Third-person POV

Seraphina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had finally packed her bags, left Elysium, and was in a cab on her way to Elmeria’s main airport when she noticed that the driver was talking to himself over whatever it was he was listening to on the radio. At first, she tried to ignore it because she already had her earbuds in and was trying to focus on anything else that didn’t involve her thoughts, but something about the way the driver kept reacting, muttering under his breath, clicking his tongue, and even letting out small gasps, started to bother her.

It didn’t sound like music, and it didn’t sound like something casual either. It sounded like something serious, something that had his full attention, and before she knew it, her curiosity got the better of her.

She pulled one earbud out slowly, her brows furrowing as she leaned forward just a little. She was about to ask him if there was a problem, or at least what he was listening to, but before the words could leave her mouth, a voice came through the radio clearly enough for her to hear it. The moment the sound reached her ears, her entire body went still, and her heart dropped so fast it felt like it had fallen straight into her stomach.

For a second, she told herself she was imagining things, that there was no way that voice belonged to who she thought it did, because that would make no sense at all. There was no reason for that voice to be on the radio, no reason for it to sound so clear, so familiar, so real.

But then the voice spoke again, and this time, there was no doubt.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt her fingers tighten slightly around the strap of her bag as she leaned forward more, her attention completely locked on the radio now. The words being said didn’t even fully register at first because all she could focus on was the voice itself, the tone, the way it carried, and the calm sharpness in it that she knew too well. It was Electra. There was no way it wasn’t her.

Her confusion hit her all at once, mixing with a growing sense of unease that made her chest feel tight. "What’s going on?" she asked quickly, her voice coming out a little more urgent than she intended as she looked at the driver. "What are you listening to?"

The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror briefly, clearly surprised that she had suddenly taken interest, but he didn’t question it. "It’s the news," he said, his tone still filled with the same shock that had made him talk to himself earlier. "Apparently there’s some serious drama going on at the palace right now."

Seraphina’s stomach twisted, and she leaned forward even more without realizing it, her focus sharpening instantly. "What kind of drama?" she asked, her voice quieter now, but somehow more intense.

The driver shook his head slightly, like he still couldn’t believe what he had just heard. "They’re saying the queen just admitted to killing the king," he replied, his words coming out slowly as if he were still trying to process them himself. "And not just that... she also confessed to trying to frame someone else for it."

For a second, Seraphina didn’t react.

It was like her mind had gone blank, like the words didn’t make sense, like they didn’t belong in the same sentence. Then, all at once, everything hit her at the same time, and her eyes widened in pure shock. "What?" she breathed out, her voice barely above a whisper as she stared at the back of the driver’s seat like it might give her answers.

King Vale was dead.

That alone was enough to make her feel like something had been ripped out from under her, even though she didn’t have any personal connection to him. It was still something that shouldn’t have happened so suddenly, something that shouldn’t have been possible without causing chaos across the entire kingdom, but what made it worse, what made it almost impossible to process, was the fact that Jella had killed him... and admitted to it publicly, which made absolutely no sense.

Her mind immediately went back to the voice she had heard on the radio, and this time, she didn’t try to deny it. She knew what she had heard. That had been Electra’s voice, and now, hearing what the driver had just said, it only made everything more confusing.

"What the hell is going on..." she murmured to herself, her brows pulling together as her thoughts started to race in too many directions at once.

The last time she had seen Electra, they had been arguing. Not just arguing, but clashing in a way that had left her feeling angry, hurt, and completely dismissed. Electra had gone to the palace in the middle of the night without telling her, without even thinking to wake her up or explain what she was doing, and now, somehow, she was hearing her voice on the radio while the queen was publicly admitting to murder.

It didn’t make sense, or maybe it did, in a strange and unsettling way.

Electra had always been drawn to chaos, whether she meant to or not, and somehow, even without her memories, she had managed to walk straight into something like this again. Seraphina felt a tight knot form in her chest as she leaned back slightly in her seat, her fingers curling into her palm as she tried to think clearly.

Should she go back?

The thought came to her so suddenly that it caught her off guard. For a brief moment, she imagined telling the driver to turn around, to take her back to the school, or even straight to the palace, just to make sure that Electra was okay, because no matter how strong Electra was, no matter how powerful she had become, this kind of situation wasn’t simple. There were too many people involved, too much at stake, and Electra didn’t even have her memories to guide her through it.

What if she needed help? What if this was too much, even for her?

Seraphina’s heart tightened at the thought, and she felt herself leaning forward slightly again, like she was about to speak, about to tell the driver to change direction, but just as quickly as the thought came, something else followed right behind it, something colder, something that made her stop before she could act on it.

Electra didn’t care.

The memory of how she had looked at her, how indifferent she had been, how easily she had brushed her aside, it came back clearly, and it hit harder than she expected. This wasn’t the same Electra she had fallen in love with. This wasn’t the girl who would have reached for her, who would have explained things, who would have at least considered how she felt.

This Electra didn’t need her, and more than that, she didn’t want her.

Seraphina swallowed slowly, her throat feeling tight as she leaned back fully into her seat this time, her gaze dropping to her hands. What exactly could she even do if she went back? She wasn’t strong, she wasn’t powerful, and she wasn’t someone who could walk into a palace full of guards and politics and do anything meaningful.

She would just get in the way.

That was the truth, whether she liked it or not. Electra was a phoenix, something powerful, something feared, something that didn’t need protection from someone like her. If anything, her presence would only complicate things, making it harder for Electra to act freely.

And then there was Yuna.

The reason she had even left in the first place hadn’t changed. Yuna was still gone, and her family still didn’t know the truth. That wasn’t something she could ignore, not when it had been weighing on her for so long. She had already decided that she was going to Varynthia, that she was going to face whatever came with that decision, and turning back now would only mean delaying something she knew she had to do.

She let out a slow breath, her fingers tightening slightly around the strap of her bag again as she forced herself to stay still.

There was no point.

No point in going back to someone who didn’t need her, and no point in abandoning something she had already made up her mind about. Even if Electra were in trouble, even if things were getting out of control, she had to trust that Electra could handle it.

She always did.

Seraphina closed her eyes briefly, leaning her head back against the seat as the sound of the radio continued to fill the car, her chest still tight, her thoughts still restless, but her decision... firm.

There was nothing she could do for Electra anymore, and there was no reason for her to go back.