Page 14 of Stray
Chapter 5
Ella
“About ready to leave this place?” Tessa asked with a knowing smile as Ella gathered her belongings in the bag the attending nurse had given her. Natalia had been kind enough to bring her a change of clothes that fit surprisingly well, and she couldn’t help but worry the Empress had bought them just for her.
“Ready to leave the hospital, but not to go back to the pride,” she admitted.
“That’s understandable,” Tessa snorted. “The Hill pride certainly isn’t what it was in my day.”
She talked like she was ancient even though she was still relatively young, but Ella figured that just came with the territory of being a High Priestess. “Where am I going exactly, anyway?”
“Natalia has graciously offered to let you stay in the capital estate with them while you recover,” Tessa answered.
Bishop had returned to school the day after she’d woken up in the hospital, and while Natalie had stuck around, she was away on colony business that afternoon. The idea of staying with them was as overwhelming to Ella as it was humbling.
“I couldn’t ask them to do that,” Ella protested.
“You didn’t ask anything,” said Tessa. “She offered, and you’re going to have to get used to it when you become Empress. Everyone will want your time, and it wouldn’t hurt to spend some with people who understand what you’re going through.”
“What about the Hills?” Ella asked. Admittedly, the idea of going back there unsettled her more than anything, but she didn’t want to just abandon Beatrice.
She was also having a hard time feeling like it was her decision to make. The days that had passed since coming to the hospital had done nothing to make her new reality sink in, even if she had grown numb to the shock of it all.
In Ella’s mind, she was still just the unofficial live-in maid who existed to do whatever Mrs. Hill decided. The idea of that changing was unfathomable. As unhappy as she’d been with her lot in life before, there was dreaming about a different world and then there was actually diving headfirst down the rabbit hole.
Tessa’s expression soured at any mention of the Hill family, and this time was no exception. “The Hills have managed to survive fourteen years without noticing the future Empress was right under their noses, and I expect they’ll manage just fine without her.”
Ella wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. She knew Tessa was right, of course, but that didn’t change the mingled feelings of guilt and obligation. Emily had done so much for her, and she was the closest thing to a mother Ella had ever known.
Tessa was watching her a bit too closely, and Ella once again felt like she was able to see more than what was visible to the naked eye. Before the priestess could question her, there was a familiar rhythmic knock at the door.
“Coming in,” Emily called in a singsong Ella had only ever heard her use with people she hated but wanted to impress. Not a good sign. She locked her gaze on Ella and smiled wider than she ever had before. “Well, look who’s all better.”
“She’s still healing, and it’s not a good time for company,” Tessa said curtly.
Emily’s gaze turned frosty as she stared the other woman down, but her smile didn’t falter. “The hospital called me,” she said in a syrupy tone. “I’m here to take Ella home.”
The words filled Ella with warmth and dread at the same time. She’d hoped her head would be clearer after the morphine drip wore off, but her emotions certainly weren’t.
“The hell you are,” Tessa scoffed.
Ella gaped at her, far from immune to her bluntness. Even the highest ranking members of the Fellowship didn’t usually dare to speak to pride Matriarchs that way.
Emily remained true to her unflappable poise, but Ella knew she had to be seething underneath. “Where else would she go?” she challenged. “I am her legal guardian, after all.”
Tessa’s upper lip curled back in a partial snarl. She clearly knew Emily had a point, and hated it almost as much as Ella did. “She’s almost nineteen. I’d say that’s more than old enough to decide for herself.”
“The colony laws say differently,” Emily said, glancing Ella’s way. Even though she wore a pleasant expression, she was more unnerving this way than she ever had been when she was angry. “But that’s all beside the point, isn’t it? You want to come home, don’t you, dear?”
Ella’s throat tightened up the way it had that night under the water, and she felt like those invisible, groping hands were still trying to choke the life out of her. Before she could answer, Tessa cut in.
“You don’thaveto do anything. Remember that.”
If looks could kill, the look Emily was giving her would have been irrefutable proof in a court of law.
“It’s okay,” Ella said, her voice sounding stabler than she’d feared. “If I have to attend the Academy, the Hills’ house is closer, and I don’t want to put anyone to any trouble.”
“Such a thoughtful girl,” Emily said in a voice full of warmth Ella had never heard in it before as she stroked a lock of white hair behind Ella’s ear. “I’ve already had a talk with the Headmaster, and he’s going to give you another week to recover before you start class.”
