Battle Wounds || Jasper Hale {2}

Chapter 14

Ellie stomped down the hallway, trying to find a positive way to let all of her surfacing anger out. She was aware that there were rumors circulating about her circumstance, but the fact that they thought she was trying to get an advantage over them was absurd. Ellie didn't need an advantage. She didn't want an advantage. She wanted to work just as hard as the others to be the best emissary she could be.

The sound of her cellphone ringing brought her out of her thoughts. Ellie frowned as she looked at the device. Why would her sister be calling her when she knew she had to be at The Academy this morning? It must have been important because Ellie couldn't think of a single reason why her twin would call. Taking a deep breath, she answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Ellie?" her twin's shaky voice called.

"What's wrong, Eve?" Ellie asked, concerned about her twin's tone.

It took a moment for Evie to answer, shuffling could be heard across the line. "I tethered, Ellie."

"That's fantastic, Evie!" Ellie said, a grin stretching across her lips. All signs of her earlier anger disappeared with the thoughts of her sister getting a happy ending. "Who is he?"

"It's not fantastic, Ellie," Evie said, her tone dark. "It's dangerous. Everyone I love dies. I can't lose anyone else. Let alone someone who is supposed to be my soulmate. I don't know what to do."

Ellie sighed. Her sister was too stressed for her own good. Of course, Ellie understood. David had died. He was the one person Evie thought would be there forever, and he was taken from her by the same monster that wanted Ellie. Evie was bound to be terrified to accept her tether, but Ellie couldn't let her miss out on true love, even if her own tether was a failed one. "Okay, just calm down. I'm going to tell you what to do."

"Okay," Evie muttered, ready for any kind of advice that her sister gave her.

"Take a deep breath," Ellie instructed before leaning against a wall in the long hallway. "You don't have to immediately tell the guy you love him, okay? That's unreasonable because the truth is the tether doesn't make you fall in love right away. It's the same as any other relationship works. You get to know each other and eventually fall in love. You just gain the knowledge that this person is the one person, besides yourself, who can make you happy, and there's an undeniable connection that you can't avoid, but that's just a side effect. Just get to know him, Eve. I'm sure he's a great guy if you tethered to him."

Evie was silent. Ellie assumed she was just letting her words settle in. After a moment, she spoke, "I can just be his friend for now?"

"You can," Ellie replied, hoping that her sister would take her advice. "You can go at your own pace, Evie. No one's going to push you into anything. Just take it slow. Those are the best kind of relationships anyway."

Evie sighed from the other line, "Thanks, Ellie. I really needed that talk."

"Any time, Eve," Ellie smiled, crossing an arm over her stomach. "So, do I get to know my future brother-in-law's name?"

Evie was silent for a moment before her soft voice sounded, "Quil. Quil Ateara the fifth."

Ellie was about to reply before a soft hand touched her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Felicity waiting patiently. Muttering a quick goodbye to her twin, Ellie turned the phone off and shoved it in her pocket before saying, "Hi."

"Everything okay?" she asked, her eyebrow arched.

"Yeah," Ellie said, a small smile twisting on her lips. "Just having a quick talk with my sister. She needed some advice."

"On tethering, yeah?" Felicity asked, rolling her lips into her mouth.

"Yeah," Ellie said, pulling her arms across her chest. "She was a bit unsure of how to handle it."