Page 27 of The Divide that Binds Us

Derrick snorts.“Where?Naven?Oh, crap—that reminds me, I gotta grab this book before we leave.I’ll be back.”

“Hurry up; Lynn will be here any minute,” I call after him, but he’s already gone.Eric steals his spot and nestles next to me.I cringe away and raise my eyebrows.“What do you want?”

Eric smiles widely with his big brown eyes.“Hey.”

“Hi?”

“Sooo...can I take tomorrow off?”

I sigh.“Request it through the app and I’ll approve it.”

“Thank you!”Eric tries to hug me, but I scoot over to the end of the red sofa.“Fiona and I are having a date night, so I wanna try this place on Emerald Island.It’s pricey, but I heard the food is absolutely decadent.”

“Oh.Lovely.Have a great time.”

“Ya know, I’ve been trying to figure her out since we were kids.I think she likes me for realsies, but I dunno.She’s so feisty, I love it.”

I finish reading the report and raise my eyebrows.“Well, speaking of feisty, she got into a brawl because a guy told her to smile.”

Eric’s grin stretches before he dramatically fans himself.“Really?Ugh!I love her.”

As much as I agree with her actions, I still must reprimand her to set an example.I hope this doesn’t ruin their date night.

Lynn walks in with her combat boots stomping on the floorboards.Her violin is in its case and strapped on her back.Her hair is in a curly ponytail this time.She stares at us on the couch before approaching us.

“Where is the other one?”she asks thinly.“The other...dumb one.”

“Grabbing a book from the library.”I shove my phone in my pocket and abandon Eric on the couch.“Are you both ready?”

Eric nods like a puppy while Lynn folds her arms behind her with a firm nod.

Derrick rushes back in with a book tucked under his arms.“Ready!”

We head upstairs to the lobby.Before I make it out the door, Katarzyna rushes over and grabs my arm.The twins and Lynn wait by the receptionist, but Lynn doesn’t look like she’s associating with them.

“Kate?What’s up?How did that park investigation go?”

“It didn’t.A man died from Berserk.”Katarzyna swallowed.

I survey the lobby and usher her to a nearby column for more privacy.The twins inch toward Lynn who does a 180 and turns her back to them.

“What happened?”I ask.

“We didn’t get very far; the Guards were already all over it, and they snubbed Scott and me the whole time!Told us to stick with worrying about dragons, but like, how can we when the monarchs won’t let us?I talked to my grandma who was on her way to visit but was caught in the scene too.I think she saw the girl, Rio.The same girl who attacked the twins.”

“Really?”I don’t realize I’m gripping Katarzyna’s arm until she winces and pulls away.“So sorry.Um...so, are you sure?”

“Based on how grandma described her—black hair, Elite uniform, the eyes, the radiant warm skin.It has to be her, ya?Guards took the boy into custody because the father is gone.Witnesses reported the girl was questioning the little boy.Did Master Cedric respond to your report yet?”

“No, but if she’s been spotted this close to us, we have reason to believe she could’ve been planning a direct attack on us.”

Katarzyna scratches her arm with a slight lean against the column.Her uniforms always look too big on her despite having the smallest size.

“That’s risky and she wouldn’t get very far with security,” Katarzyna says.“It has to be something else.”

I glance over at the unsuspecting twins.Lynn is now probably ten feet away from them with crossed arms and a piercing stare in my direction.

“Maybe.”It doesn’t hurt to add this bit of info to the report for Cedric, though.“If the boy is still in Guard custody, I’ll swing by later and chat with him.”

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