A Matter of Heart Read Online Free PDF

ballbuster.
    “Then Jens can tell him that
     during one of their assigned talks. I’m not my brother’s keeper, you know.”
     Jonah is clearly annoyed.
    “I don’t want to overstep my
     place—”
    “Then don’t,” Jonah
     counters.
    But Karl keeps on going.
     “But I think it’s time Kellan came back, too. He hasn’t done himself any favors
     by staying away so long. No Guard has ever done that before. And Jens’ patience
     is wearing thin, despite Zthane’s influence. Being a second tier Council
     member’s twin brother can only carry Kellan so far.”
    I can only imagine the look
     Jonah is giving Karl right now.
    “I’ve tried to call him a
     number of times,” Karl continues, “but I only ever get voicemail. And Callie is
     no help—”
    Whoa, now. Say what?
    “Since she’s ignoring my
     calls, too. The only time anyone hears from him is during the allotted weekly
     check-ins. Just where in the hell are they? Truth is, I’m worried about him.”
    “Don’t be. He’s fine. They
     both are.”
    Wait . . . is Jonah
     admitting he’s been talking to Callie? The light bulb in a nearby lamp pops;
     tiny bits of thin glass rain down against my dresser. I force myself to take a
     couple of deep breaths before zapping the pieces to oblivion.
    It’s downright humiliating
     how my powers are wonky when my emotions are overwhelmed.
    Calm down, will you? It’s
     not like she’s here, attempting another seduction, Caleb
     murmurs in my mind. He’s inappropriately amused.
    No,
     she’s not. But she’s also not just some girl off the street, either. She and
     Jonah have history—meaningful, lengthy history. She’s known him almost as long
     as I have. And whether I like it or not, they’ll always have a tie, because
     they both call the same woman mother, and he is her first love.
    Over the next day or so, I
     think about Callie Lotus a lot. I do that sometimes, even when I don’t want to.
     I’ll be out and about, and a flash of silvery hair will catch my eye, and my
     stomach will drop because I can’t help but think it’s her.
    It would be so great,
     though, if I could just assign her a VILLAIN label, or at least SKANK or BITCH,
     and then just file her away; but, like so many other things in my life, she and
     those labels aren’t as cut and dry as they should be. Because Callie isn’t a
     villain, nor is she a skank. And, if I’m really being honest, she isn’t a bitch,
     either. She’s . . . complex. Painfully human (er, half Human, half Elf). A
     non-Magical who is constantly surrounded by people who have abilities that’ll
     always overstretch her own. She’s just as much a victim of Fate as the rest of
     us.
    And Callie’s crimes are
     really not crimes at all. She fell in love with a great guy; they dated for
     years after knowing each other much of their lives. He initially broke up with
     her without much of an explanation, and she struggles with the feelings she
     still has towards him. When she and Jonah kissed last year, it wasn’t like she
     was purposely trying to hurt me, as bizarre as that sounds. Yeah, it was wrong
     of her (and him—believe me, he shares equal culpability for that crummy
     decision), but an astounding thing happened: she admitted it was wrong. She
     sucked up her pride and came and found me to tell me that if I didn’t give
     Jonah another chance, I’d be a fool. And the more I think about what she did,
     the more amazed I am by it, because I don’t know if I could have ever been so
     generous to do so. I mean, it’s not like she should get a Nobel Peace Prize or
     anything. But in the end, she thought of somebody else before herself.
    Can I claim the same? It
     feels like so much of what has gone on between me and Jonah and Kellan has been
     centered around my selfishness.
    And it’s selfish of me when
     I snatch Jonah’s cell phone while he’s in the shower and find a number to dial
     on mine that I never thought I would, all because I need