Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 298: A not-so-good feeling

Electra’s POV

I was lying in bed with Seraphina wrapped up in my arms, her body pressed against mine under the sheets, her breathing soft and even, and her skin still warm. She was already asleep, her eyes shut and her lips slightly parted, but I was far from drifting off.

Because E wouldn’t shut up.

’That was... intense,’ she whispered in my mind for what had to be the hundredth time. ’Honestly, I didn’t know humans could feel that much... pressure, or friction, or... whatever that was.’

"You’re not supposed to be talking right now," I muttered inside my own head, careful not to speak out loud and wake Seraphina. "Can we not do this? I’m trying to sleep."

’You didn’t seem like you were trying to sleep fifteen minutes ago,’ E teased. ’You were very awake then. Very’

I rolled my eyes at nothing. It wasn’t like I could switch her off since, unfortunately, she was part of me. A loud, curious, and annoying part of me who had just experienced sex for the first time and wouldn’t stop analyzing it.

’Do humans always make those sounds?’ E asked. ’Was it supposed to be that messy? And what was that one thing she did with her tongue—’

"Enough," I snapped mentally, then sighed and stared down at Seraphina again.

She looked so peaceful. Her dark lashes rested gently on her cheeks, and a few strands of her hair had fallen across her forehead. Her hand was still tangled with mine, even in sleep.

My chest tightened a little just looking at her. Goddess, how did she manage to look so soft even after everything?

I wanted to kiss her again, but also, I had to pee.

So I carefully slipped out of her arms, moving slowly so I wouldn’t wake her. The sheets rustled, and she stirred slightly but didn’t open her eyes.

I padded toward the bathroom, and just halfway there, something in me told me to look back.

It was just instinct. A glance over my shoulder to admire her again, but then my eyes caught something they shouldn’t have.

Wait.

I blinked and turned fully around, and that was when I noticed that in the middle of her spine, right between her shoulder blades, was something glowing. A mark.

I took a step back toward her with my heart pounding.

No. No, I hadn’t imagined that.

"E..., can you see what I’m seeing?"

’Yes,’ she said, already serious. ’I see it too.’

I moved closer, slowly, careful not to make any noise. The glow that was coming from the mark was very soft, and it was pulsing gently like a heartbeat.

The mark itself looked almost like... a flame? But it looked thin and delicate.

"What the hell is that?" I whispered.

’I really wish I could tell you what it was,’ E said slowly. ’But I have no clue.’

I sat down on the edge of the bed again, still staring at the mark. My fingers itched to touch it, but I didn’t want to risk waking her yet.

"She didn’t have that before. I know she didn’t. At least, not before the whole ’becoming my vessel’ situation."

Could it really be because of me? Because of what we just did? Was it the bond?

I swallowed hard, trying to slow my thoughts. No one said anything about marks showing up after the process.

The glow pulsed once again, and for a second, I thought it got brighter. I leaned in with my eyes wide, and that was when Seraphina stirred.

"Mmm... Electra?" she called out, and I froze, halfway leaning over her.

She turned over slightly, blinking at me, her eyes sleepy and a little confused. "Is everything okay?"

I stayed still for a moment, caught between not wanting to worry her and not knowing how to even start explaining what I’d seen.

"You look... weird," she said, her brows knitting together as she pushed herself up to sit, pulling the sheets with her. "Is something wrong?"

I opened my mouth and hesitated. Then sighed again. "Okay, um... don’t freak out."

"Great," she mumbled, blinking harder now, clearly more awake. "That’s never a comforting way to start a sentence."

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly and nodded toward her. "It’s just... when I was getting up, I turned around and noticed something. On your back, there’s this... glowing mark. It’s like a symbol or something, and I don’t know what it is, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t there before today."

I braced myself for a panicked reaction, her eyes going wide, and maybe her rushing to check it in the mirror, but that’s not what happened at all.

Seraphina blinked once, then again, and then she laughed.

I just stared at her, dumbfounded. "Wait, why are you laughing? Did I say it wrong?"

She shook her head and gave me this half-asleep, amused smile that only made me feel more out of the loop. "You’re looking all concerned and worked up over the sigil?"

My eyes narrowed. "You knew about it?"

"Yeah," she said with a sleepy shrug. "Your grandfather told me before I woke up. He said it would appear when the bond between us was complete."

I blinked at her, my jaw slightly open. "Wait. What?"

"The bond," she repeated, clearly way too calm for what she was saying. "You know, the whole Phoenix vessel thing? He said once everything settled, a mark would appear on me. It’s kind of like... proof, I guess?"

My brain was still trying to process all of this. I rubbed my temples. "So, wait... You’ve known this since when?"

"Since I woke up earlier today," she said, stretching her arms above her head like this was just a casual morning conversation. "When I met your grandfather, he said it was a sigil of binding or something, to show that I’m officially your vessel now, but it’s not a big deal. Trust me."

I stared at her, not sure what I felt. Relieved? Annoyed? Impressed? Probably all of the above.

"And it doesn’t hurt?" I asked, my voice softer now.

"No," she replied with a smile, touching her back gently as if to double-check. "It’s warm sometimes, but not painful. It’s just kind of like a sunbeam against your skin."

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, but still, something in me felt... uneasy. "You could’ve told me earlier, you know."

"I was going to," she said quickly. "I was thinking I’d get the chance as soon as I saw you, but then Iris happened, and after that, we ended up—" She paused and gave me a small grin. "—distracted."

I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. "Yeah, that’s fair."

"Anyway," she said, yawning as she started to push the covers off herself, "I’m going to use the bathroom before you start acting like I’m dying over a painless mark."

I nodded, watching as she stood, bare and graceful, and padded toward the bathroom. The door clicked shut quietly behind her, but I just sat there, still, not because I didn’t believe her, but because something about the mark still unsettled me.

Not in a bad way, not exactly, but not in a good way either. I couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t just a symbol, like it meant more than either of us realized, and maybe that was what bothered me.

That something so permanent could appear on someone I cared so much about... and I didn’t even know what it really meant.