Page 31 of The Divide that Binds Us

“Sounds good, we’ll handle all the heavy work if you just want to wait here,” I offer.“From your distance, you could tell us if you notice anything strange happening.”

She nods, but her eyes linger on the ground.

My team and I take the path downward, trying to keep our balance at the slanted angle.Lynn keeps questioning my logic in leaving Natasha unsupervised, but I have faith in my “enemies,” even if they hate me for no reason.

“I wonder if the other gems are embedded somewhere in Zeala,” Eric snickers.“We could make mad bank fro—”

“Shut up,” Lynn grumbles.

When we reach the bottom, a glimmer erects from the grass that hits the sun—the jagged corner of the emerald stone.It’s buried deep in the ground, so I look at the twins.

“Think you’re able to...claw this out?Otherwise, we’ll need shovels,” I say.

The twins exchange a look before meeting my eyes.

“Sure thing, boss!”Derrick chirps.His skin turns into a mixed swirl of purple and green as the scales emerge from his pores.His clothes fuse with his body while he continues his transformation into a giant lizard, flicking out his tongue.Eric mimics the shift and is the same mixed colors as Derrick.

Lynn snorts, appearing unimpressed.“Are we sure they are giant lizards and not...alligators?Or crocodiles?”

I frown.“You guys have been in Ultima longer than me.Cedric holds most employee files, so I couldn’t be sure.They look too thin to be anything more than giant lizards.”

While Derrick and Eric are digging away, I sit and soak in the humid sun, thinking about how well everything is going.I close my eyes and smile, feeling the sparks electrifying my blood.This will surely keep dragons safe in this area.

“Done!”one twin shrieks.My eyes pop open as they stand in a crater, back into their human form caked in sweat and dirt.Lynn grabs the wheelbarrow and furrows her brows.I get up and walk to the edge of the crater they’ve dug.

“Holy Naven, this thing is huge,” I whisper.It’s basically the size of a stove!

“We should’ve brought Fiona so she could levitate it instead,” Eric grumbles but perks up immediately.“But it’s not too late to call her!”

“Sure.”I reach for my phone but don’t feel it in my back pocket.Natasha peers over from the top of the hill, meeting my eyes with a vengeful gaze that could set suns on fire.“Is something wrong, Natasha?”

“Actually, y-yeah!Ultima k-killed my grandparents in a street raid, and I’ll never forgive you for it!”she shouts.

“No!You’ve got it all wrong!We’re your friendly neighbors helping you dig out the gem!”Derrick yells back with a big smile.

“Great Holy Superiors.She will not fall for that crap,” Lynn mutters, reaching for her violin.“Just say the word, Commander.”She’s already in position, but I don’t know if her music will travel that far.

It should be combat first, powers second.Natasha is too far to safely disarm but also a threat to us.

The twins and Lynn look at me, waiting for my orders.If we attack her, it’s bad news for us.C’mon, dammit.Think!

I take a few steps forward.“Natasha, let’s talk about this!Ultima would never hurt–”

She interjects, jingling the car keys as she points to each of us.“All of ya are liars!I’ve waited for a moment like this, and I have nothing left to–”

I shoot lightning from my two fingertips, striking the keys out of Natasha’s hand.She wails and holds her wrist, upper lip curling and revealing her teeth.I concentrate on my body until the sparks fly around me.Once engulfed in a standing bolt of lightning, I zap to the car.Natasha screams and moves aside just as I shift back into human form and grab the car keys from the ground.

“That’s enough,” I growl.

“No.I alerted my team when I called Rebecca.Elitewillburn you down,” Natasha says.

Her irises illuminate a fiery ring of light as she jerks her hand towards the fields where my team is and blasts a fireball from her palm and into the grass.Before she can conjure another, I grab her wrists and let the power within me hum until I can feel her body jerk from the electrocution.I’m already knee deep into “attacking” Elite’s member, so there’s not much more damage I can do.

Natasha collapses into my arms, completely unconscious, so I drag her body and open the trunk to toss her into.The burning smell of grass alerts me, but the faint sound of Lynn’s violin must mean she’s taking care of it.

I pick up Natasha’s phone, but it’s locked and asking for a code.I hold onto it and grab my phone from the backseat to send a distress signal in the U-Knit app.They’re not going to enjoy coming to Emerald Island for this.

I peer over the hill at the twins and Lynn, all giving me questionable looks.Smoke rises from the wet patch that Lynn conjured and manipulated water to drench.

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