Page 39 of The Divide that Binds Us

We take some of Billie’s blankets and lie them on the floor.Evangeline brings extra pillows from her room, while Billie steals a few more from the laundry room.I grab snacks from the self-service upstairs and hoard a bunch in my arms all the way back.Rebecca rounds the corner quickly, looking down at a notepad, so I slip by unnoticed.

“Yes!”I hiss.“Why you make it sound like an impossible thing?It wouldn’t leave unless I followed it.”

I sprawl the goodies on the blankets and dim the terrible fluorescent overhead lighting.Evangeline digs right in for the gummies and pours popcorn in a plastic bowl.

“How far did you get, hmm?”she asks.

“I got pretty far until I realized it was heading toward Topaz train station.”

“Topaz is where you met the girl,” Evangeline’s eyes and shoulders drop as she zones out on the popcorn.

“Mhm, that dragon reacted to the picture of her.”I grab a spare blue pillow and shove it under my butt to ease the incoming numbness.The blankets aren’t doing any justice in making this floor feel softer than it is.“I think I’m gonna go back to Topaz Island and try to find her.”

“Wow, I can’t believe how much you’ve done!Aaand, you met the boy on Onyx with that rare sight thingy and fought his dad who went Berserk So cool!”

Evangeline blinks, appearing lucid again.“You need to relax.”

“Right, sorry.R.I.P.to Berserker dad,” Billie mumbles.

The dragon death is probably the worst part of the sequence of events because it’s deliberate and increasing while making the world worse.The news hasn’t reported any environmental observations so far, and who knows how many murders it will take for it to become noticeable.We still have our hands busy with an open homicide case the Guards are still clueless about.

If Mildred is the ringleader, then we’re talking about the Garnet government here.Meaning King Remington is probably in cahoots with this dragon killing spree too.Until Master Azul finds another lead, locating Fae is the world’s best option right now.

“It’d be great if Master Azul sends you back to Topaz.But remember, you’re probably desirable to Ultima now, so watch out, chicken.”Billie reaches for bottled water, but she squeezes it too hard, and it overflows on her lap.“Agh.”

“Is that guy determined?Like...um, will he actually come after me?”I know the answer, but I’m nervous.The fascination was in those teal eyes, lips parted in awe as the sun hit his Topazian glittered freckles.

I’m sweating profusely again, so I open a bag of salty chips to distract myself.

“Commander Rio Shackler?Oi, absolutely.I think Ultima has Natasha, and I guarantee he’ll be coming for you next,” Billie assures so confidently.I frown and focus on the chips, but nausea slithers down my throat, so I’m ready to hurl everywhere.

The vibe is shifting into an unsettling and unspoken sense of urgency and worry.It doesn’t feel good in my gut and the chips taste like bitter pieces of thin rocks.The anxiety weighs in the depths of my mind until I jump from Billie sneezing.

“Sorry,” she sniffs.“I was thinking maybe we can help with the search for Natasha?”

My forehead wrinkles.“Whatever it is, I can’t participate.I’m on my second warning.”

Billie smirks, taking a gulp from her water bottle.“You in, Eva?”

“Heh, sure, as long as I can say I was just the accomplice.”Evangeline tucks overgrown tufts of hair behind her ears, but that tremor in her hands is back.Her Trace Mark flashes unusually fast—associated with a rapid heartbeat.I’ve been meaning to ask her about her trip to the forest earlier; it seems too soon to visit her tree again.

Billie seems to have outlandish ideas, but this may be the most out-there she’s reached for.Proposing to taunt Ultima into admitting they have Natasha is the perfect swan-dive into regrettable choices they will have made in a long time.

Sunlight spills overmy face, waking me up from a long rest.For a moment, I forget about my worries, the dragons, the murders, Mildred, Fae, and remember why I’m here—what my purpose in Elite is, and how I will make Ultima crumble to the ground someday.

When I sit up, my vision is blurry.

I’m not awake.

My view of the woman holding the girl in the expansive field is fuzzy.This memory is a constant cycle of a forlorn and unfulfilled nightmare.

The woman cradles the girl and hums a lullaby that squeezes my heart into a pile of mush.I don’t know how many more times I can watch this, but it’s all I have left of me.

A man with black hair approaches the woman and child as she finishes her lullaby.She sweeps some of the child’s hair from her face.With a simple kiss on the forehead, she passes the child to the man, but the little girl is screaming and crying.She writhes in the man’s arms, reaching for the woman as she backs away.

“I’ll always love you,” she says, blowing a kiss.She straightens her back and waves to the man.“My heart is yours, forever, my dear.Both of you.”

My thoughts are desperate for relief.No, no, no.Please don’t go.

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