Page 45 of The Divide that Binds Us

“Hi there.”I’m stiff and unsure.Now isn’t the time to plague my mind with thoughts about that Elite member, but it’s sure gonna happen right now.“Can we maybe chat another time?I’m waiting for Drake.”

“I promise I’ll be quick,” she insists.“That day on Emerald scared me.”

Then why the hell did you even go?It brings me back to the original point that she usually stays inside.I didn’t think anything of it when she showed up that day, but I’ll forever regret her being there because now I’ll never hear the end of how scared she is and how bad this is.

“I know.It frightened everyone.It’s being handled.”

“How are you going to handle that?”Katarzyna asks.A breeze wafts through the hallway, carefully pushing Katarzyna’s silvery flyaway hair.Her thin lips have a natural downward arc, so her frown looks severe when she stares at me.

My jaw clenches.“Let it go.I will handle it.”

“She only summoned a shield and evenIfelt the intensity of her power.Do you think she can summon Skylar?Is he real?”she whispers.

Oh great, did the twins get in her head too about the mythical creature?

Drake comes down the hall, whistling with his hands in his jacket.He joins us and looks at Katarzyna.“‘Sup, Kate?”

Her face hardens as her stare burns a hole into my eyes.“Nothing.”She brushes by me without a second look.Drake glances at the door and then at me.

“Didn’t realize Clyde was down for the count.”

“You saw the way he behaved on Emerald, are you that surprised?”

“Heh, no sir.”He brings up his crooked smirk and lets his head melt right through the concrete wall.The rest of his body remains in the hallway with me until he pulls his head out and nods in confirmation.

Now that my lightning is gone, we enter and undo the clamps and buckles.Sour metal pollutes my nostrils, so I attempt several times with failure to hold my breath while taking the helmet off.

Natasha is still intact, every bit of her with lacerations now.Her once vibrant blue eyes are accompanied by black flecks in the irises.That intense look could drown the world with fire.

“Natasha Redly, where do your loyalties lie?”I ask.

“Ultima,” she replies.

“And what is our goal?”Drake asks.

A sneer forms on her tanned face.“To be agents of safety for the dragons, preserve the peace on Zeala, and smother those Elite losers.”

Drake frowns and rocks on his heels.I don’t have time to question it because Natasha stands up and looks at her limbs.The procedure worked like it always does and I couldn’t be prouder of the results.My lightning enhanced this process tremendously, allowing me to command where to attack someone’s body and brain and let it do its thing.

We escort her to the infirmary to get examined for a new hire appointment.I send a text to Tess to grab Natasha in an hour to get her acclimated into Ultima.She’ll need to change out of that ridiculous Elite uniform which is an insulting copy of ours but in different colors, and we’ll need to see what rooms are available to assign her.When she’s ready, she’ll officially defect from Elite.

Drake waits for me outside the infirmary as an injured member limps in with crutches and a cast on her leg.

“You okay?”I ask Drake.“Something on your mind?”

“The injections you were talking about switching to, can I be part of the research for that?Maybe even be a test subject?”

I shrug.“I don’t know.I haven’t thought about it.Why?”

“No particular reason, if it’s in an effort to help our tactics be less invasive, then I’m all for the cause.”

“Really?Since when do you care about our methods?”I cross my arms.

Drake stiffens, quiet long enough for me to see an end to this conversation, so I walk back into the wing.Natasha’s curtain is open as a doctor examines her pupils with a light.Her eyes dart over to me, bringing up a freckled smile.The doctor makes a note on her chart and clips it to the end of her bed before closing the curtain on us.Natasha waves and tilts her head, allowing her wavy, flaming hair to cascade to the side of her shoulder.

“Feeling well and welcomed, I assume?”I ask.She nods.“Any chance you know of an Elite member with black hair, golden eyes, darkish beige skin?”

Natasha looks up for a moment before meeting my eyes.“Elite?Hmm, I’m afraid I don’t know.I can’t remember anyone’s names.Sorry.”

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