Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 325: Another body

Third-person POV

E’s eyes opened slowly, and the first thing she saw was a plain white ceiling. For the first few seconds after she woke up, she just stayed still and lay there, staring blankly, her mind fogged and disoriented.

The bed under her felt strange and different, and the sheets were tucked neatly around her body. Nothing about the room felt familiar.

She was absolutely confused about what was going on until memories from the tournament rushed back into her mind. The noise, the chaos, the adrenaline from Electra, and then the sudden, sharp tear inside her.

She remembered the bond with Seraphina going silent, as if someone had snuffed out a flame in the middle of her chest. She remembered the hollow feeling that followed, as well as the emptiness and the pain that had left her reeling.

Seraphina.

Her throat tightened. That kind of break only meant one thing. As far as E knew, the only way a bond could snap like that was if the vessel died.

She tried to push the thought away, but she couldn’t help but think that the worst had already happened, and the idea of Seraphina being gone left her stomach twisting.

Desperate for something to help her organize her thoughts, she reached out for Electra, wanting to hear what Electra thought and, more importantly, to be certain that they were still able to communicate and how come.

’Electra?’ she called softly in her mind, but nothing came back, and E frowned.

That wasn’t right. She tried again, forcing her will into the tether that should have connected them. ’Electra, are you there? Answer me.’

Once again, she got no response, and that only made her nerves spike. Her breathing grew uneven, and she pushed harder, her thoughts filled with panic. ’Electra!’

She called out again, but there was still nothing, absolutely no sign at all that her connection to Electra was stable in the slightest.

Her pulse hammered in her ears, and the first question she asked herself was how was she even awake if Electra was gone? It didn’t make sense that she was awake when Electra, whose body was the host, seemed to be completely disconnected from her. It made absolutely no sense. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Before she could think of what to do, the sound of footsteps broke the silence, and voices followed, low at first but clearer as they came closer.

As soon as E heard the voices, she shut her eyes again and stayed still. She didn’t know where she was or what was happening, and she didn’t want to take chances. If she stayed quiet, maybe she would learn something before anyone realized she was awake.

The voices grew clearer. They were soft at first, then louder once the girls stepped inside the room. There were three of them, all talking at the same time.

"...has she moved yet?" one asked.

"I don’t think so. Her breathing pretty much looks the same, and I don’t see her waking up just yet." another said.

Then came the question that made E’s heart stop.

"Irina, did anyone else come besides us?"

E’s eyes twitched under her lids. Irina.

That name she knew. Irina was one of Electra’s closest friends, which could only mean that the other voices belonged to the others, Roxana and Penelope. At the very second that the thought hit her, she felt an immediate sense of relief. If they were here, then it was safe.

Her choice was made. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The light stung for a second, and she blinked, turning her head toward the voices.

Penelope was the first to notice. Her mouth dropped open, and then she shouted, "She’s awake!"

The other two whipped their heads around at once. Roxana’s arms unfolded from across her chest, and Irina took a step closer, her face filled with worry.

"Electra," Irina said quickly. "Are you okay?"

The name made E freeze inside, but she forced herself not to show it. For now, letting them believe she was Electra was easier than explaining.

Penelope hurried forward, her eyes wide. "We thought you wouldn’t wake up. You’ve been out for so long, and no one knew what to do."

Roxana’s voice cut in, a little lower and calmer. "You scared everyone. You just collapsed, and then nothing. No one knew what was happening or how to even get you to wake up."

E swallowed hard, her chest tightening. She wanted to tell them the truth, that she wasn’t Electra, not really, but the words wouldn’t come. She didn’t even know how to explain it, and she wasn’t sure if she should. Electra never really wanted her friends to know that she existed so they wouldn’t think she was insane.

"Where am I?" she asked finally, her voice small.

Irina and Roxana shared a look, while Penelope bit her lip nervously. None of them seemed sure how much to say.

"You’re safe," Irina said gently. "That’s enough for now."

E looked around the room slowly. The walls were plain and way too bright for her liking, there was a chair pulled close to her bed, and a glass of water sat on a table nearby. The place felt simple but calm.

When she tried to sit up, her arms shook. Penelope quickly reached out to steady her. "Careful," she said. "Don’t push yourself. You’ve been out for days."

Days. The word echoed in E’s head as she couldn’t believe that she had lost days without knowing. She remembered the tournament, Seraphina, and the bond breaking, but nothing after that.

She shifted a little, her head heavy on the pillow, and her throat dry. Her voice came out rough when she finally spoke again.

"I don’t... I don’t remember much," she admitted. Her eyes moved between the three girls, her chest tight. "What exactly happened after I fainted? Can someone tell me?"

The moment the question left her lips, Irina, Penelope, and Roxana glanced at one another, but none of them answered right away. Their eyes darted back and forth like there was something to say, but none of them wanted to be the first to say it.

E frowned, her face tightening. "Why are you all looking at each other like that?" she asked, her tone sharper now. "Is something going on? What aren’t you telling me?"

They hesitated. Penelope bit her bottom lip, her shoulders tense, Roxana crossed her arms tighter across her chest and kept staring at the floor, while Irina kept her eyes fixed on E, as if weighing whether to speak.

Finally, after a long pause, Irina sighed and moved even closer. "Electra..." she started carefully, her voice steady but uncertain. "We don’t know if you realize this, but... you look different."

E’s brows pulled together. "Different?" The word slipped out before she could stop it, and her mind spun in confusion. "What do you mean I look different?"

Her heart thumped as her hands twitched at her sides. She slowly lifted them to her face, her fingers brushing over her cheeks, her nose, and her jaw. Her skin didn’t feel strange, not at first.

She felt weaker than usual, yes. She also knew something was off since she couldn’t feel Electra and couldn’t hear her voice, but hearing that the others thought she looked different was something else.

Her eyes flicked between them again. "How do I look different?" she pressed.

None of them answered quickly. Irina’s eyes dropped to E’s hands. Penelope followed the look, her lips parting slightly.

E followed their gaze, lowering her eyes to her hands, and as soon as she saw it, her breath caught in her throat.

Her hands were completely different, and she immediately realized that she was in her phoenix form.

Her stomach dropped. Her eyes widened, and she quickly pulled her hands closer, staring at them with disbelief.

Her voice came out in a half whisper, half gasp. "You... you can see this? You can see me like this?"

Irina nodded slowly. There was no hesitation, no doubt in her eyes. "Yes," she said. "We all can. Ever since that day."

E’s mouth went dry. "That day?" she asked faintly.

"The tournament," Irina explained, her tone quiet. "When you collapsed, at first you were just lying there, pale and still, but then, right in front of us, you changed. You went from your normal self... to this." She gestured to E’s hands, her face calm but serious. "And you’ve stayed like this ever since."

Penelope nodded quickly, her eyes still wide with wonder. "We didn’t know if it was permanent, or some kind of Phoenix magic, or if you’d change back when you woke up, but so far, you’ve looked like this. Very different from the Electra we know."

E’s head spun. She dragged her hands across her face again, as though the touch could prove them wrong, but her skin still burned faintly under her fingertips, and the glow was still there.

She shook her head, her hair falling messily around her shoulders. "This can’t be right," she muttered. "This—this isn’t supposed to be me all the time. You shouldn’t even be able to see it. No one should."

Irina tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly. "But we can, and everyone who was at the tournament that day saw everything that happened. I hate to say this, but you’ve become the trending topic in all seven kingdoms, Electra."