Rise: Populations Crumble, Book 2 by Gandy, A. (read book .txt) 📕

He opens our front door with robotic movements, and holds it for me to enter. Rather than slam it, he shuts it with a quiet click. I fidget with the hem of my jacket as I wait for him to start the conversation.

He starts pacing between the living room and dining room table without a word. He runs his hands through his hair twice and makes about ten laps before he starts speaking, “I can’t figure out who would have leaked the information that I got married. It seems like a targeted thing, meant to stir up another monarchy vote, well before it would have come up again otherwise. The last two times someone called for a vote, they were nearly seven years apart. It hasn’t even been three years since the last vote was called!”

He throws his hands in the air, and I mentally turn over what he’s said. “Can you contact your parents and ask if they know who leaked the information? It can’t be widely known, right?”

“No, it is a very small circle of people who know my current identity—that’s what’s bothering me. Although, given they leaked only the marriage and not my assumed name, I would guess that they are outside that circle, and perhaps heard the vague information inside my father’s office. It’s very possible he, or Mom, confided in someone about the marriage, and someone overheard.” His lips press together in an angry line. “Unfortunately, I can’t contact them without potentially giving the leak my name and location—until it’s determined who the informant was. I imagine they would have already contacted me to give me a heads up if they’d already identified the person.”

“So, we’re stuck waiting for them to reach out, then?”

He nods once, sharply but doesn’t stop pacing.

“Hey, come here.” I hold out my arms, and he stops and takes the two steps to reach me. I slowly slide my hands up to his shoulders, and wrap them softly around the back of his neck.

His intense gaze turns questioning as I play with the hair under my fingertips. “I’m sorry someone told the press about our wedding, and I’m sorry that it’s caused the monarchy bill to come back to a vote sooner than you were expecting—” I trail off, but continue rubbing small soothing circles on the back of his neck.

His eyes flutter closed, and he touches his forehead to mine. “It’s not the first time the media has gotten hold of information about me, but this one could have a serious impact. It’s not only my privacy at stake anymore. It’s the future governance of an entire continent of people.”

The weight of those words sink in, but I don’t stop rubbing. Instead, I up the ante with a tender kiss to his cheek. “There’s nothing we can do about that right now, Patrick. As much as I’d like to wave a magic wand and make all of it disappear, you can’t change who you are, any more than I can change who I am.”

He wraps his arms around me and squeezes me tightly. We stay like that for a long moment, not speaking, simply soaking in the comfort of each other’s arms. It feels so right to be here with him, comforting him.

“Thank you, Sadie. You’re right, there’s nothing to be done but wait for now. It’s unusual for my parents to let something like this get out. They’ve kept me out of the spotlight for so long, it doesn’t make sense to me that they would suddenly slip up after all these years. I hate that my name and family could be putting you in danger.” The words come out slightly muffled against my hair.

I pull back and look him in the eye, so there’s no mistaking my sincerity. “Patrick, I was in danger before I picked you. Being a polymorph, heck, being a fertile woman at all in this society puts a kidnapping target on my back. That’s not your fault, and right now no one except us and the director back in Georada knows I’m your wife.”

He sighs. “I still don’t like it. If something happened to you because of your connection to me, I’d never forgive myself. I—” He stops, and it seems like he’s going to say something else, but he doesn’t. He swallows once, hard and looks down at our feet. “I’m sorry to put you through this.”

I squeeze both of his hands. “It’s okay, Patrick. It really is. We’re going to be fine. What do you say I bake some more cookies to take over to Carolina and Emmett’s place for the movie tonight?”

His eyes are still sad, but he smiles at me anyway. “That sounds good. Chocolate chip?”

I pour all of my enthusiasm into my return smile. “Anything you want. But you’re doing the dishes.”

He barks out a startled laugh, but trails behind me into the kitchen without complaint.

Run for Cover

The next day dawns, and I find myself once again wrapped around Patrick’s warm torso like an octopus. This time, I’ve even tossed my left leg over him to stop his escape. A small part of me wonders if I should feel guilty that I’ve blocked him from getting up for his beloved early morning run again, but I dismiss the idea. If he wanted to get up early like usual, he could still sneak out.

Before I even move, he teases me. “Good morning, sleeping beauty. Did you sleep well?”

My blush spreads like wildfire as I withdraw my leg. “Yes, I did. How about you? No run this morning?”

His chest rumbles under my cheek with a low laugh. “Somehow I couldn’t disentangle myself and face the cold.”

“I thought you liked the early morning cold?”

He wraps both arms around me, and gives me a quick kiss on the top of the head. “Given the choice between running alone in the cold, and staying in bed and snuggling with my gorgeous, warm wife—it’s