“How about this,” I said, leaning forward once more and lowering my voice. “Give me tonight. Let me show you what I have in mind. If you don’t like it, we’re done and I won’t interfere in your circle anymore. But if you do like it”—which I knew she would—“we’ll continue. And I promise that, by the end, your stepsisters will see justice for the hell they’ve put you through.”
“You speak about my background like you know so much about me.” Ella started tapping against the table, her expression skeptical. “Are you stalking me, Nacht?”
I grinned. “If I said I was, would you believe me?”
“I’d believe Ryan put you up to this crap,” she replied, folding her arms across her chest. “That would explain your comment about my stepsisters putting me through hell.”
“Or perhaps I’m observant and studied the school dynamics before transferring in.” Which was exactly what I did.
“Okay, say I believe that.” Her tone told me she absolutely did not believe it but was humoring me with a hypothetical situation. “What’s in it for you? Why help me seek justice, as you put it.”
“Because I like you, Ella.”
“Right. Because I’m special.” She used air quotes around the word. “I’m going to need more than that, Tray.”
I scratched my stubbled jaw, considering what I could offer to change her mind. “You realize the reason your stepsisters are so hell-bent on tormenting you is because they’re jealous, right?”
Her brow crinkled. “Jealous?” She released a humorless laugh. “Yeah, okay. Also, changing the subject won’t improve my opinion of you.”
“Don’t worry. I’m working toward my explanation, darling.” I paused to accept the drinks Belinda dropped off, then refocused on Ella. “You have the power to be the queen of Darlington Academy. It makes you a threat. That’s why you’re a target.”
“Right, so clearly you’ve not been stalking me.” She smiled, but it wasn’t friendly. “They hate me because they seem to think my father favored me.”
“That’s part of it, but not all of it,” I argued. “You’re gorgeous, Ella. Something they’ve gone out of their way to hide, but even Charlie and Dash still notice. Hell, everyone does. With my help, you could rule that school.”
“And let me guess—you’d stand by my side in the process?”
I shrugged. “It’d be a benefit, yes.” But my primary goal was to see those fuckers pay for what they’d done to her.
“Hard pass,” she tossed back at me. “I have no desire to become queen bee of any academy.”
Which only made her more perfect in my eyes.
Still… “You have no desire to make them pay for what they’ve done?”
“Again, you make it sound like you’re familiar with my past.” Suspicion glinted in her gaze. “Where did you move here from?”
“It doesn’t take a genius to realize they’ve made your life a living hell,” I countered, deflecting her inquiry. “What surprises me is how little you care about the possibility of getting revenge. Most would jump at the chance.”
“Because I know it’s futile.”
“Do you?” I steepled my fingers on the table and captured her gaze. “Have you tried?”
“What would you suggest I do, Tray? They own the school.” She lifted a brow as if to add, And that’s that.
“But they don’t own me.”
“That remains to be seen,” she replied coolly.
“Let me prove it to you tonight.”
Her eyes rolled heavenward. “This again.”
“My offer still stands,” I murmured. “Give me tonight to show you what I mean. If you like it, we continue working together. If you don’t, I’ll leave you alone.” At least in regard to seeking revenge. If she felt enough closure on the topic, then I wouldn’t push it. Instead, I’d just escalate my timetable on her recruitment into the fae world.
Done.
She blew a strand of hair out of her face and shook her head. “All right, fine. If it means you’ll leave me alone, I’ll play along.”