Page 6 of The Divide that Binds Us

Chapter 2

Best Interests

Elite: Alice

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Two dragon deaths inone day.Now what will the monarchs say?What will our Superiors do?

My palms itch with eagerness as we sit in Billie’s room in the infirmary.I didn’t check my phone to see Master Azul sent Evangeline and me a text that Billie threw up in her office, so she took her to the nurse.It’s only been a few hours, and I already miss her bubbly, annoying self.

Evangeline nearly chews all her nails to nubs when the glossy, purple-haired nurse rushes in.She flips through sheets on her clipboard before glancing at us, glasses sliding down the bridge of her pointy nose.

“Ah, ladies.Come back later.‘Kay?She’s resting,” she says.

I jump to my feet.“Is there anything we can do?”

“Nothing for you to do, dearie.Now leave.Mhm?”

Evangeline gets up and leaves, so I follow her, but her pace is so fast that I almost trip to keep up.We rush outside to the foreboding sky.The heavy, bloody rain pelts us as I rapidly blink through the aggressive drops.The dread tingles through my arms to the tips of my fingers.An ache zaps through different joints of my body while I stare at the sky.

Bloody drops splat on Evangeline’s face before clearing up on her skin.“I don’t feel so great.”

“Let’s go see your tree.”

The distant screeching of the crying dragons shatters through the rain and thunder.Evangeline continues down the steps and circles around the side of the building.The sky deepens into its classic midnight color while the shadows of the mourning dragons disperse.I breathe in the thick air and scan the passing traffic on the street and the apartments and houses in the distance.My favorite view will always be the mountains that hide in the background from wherever I stand on Garnet Island.

Another view is when the sparkle lakes and ponds emit a glittery, white glow whenever someone tosses a coin.Elite is lucky to have a pond across the street from the building—no bigger than a baseball field.Routinely, volunteers clean the lakes and ponds and donate the coins to charities.

“Alice!Come on!”Evangeline’s voice is loud from the side of the building.I rush over to her and head further back to the mouth of the forest about seventy-five yards away from Elite.The wet grass soaks through my canvas shoes as I slightly waddle.We turn on our phone flashlights and find the soggy, worn path leading into the forest.We hike through dripping trees, branches, and bushes.A faint petrichor from earlier lingers as the humidity dies down.

“Are you as nervous as I am about the second dragon death?”I ask, almost tripping over a branch my flashlight didn’t catch on time.

Evangeline wobbles from side to side.“Of course.It’s not like these issues are happening on one island: it’s everywhere.I hate seeing Ultima succeed as much as you do, but at the very least, one of the monarchs should’ve deployed them.Maybe they’ll reconsider after this second occurrence.”

I think about the reported dragon deaths on the other five islands besides Garnet.We’ve watched each island report it on live TV in utter horror.

Evangeline pauses when we reach a fork in the forest.“Pretty sure it’s this way.Everything looks so different at night.”

I follow behind her but get smacked by a wet, leafy, overhanging branch she moves out of her way.“Ah!”I quickly rub my face.

We finally stop at the oak tree that’s noticeably thicker and larger than the rest.Its crown holds an abundance of dripping branches and twigs.

Evangeline turns to me, blinding my eyes with her phone light.I squint, causing her to aim it at the ground.“Sorry.”

She puts her phone on the ground, places both hands firmly on the trunk, and takes meditative breaths.I turn off my phone light and shift my weight.When my eyes adjust to the darkness, I admire the canopy of wet leaves draping over us.I peer through the open spaces at the twinkling black sky, seeing few stars.The stretch of tree silhouettes around me is infinite.

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