Battle Wounds || Jasper Hale {2}

Chapter 25

Ellie sat quietly in the training room, staring at the effigy in front of her. She had been there since their last session had ended, trying to figure out the mystery of where her father could possibly be. A rough sigh escaped her lips as she rubbed her hands on her face. 

“If you keep staring at that statue, people are going to start questioning your motives again,” a familiar voice spoke from the entrance. 

The blonde cast her gaze to the latino boy making his way toward her, “What do you want, Garrison?”

“I can’t just come around to talk?” he questioned, a crooked smile twisting his face. 

Ellie looked back to the statue, “No.”

A sigh left the emissary's mouth. Finally reaching the blonde, he took a seat beside of her, making himself comfortable, causing Ellie to flick her eyes toward him for a moment. Garrison had to admit she looked like she could use a friend.

“What’s going through your mind, Sweetcheeks?”

Ellie furrowed her brows, her lips dipping into a frown. She remained silent, not wanting to give in to his curiosity, yet wishing she could tell someone. The burden of keeping the secret that her father was alive was eating at her, but she couldn’t share such sensitive information with Garrison. Anastasia would put a stop to her search immediately. 

Then there was the fact that she was considering disregarding everything that Jasper had asked of her and forcing her way to him, if only to survive, but she didn’t want to think about that at the moment. She had bigger fish to fry. 

“How’s Felicity?” she asked instead.

Garrison knew what she was doing. It was something he did himself when he was trying to avoid the pain of being the “less valuable” Reynolds sibling, but he would play along for the time being. 

“She misses you.”

“It wouldn’t be a problem if they would just let us talk,” Ellie huffed, crossing her arms. 

The council was being too controlling. They were always this way with her, and it was maddening. 

“Have you figured out a solution to your little problem yet?”

Ellie rolled her eyes. Of course this was why he was bothering her. As soon as the council found out about the fact that she was dying, they were all trying to think of ways to persuade her to actually find her tether. It only made sense they would bring Garrison into the equation.

At the scoff she unknowingly released, he turned to her with knitted eyebrows. “Well, have you?”

She raked a hand roughly through her hair. “We both know the only way to stop this is for me to go to him.”

Garrison leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Then go to him.”

“He wouldn’t want that,” she said, pulling her gaze back to the statue of her father. 

He snapped his head toward her, eyes narrowed. "And who cares what he wants? What about you? Are you just supposed to die? Is that what he wants?"

"It doesn't matter,” Ellie shook her head. “They would be gone as soon as I made the decision to go.”

Garrison sighed. Why did she have to be so impossible? “Then call them. Let them know what’s happening to you. You shouldn’t have to die because he doesn’t want to see you. You are just as important as he is.”