Page 15 of Stray
“That’s okay,” Ella said quickly. As nervous as she was about walking through the Academy doors she’d dreamed of entering on so many occasions, the idea of staying at home with the new Mrs. Hill for a solid week was much worse. “I’ll already be behind. Might as well not waste any more time.”
It wasn’t a lie, either. Ella had gone to human schools all her life, and while she’d done well in most of her classes, she hadn’t learned any of the things a young queen her age was expected to know. In some ways, she was as much of an outsider to their world as Beatrice was, and catching up seemed nigh impossible.
“Are you sure about this?” Tessa asked, holding Ella’s gaze intently, as if she was trying to find her own answers behind the girl’s eyes.
“I am,” Ella lied. She was sure she didn’t have any better options, at any rate. “Thank you, for everything. Would you please tell Mrs. Meyer how much I appreciate her kindness?”
“Of course,” Tessa said with a burdened sigh. To Ella’s surprise, the priestess pulled her into a gentle hug that still made her healing ribs ache a little. “If you need anything, you can reach me in your dreams.”
The cryptic remark was too out of the blue for Ella to process it in time to respond. Tessa was already on her way out of the room, casting one last dirty look in Emily’s direction. The Matriarch waited to return it until her back was turned.
“Well, shall we get going?” Emily asked, reaching for Ella’s bag. “I’m sure you’re hungry. I’ll have Beatrice whip something up for you.”
Ella couldn’t help but stare at her. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Emily had been replaced by a robot double, but she did know better and there was absolutely nothing out of character about her opportunism, as bizarre as her behavior was.
“That’s okay. I think I’ll just sleep,” Ella said, following her out of the hospital room.
“Suit yourself,” said Emily. To Ella’s relief, her new maternal demeanor didn’t seem to extend to idle chatter and the car ride home was mostly silent. Ella found herself gazing out the window, lost in thought until they passed the Academy.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Emily asked absently. “You never forget your time there.”
Ella was surprised at how genuine the wistful tone in her voice sounded. It was rare for Emily to be sentimental about anything. Ella wasn’t even sure she’d cried at her husband’s funeral. Not with tears, anyway.
“Yeah,” she murmured. “I can’t wait.”
Chapter 6
Ella
Life at the Hill residence was both better and worse than it had been before. Better because Emily was no longer treating her like a servant whose every waking moment had to be accounted for and filled with work. Worse because she had yet to falter in her new act as a caring and doting mother figure.
The other day, Emily had actually prepared breakfast herself when Ella came downstairs in the morning. She was starting to feel like she lived in Stepford, only there was no shutting Emily down by pulling out her batteries.
Now that her sternum was healed and she could breathe without coughing, she was expected to begin her first day at the Academy. Emily had offered to drive her, but Ella had carefully refused the offer, insisting the walk was good for her lungs.
In truth, she wasn’t thrilled about arriving to her first day looking winded, but anything was better than being trapped in a car with Emily. Somehow, she was even more frightening when she was trying to be nice. Maybe her stilted performance just made it clear how far from her true nature any altruistic behavior really was.
Ella felt guilty for thinking such things about the woman who had taken her in and raised her from a kit. Tessa and Natalia might have shared her opinion, but they didn’t owe her the way Ella did. Even if she knew Emily was only interested in her now that she had something to offer, even if it was only in the distant future, she didn’t want to be ungrateful.
As the Academy came into view, it looked bigger and more intimidating than it ever had. Ella adjusted her duffel bag on her shoulder, filled with every worldly possession she owned. That was considerably more than it once had been, since she’d received her uniforms from the Academy.
Moving into the dorms was not a decision she had taken lightly, but it seemed slightly preferable to remaining in the Hill estate. She knew it would put her closer to Axel, but they were already going to be sharing many of the same classes, and she hadn’t even heard from him since the Unveiling.
Empress or not, it seemed that nothing had changed in his ongoing quest to pretend like she didn’t exist, and considering the alternative, she decided it was for the best.
The moment Ella walked through the doors, finally having worked up enough courage to go in, she immediately regretted it. The lively roar of conversation immediately died down and everyone turned to stare at her just like they had in her anxiety-fueled dreams the night before.
For a few seconds, Ella remained frozen and unsure of how to respond. She finally decided to just pretend like she didn’t notice and followed the signs in the hallways to the administration office.
The secretary behind the desk gave her a doubletake. Now she was really starting to wish she had dyed her hair. It was only going to make her immediately identifiable wherever she went.
“Hi. I’m here to get my class schedule?” She approached the desk, trying to check her nerves.
All she had to do was survive this one day, one hour at a time. How hard could it be?
The growing pit of dread in her gut offered an answer she wasn’t keen to dwell on.
“Of course,” the secretary said, disappearing for a moment before she returned with a thick folder. Ella glanced over its contents and realized it was her schedule along with the Academy handbook and several wavers she was supposed to sign and hand back. The paper that caught her attention was the page in her schedule where it listed her orientation guide.
