.

Wealth.

Power.

Survival.

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