Page 47 of The Divide that Binds Us

“Okay, who wasTHAT?”Derrick asks.“I think I’m gonna call her...Lady Behemoth.”

“Mildred Anguine,” Lynn murmurs, looking at the front doors.“I remember her from when I lived on Garnet Island.She has dirt on the King.”

“Ooh juicy!What kind of dirt?Or is it like mud?”Eric asks.

Lynn’s green eyes slice through Eric with a sleek glare.“None of your business.”

“Okay, listen up.My meeting with Cedric got rescheduled to today, and I want approval on aggressively recruiting that Elite chick.Will you guys help?”I finally ask.

The twins howl, bouncing off the high ceiling and echoing throughout the lobby.

“If I am going to work with them, then they need to shut up,” Lynn says as they’re still screaming and jumping in the background.“Or I will shove my violin bow down their throats and up their buttocks.”

I quickly nod.“Yeah, we can get them under control, I’m sure.”

My phone buzzes from a text by Cedric, needing to reschedule our meeting again.He’s stuck in meetings and conferences with the monarchs.While Ultima is not being deployed, it seems Cedric is happy to give his expertise on dragon safety since that’s what we’re all about.

Isend an announcementto everyone of a change in regimen.Everyone is now required to log in a total of ten hours of training in their profiles or they’ll receive a warning.This gets a lot of push back from commuters and my part-time employees.We install a giant mecha dragon to swing throughout the gym to help members manage safety protocols during high stress moments for the sacred creatures.Agility is ranked high amongst everyone as no one gets burned from the hydraulics.

I patrol the gym and watch the sweat-drenched members complete obstacle courses and strength training.The requirement used to be five hours logged per week.Few members pass me without speaking; their growth is punctuated by distasteful glares and grunts.

Scotland is here wearing a loose gray shirt that can’t keep up with the amount of sweat it’s sucking in.He zips down the gym and back to his spot within two seconds, and then again and again until he stops and salutes me.

“Hi, Commander Rio.”

“How’s the asthma compared to your speed?”

“Eh, manageable,” he huffs.“But is this really necessary?”

I gesture to the twins at the other side of the gym.Eric trips over his feet, so Derrick is helping him stand.They look like deflated goofballs struggling.

“That chick defeated the twins.She’s a serious threat.”

“To whom exactly?You?Or everyone?”Scotland asks.“For the love of Superiors, it’s the TWINS we’re talking about here.They need each other to tie their own freaking shoes, so of course she beat them.I heard they were drunk, too.Why punish us for their idiocy?”

The infirmary complains because everyone is coming in more for muscle soreness and bodily aches likely caused by the sessions.I’ve been too caught up with this that I haven’t had time for anything else and I haven’t gained the approval yet for my hunting squad.Every day it’s been observing practices, bringing in employees for write-ups for not meeting their quotas, receiving a higher volume of emails to convert into missions, and other daily tasks.Elite has been silent the whole week.

Did they even notice Natasha has been missing?

“I’m not easing up.They’ve been too quiet.”

Scotland sighs and whips his shaggy blond hair from his glum face.“Guess I should get back to my rotations then.”He races off and continues his laps across the gym.

“Hey Rio, can I talk to you for a sec?”I don’t know where Drake came from, but he rushes up with unwavering intensity.We step out the gym and he immediately places his hand on the wall and leans into it.

“So?What’s up?”

He exhales, changes his stance, and claps his hands together with his legs spread apart.The shift is brief because he adjusts himself again and pulls on his t-shirt through his uniform jacket and fans his apparent clammy face.

“Dude.”

“Okay, sorry!Uh...so, I like someone.Not here, but um, yeah.I like this girl.I feel like...I dunno like my feelings are an act of betrayal.I know we can date people, but this particular person is a conflict of interest,” he says.“I can’t deal with this.I thought about it after seeing Natasha change.You should brainwash me.”

“No.That’s for people who are loyal to Elite.”

“What if I’m loyal to Elite then?”he asks.

“You’re not,” I remark.“And what does being loyal to Elite have to do with anything?”

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