Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 294: Don’t Cross Me

Electra’s POV

I couldn’t believe it.

Of all the people in Elysium, Iris?

I just stood there for a second, staring at her while my hand pulsed from where she’d grabbed it. My breath was uneven, and my thoughts were scattered, but one thing was clear, she had strength that she shouldn’t have.

Not for someone her size, not for someone who was supposedly human, but definitely for someone I’d just called a pure-blood Phoenix.

I hadn’t even meant to say it out loud. The words had slipped, but the second I saw the flicker in her eyes, something dark, amused, and dangerous, I knew I wasn’t wrong.

Iris.

I took a slow step back, trying to make sense of it. Earlier today, E had warned me that there was another Phoenix, a pureblood, hidden and watching us. I’d been trying to brush it off all day, assuming maybe it was just E overreacting. Maybe she was still disoriented, or maybe it was just a blip in her connection, but this? This wasn’t a blip.

This was real.

Iris—freaking Iris—was the pure-blood Phoenix, and now, her smug expression made more sense than it ever had. The way she never flinched and the way she acted like nothing could touch her.

Her whole vibe was off from the very beginning, but I’d been too sick, too distracted, and too focused on myself and Seraphina to put the pieces together.

I looked at her again, really looked, and her face was still calm, with her lips curved in that same fake sweet smile, but I could see the tension in her shoulders and the sharpness in her eyes.

She knew I knew.

"Rox," I said tightly, "move."

Roxana turned to me, looking torn. "Electra—"

"Move," I said again, this time slower, and she finally stepped aside.

I moved closer to Iris, slowly. My steps were measured, not because I wanted to intimidate her, but because I needed to stop myself from doing something reckless.

I was still weak. My physical strength was barely back, and my body felt like it was being held together with string, but the fire in my chest was burning hotter now, and Iris Aurelian was fanning the flames.

I leaned in, close enough that only she could hear me. Her breath didn’t hitch. She didn’t even blink, and that made me want to punch her.

"You’re lucky," I whispered. "So lucky I’m still weak."

Her smile twitched just a little, like she wanted to say something smug, but I didn’t let her. I kept going.

"I don’t know what your problem with me is, Iris. I really don’t. Whether it’s just me or it has to do with Hunter or my throne or something else entirely, I don’t care."

I pulled back just enough to meet her gaze, my voice still low.

"But if you keep stepping on my toes, if you keep playing these little games, I’ll make you regret every life decision you’ve ever made."

I saw the twitch in her brow that time, barely there, but it was enough.

I was just about to turn around and leave since I had nothing more to say to her.

The mess was over, Seraphina was by my side again, and Iris... well, I decided to just consider her an irritating little stain on my day, and I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of ruining dinner completely.

I’d already said more than I planned to when I whispered in her ear, and even though empty threats weren’t usually my style when I was this drained, something about her brought out the worst in me and made me want to just say something to shut her up. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

So yeah, I was ready to go. My appetite was gone, and my energy was dropping fast, and all I wanted now was to grab Seraphina’s hand, walk out of that hall with some dignity left, and sleep for a full century, but of course, the bitch had other plans.

Just as I turned to Seraphina, her warm hand brushing mine, I heard it.

A loud and obnoxious laugh. I clenched my jaw, my fingers curled slightly into Seraphina’s, and I turned my head just enough to look back at her.

There she was, now back to sitting like a queen on a throne she didn’t earn, with her eyes glinting and lips curled in that same arrogant smirk, and she wasn’t even looking at anyone else, just me. As if this entire night was for her entertainment and I was just a character in her funny little play.

I didn’t even need to say anything. My expression must’ve said enough because she leaned forward, still smiling, and spoke just loud enough for only me to hear.

"You don’t know who I am, little one," she whispered.

My brows lifted, unimpressed, but she didn’t stop there.

"A weak abomination like you should be careful about who you threaten, Electra," she added, her voice low and full of mockery. "You might not survive the wrong one."

I laughed, not because it was funny, but because it was laughable. The audacity and the nerve of her.

"I was sick," I said back, my voice just as quiet but much colder. "That’s the only reason you even got that close and managed to do whatever you did previously. But don’t think for a second that it’s going to happen again. Don’t you dare think it."

Her smirk twitched, but she stayed quiet and watched.

I leaned in a little, not bothering to hide the warning in my eyes.

"For your own sake, Iris, act right, and know your place. Because if you ever cross the line with me again, I swear to every god above and below, you won’t be walking back to your precious little family in Valternor."

I stepped back slowly, letting the silence between us stretch out just long enough.

"You’ll be delivered in a body bag."

I didn’t wait for her reaction, and I didn’t care to see if she flinched or smirked or rolled her eyes. I was done.

I turned away, found Seraphina’s hand again, this time gripping it tightly, and walked out of the dining hall like the fire inside me wasn’t threatening to burn everything down.

Irina, Roxana, and Penelope followed behind without a word. No one in the dining hall moved, and no one dared to speak.

It was like the air itself knew something was off. Knew something between me and Iris had shifted in a way that couldn’t be undone. She wasn’t just some girl I could overlook now. She was something worse—an enemy I couldn’t wait to get rid of.