Page 46 of Stray
At least she didn’t have to worry about any extended awkward silence. Marissa was quick to fill it.
“I can’t believe that bitter old hag,” she seethed, throwing back what was left in her father’s wine glass.
“Ignore her,” Axel muttered. “Her opinion means nothing. She’s not the one who decides anything.”
Ella stood, hoping she could just slip out without either of them noticing.
“You must be enjoying yourself,” Marissa sneered. Her spiteful tone left no room to doubt who she was talking to. It seemed Ella’s powers of invisibility only ever worked against her, never in her favor. “I bet you loved getting fawned over by that weirdo.”
Ella swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue. Marissa’s insolence knew no bounds, it seemed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Please,” Marissa scoffed, folding her arms. “Jealous little wallflowers have to stick together, I guess.”
Ella frowned. Shewasjealous, but not for the reasons Marissa seemed to think. She didn’t care about the other girl’s trust fund or the implants she’d cashed a portion of it in for. Axel, on the other hand… No matter how much reason he gave her to despise him, her heart refused to be reasoned with.
She chose to take the path of least resistance by ignoring the remark and turned to head upstairs. When a strong hand wrapped firmly around her wrist, her entire body went rigid.
Ella turned around in confusion, finding Axel’s eyes boring into her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, his voice at once gruff and irresistible. “There are still dishes on the table.”
Ella swallowed hard. She made the mistake of glancing Marissa’s way, but she needn’t have in order to know the other girl was preening in satisfaction.
For a few torturous seconds, Ella held his gaze, uncertain of whether she was incapable of looking away or simply pathetic enough to want to linger in his attention for however long it lasted, regardless of how negative it was. When at last the impulse to look away won out, he released his grip and she cleaned the dishes off the table as quickly as possible.
Beatrice was waiting in the kitchen and she pounced as soon as the door swung open. “What happened?” she demanded in an urgent whisper.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Ella said, turning away as soon as she’d placed the dishes in the sink. She sniffed, wiping a few tears away with the back of her hand as she turned the hot water on full blast.
“Ella…” Beatrice’s voice softened with pity and she placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of these, you go upstairs and rest.”
Ella hesitated, afraid to meet her eyes lest her friend see just how full of tears they were. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Go on,” Beatrice said, pushing her toward the stairs. “There’ll be plenty of dishes to do tomorrow.”
Ella nodded gratefully before heading up to her room. She shut the door and fell back against it, feeling all the air rush from her lungs like a deflating tire. She was used to Axel ignoring her, but he’d never gone so far out of his way to put her in her place in front of company.
The sooner the Unveiling came, the better. Then he and Marissa could run off together, and she’d only ever have to deal with them at colony-wide functions. The few she was invited to, in any case. Her life would be dramatically improved for his absence as well as hers.
Maybe if she told herself that often enough, it would be true.
Chapter 2
Ella
The Unveiling paradoxically seemed to grow further away each day that passed. At least taking care of all the preparations Emily had shouldered off onto Ella and the staff was keeping her distracted.
Axel hadn’t returned since the disastrous dinner party, and even worse than the fear of never seeing him again was the longing to do just that. For years, Ella had tried to douse the embers of the flame that had been burning for him for far too long, but it only ever seemed to smolder hotter as a result.
Until the day of the Unveiling itself, Ella remained uncertain as to whether she was even going to be expected to attend. Given the fact that Emily had sharply announced her participation immediately after returning from a luncheon in which the priestess was in attendance, Ella had to assume her unwanted benefactor was at least somewhat responsible for the decision.
The sooner this was all over, the better. She had dreaded the Unveiling and the inevitable union it would bring between Axel and Marissa ever since she’d been conscious enough to realize that her feelings for him ran deeper than adoration, or a friendship that had never even existed in the first place.
Somehow, it was easier to accept the inevitable now that it had actually arrived. Not that there had even been a sliver of a chance before, but her stubborn heart had still been holding onto the ghost of one despite her best efforts.
After tonight, there would be no wishing or hoping. No more room for disappointment. She could finally move on with her life, whatever that entailed.
Ella hadn’t known she was going to attend the Unveiling for long enough to figure out what to wear, so she reluctantly chose the same dress she’d worn to the dinner party, since it was the nicest one she owned. She was already going to look comically out of place next to Marissa and the other candidates, as distant in the running as they may have been. What was the point in even trying?
