Page 9 of The Ever Legacy
Ask her to shift with us. Her wolf will know.
“If only it were that easy. She never shifted with us or the others at Ethereal either.” He scratched the back of his head. “This is going to take some serious planning and patience.”
Tyler knew Ella was his fate. He just didn’t understand why she didn’t know. Her animal had to have told her. Her magic had to have reached. So why wasn’t she believing it? What mental block was in place that could cause that much confusion?
He quickly got dressed and headed down to the dining hall. As soon as he entered the space, his eyes roamed across. She was sitting with Robert and Leslie, the three of them whispering and laughing. Why couldn’t he get close to her?
Ella’s eyes met his and they grew slightly before returning to her friends. No doubt, the group of them were talking about him.
In fact, most of the eyes in the room were on him. Everyone had seen him kiss Ella last night. He marked his territory already. He just had to play it cool, be her friend if that’s where he needed to start.
After filling a tray with food, he walked over to the round table and sat down across from Ella, leaving the chairs at his direct sides empty. “Morning.”
“Morning.” Leslie tried to hide a smile.
Robert kept their face straight. “Mmhmm.”
“I’m surprised we’re not all hungover after the amount of mead we swiped from Professor Neill.” He laughed, trying to lighten the mood more.
“Well, it is two in the afternoon.” Leslie laughed.
Shit, had he really slept so late? “They’re just now serving breakfast?” He glanced down at his plate to see a selection of breakfast foods and sandwiches.
“They knew most wouldn’t be getting up until around this time.” Ella glanced at him. “I let them know some finger foods would be best earlier, but it was likely everyone would be sleeping in since most didn’t even return to their rooms until the sun was starting to rise.”
“You think the professors stayed up late too?” Robert questioned.
Ella looked over to the few teachers that were in the dining hall. Their heads were bowed, one of them even wore sunglasses. “I don’t doubt they had a party of their own, probably in one of the studies.”
“They do look like they can’t hang like they used to.” Leslie laughed.
“So, Tyler, what brings you to our table today?” Ella didn’t beat around the bush.
He glanced at the others, both watching and waiting for him to respond. Did she really want to start the conversation here? He let out the breath he’d been holding. “We’re going to be friends.”
“We are?” She sat up.
“I mean, might as well start now. We’re both going to be joining The Council in a few years.”
“I didn’t know that’s what your plan was.” Ella blinked.
“You’re not going to join The Guard, like most of your family?” Robert raised their eyebrows.
“No, that’s not the life for me. It’s a great career, but not part of my path.” He grinned. “I have other plans and ambitions.”
“Okay.” Robert nodded.
This was going to be easy. It had to be.
“What part of The Council?” Ella crossed her arms.
“Wherever they need me, honestly. I’d like to join some of the teams that are traveling with Keepers though. I can’t imagine what it would be like stepping into another world.”
A Keeper was someone who had the ability to travel and portal across the worlds, possibly through time. That last part was a rumor, but he was curious if it were true. He remembered one of the professors at Ethereal Prep being a Keeper, Tierney. She taught a small group of gifted individuals like herself. Future Keepers.
“Same,” Ella admitted.
“Yeah?” He grinned.
