Page 23 of The Divide that Binds Us

“Did you mention the gem to anyone else yet?”Evangeline asks.She has one spring roll left.Her soy sauce cup is empty, and her annoyance is showing.

Rachel nods.“Yeah, we told Rebecca and she’s giving it to Natasha Redly as an investigative mission.She’s apparently gonna check it out sometime this week.”

“Natasha?No offense, but she’s useless,” Billie scoffs.“She’s like the wannabe version of Nick Hardy.A total fiery badass.”Everyone around the table grins.

“Have you seen anything weird on your patrols, Rachel?”I ask.“In connection with the homicides or dragon murders?”

She meets my gaze and frowns.“Not really but that’s precisely why Rebecca has Rob and me on patrol.That’s as much as we can do while technically ‘not doing anything.’It’s so sad.Did anyone hear if the Guards got anywhere with either issue?”

Billie snorts with a crazed smile.She digs back into her food and doesn’t say anything.Evangeline shakes her head and pushes her tray to the center of the table.I finish my last samsa and slurp on the shorpo.

“Sadly no,” I finally reply, with a tentative sip of the tea.

“Can’t dragons just mate and make more?”Billie asks.

“How fast are you hoping for that to happen?Dragons carry two eggs for a year.The balance is tipping toward death, so we’re better off stopping the killer,” Evangeline laments.

Rachel checks her watch and shoots up to her feet, grabbing her book and uniform jacket that was draped over her legs.

“Gotta go.I have a tight deadline for cleaning Elite’s library and donating books, then I have patrol later on Emerald.I’ll let y’all know if I hear anything more ‘bout that gemstone.”Rachel grabs her tray and sets it on the long counter near the exit where piles of plates and trays remain until the servers collect them to clean.

“I should be going too,” Evangeline sighs.“I’m helping with second interviews of the finalists we’ve chosen from auditions.The last thing I need is Rebecca barking orders up this tree—” She points to herself, “—on how to do my ‘other duties as assigned.’”

“Good luck with that,” Billie chortles.

Evangeline half smiles and pats my shoulder before leaving.

I turn to Billie, who is still scraping what’s left of her pad thai in the bowl with a spoon now.She licks her lips and looks at me.

“And then there were two,” I say.

“As if!I got an assignment at an animal shelter that burned down.Their animals went wild and fled.I gotta help track ‘em down.Fun, right?It’s totally gonna be the rest of my day!”

“You’re kidding, right?”My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I pull it out and read a text from Azul asking me to stop back at her office again.

“Nah.Time to let this hair loose!”Billie shakes her hair and I’m confident my food isn’t edible anymore.Thankfully, I finished the tea and ate all the samsas and half of the shorpo.

Master Azul’s dooris cracked open when I return, the chill oozing out through the thin sliver it has to escape her pink hued room.She’s staring at the surveillance screens when I walk in, blond hair up in a messy ponytail.

“Ah, thank you for returning,” she states, facing me.“I spoke with Queen Sophie.She will keep the eggs under high security to ensure no one tries to destroy them.The last thing we need is someone further tipping the scales to world destruction by slaughtering three babies in one go.They look ready to hatch and can help recover the state we’re in.”

I nod, placing my hands behind my back.“That’s good.”

Her eyes flicker for a moment as her lips tighten in a straight line, her face shrouded in ambiguity.

“I haven’t heard back from Master Cedric yet, but I’ve been thinking about your outside privileges,” she begins.“We look more guilty keeping you hidden, than expressing humility and regret.I believe a peaceful approach will help our image and keep them out of our business.”

“Are you asking me to send a card or something?”

“No.Go to Onyx Island and apologize,” she demands.

I stare at Azul, almost the same exhaustion I had five years ago when I arrived on Elite’s steps.Tired.Small.Afraid.Sad.I want to be free, and I can be, but that means leaving Elite behind and I don’t want that.There’s so much growing left to do, and I refuse to let Ultima continue operating with Cedric.

I swallow the frustration vibrating in my throat.“If it keeps the peace.”

Azul nods with a slight twitch of a smile surfacing.She rests her hand on her hip, tapping her heel on the steel floor.“Good.I’ve been reading mission notes with Rebecca, and many members have reported that Onyxians suspect Queen Oona is following the other monarchs.If there’s any place that raves about dragons, it’s Onyx.See what you can find while you’re there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

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