Page 79 of Stray
Ella felt the blackness closing in the same as it had in the pond, and this time, Bishop wasn’t there to save her.
Was this seriously it? Was she going to end up surviving early childhood on the streets, near drowning in the moon pool, and almost two decades of Axel Hill, only to end up drowning in a damn school toilet?
It seemed like she was about to get her answer when she heard the door swing open, and the other queens with Marissa’s posse cried out in alarm.
Marissa’s grip on her hair loosened slightly as the girl turned around to see who the intruder was, and it was just enough of a distraction for Ella to break away from her. This time, she couldn’t even get in a full gasp of air, and while she was already on her knees, she dropped against the stall wall, clutching her throat. Every time she coughed, another wave of water cascaded from her mouth, searing her throat and lungs even more. A hand reached into the stall and flung Ashley aside, then Tina.
Ella’s rescuer moved so quickly that she almost didn’t recognize him. Then he came toe-to-toe with Marissa and she decided maybe she really was hallucinating after all.
“Axel?” Marissa cried in disbelief.
“What the fuck are you doing to her?” Axel snarled, pinning her against the stall. Ella had never seen him use force against a queen, but she’d never seen that wild look in his eyes either. A combination of rage and something else she didn’t even have a word for.
“Get your hands off me,” Marissa spat, shoving hard into his chest. It didn’t move him in the slightest, but he’d already turned his attention to Ella, lowering himself to his knees to grab her.
“Ella,” he cried, sounding genuinely concerned as he took her face between his hands and looked her over. Now sheknewshe was hallucinating. “Look at me. Hey. Can you breathe?”
She could barely stay upright, let alone answer him, but she was too stunned to do so even if she’d had the voice.
“I can’t believe you’re still wasting your time on this whore,” Marissa cried. “Did you ever even love me?”
The others had retreated to the door, obviously wary of Axel’s outburst. Ella could understand why. She could feel his energy in the air, frigid and chaotic, and it bled through his skin wherever he touched her, leaving hers even more frozen. His hands were still on her shoulders as he turned to Marissa, his gaze darkening with such murderous intent that the other queen took a step back.
“No,” he answered, his voice steady and chilled, yet somehow far more menacing for the element of control that had yet to rein in his wild energy. Ella was no longer sure if her inability to take a full breath was due to almost drowning, or shock. “I didn’t. And if you or any of your harpy bitches lays a finger on her again, you’re gonna find out just how little you fucking mean to me.”
The expression on Marissa’s face was one of total and complete devastation. Ella knew it well. It was the look of someone who’d made the mistake of falling in love with a man who could only ever love a woman for her utility to him, and turn on her just as quickly when she was no longer of use.
If she hadn’t just tried to murder her, Ella might have even pitied her, but they were far beyond that now.
Marissa seemed frozen for a few seconds before she turned her contempt upon Ella once more. She turned and stalked out of the restroom with the others close on her heels, but Ella knew things were far from settled between them. Just because she wasn’t willing to finish it in front of Axel didn’t mean it was over.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice rough and demanding as he turned back to her.
Ella pushed away from him, somehow managing to get back on her feet. “Do I look alright?” she spat. The force of her words surprised her, and judging from the look on his face, it surprised him too. “You did this. This isyourfault!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, sounding more confused than angry. Maybe he was just too shocked anyone, let alone her, had the gall to yell at him to respond properly. “That bitch would’ve drowned you if I hadn’t come in.”
“I know that!” she hissed, staggering out of the open stall. She barely caught herself against the sink, her head spinning anew. “You’re the reason she hates me. You couldn’t use her, so you decide I’m your next toy to play with and break, like you haven’t been keeping me on the dusty shelf in the back of your closet our whole lives.”
For a moment, he just stared at her as if she’d lost her mind, and given the fact that she was still speaking, Ella knew there was a chance he was right. She just couldn’t bring herself to stop. Like that day in the hall, once the words were out, they just kept coming, and there was so much she still had to say to him. So many years of bottled up emotions and frustrations all coming to a head, whether she wanted them to or not.
“Ella…”
“No. You’re done talking,” she said, finding her voice as she straightened up even though just standing felt like it took enough effort. “You’ve been harassing me nonstop these last couple of days to talk, so now you’re going to listen.”
He said nothing, even though a familiar glimmer of anger came into his gaze. She didn’t know if he was just humoring her because she’d come seconds away from death for the second time in a matter of weeks, but she wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip away when she finally had enough adrenaline coursing through her veins to tell him how she really felt.
“I spent most of my life in your shadow. Waiting on you, living for you, wanting you,” she said, feeling as if someone else was speaking the words and she was just along for the ride. “You never gave a damn about me then. You treated me the same as every human servant you think isn’t good enough to breathe your air--no,worse. You made it perfectly clear that you hated me. That I never belonged in your perfect world, and everything I touched was less just for coming into contact with me.”
He made no attempt to argue or defend himself. Then again, she was only stating the truth that was as obvious to every member of the Hill family as it was to her.
“Despite all that, you knew how I felt about you. You’ve always known.” Her voice broke from anger rather than the fear she so often felt in his presence. There was no room for it now. Something had woken up inside of her and there was no putting it back to sleep. “You knew and you took pleasure in rubbing Marissa and all your other conquests in my face. You loved every fucking minute of it.”
“And what if I did?” he growled. He hadn’t spoken in so long that she’d almost forgotten what his voice sounded like when it wasn’t full of rage. His condescension was so much worse. “Like you’re any better, dangling yourself in front of me like a toy on a string.”
Her nails dug into her palms so hard she scented blood in the air. Nothing he was saying made any sense, but it fueled the fire in her chest nonetheless. “You’re sick, you know that? I used to think you were just a typical rich, spoiled tom, but there was some part of you buried deep inside that still felt. That was human. Now I know the truth.”
“And that is?” he challenged, taking a menacing step toward her.
