Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 334: Waiting to burn

E’s POV

I sat slumped in one of the chairs near the window, staring at nothing. The air in the room felt thick, to the point where it was starting to suffocate me, and my whole body burned, not in a normal way but in the way fire burns inside a furnace when it’s about to overflow. Every breath felt heavy and hot, and my skin prickled as if the flames under it wanted to break free.

It had been days. Days of sitting in the same room, waiting, hoping, and trying not to think about what was happening to Seraphina. Waiting for my father to bring her here, and waiting for a miracle.

I didn’t like to admit it, not even to myself, but fear had started to creep in. Fear that even if they brought Seraphina here, I wouldn’t be able to help her. Fear that by the time she arrived, it would already be too late, and fear that I wouldn’t even be alive when she did.

I shifted slightly in the chair, my body aching from sitting still so long. The movement sent a new wave of heat rolling through me. It felt like my bones were overheating, and I pressed my palms against my knees, trying to hold myself together and to keep my fire from spilling out.

The exhaustion wasn’t just in my body. It sat in my mind too, like a heavy fog. I couldn’t focus on anything for more than a few seconds. Every thought slipped into another, and every memory blurred. Even lifting my head felt like dragging stone.

Somewhere in that haze, a question kept circling: was there anyone out there who could help me? Anyone who knew what to do with a phoenix caught between life and death?

I had no idea how to reach other phoenixes from here, and the only one I knew among humans was Iris, who I already knew hated me. She hated me for being mixed, for being "impure" in her eyes. Even thinking about her name sent a pang through my chest. If she was the one behind Seraphina’s stabbing, if she was the reason for this state I was in, then she had already done enough damage.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to picture Iris’s smirk, her bright eyes filled with contempt. I didn’t have the strength to waste on hate.

Instead, I tried to breathe slowly. In. Out. In. Out. The heat didn’t leave, but it settled into a slow burn, and my heartbeat stayed loud like a drum in my chest.

I opened my eyes again and stared at the ceiling. How much time did I even have left? I could feel the bond to Seraphina thinning with every hour that passed. It was like holding a rope that was slowly fraying, and at first you think it’s strong enough to last, but then you see the fibers breaking one by one, and by the time you try to grip tighter, it’s too late.

I bit my lip and forced the thought away. If I let myself believe it was too late, then it would be.

The door creaked open.

I turned my head, moving slowly, because even that simple action felt like it cost energy. Irina stepped inside. She closed the door behind her quietly, like she didn’t want to disturb me.

She tried to smile, but her face didn’t quite manage it. There was that awkward look again, the same one she’d worn every time she came into this room since I woke up. It was in her eyes, her mouth, and her body language. A stiffness, like she was still trying to get used to me, to the sight of me sitting there looking nothing like the girl she’d known.

Electra had been her friend, and I wasn’t. I was something else living in Electra’s body, glowing strangely, and basically not looking like anything she had ever seen before.

I lowered my gaze, not sure if I wanted to see her reaction again.

She cleared her throat. "Hey," she said softly.

I gave her a small nod. "Hey." My voice sounded rougher than usual, like it had been burned too.

She walked a few steps closer but stopped halfway, hesitating. "You’re... still hot," she said quietly. "You look like you’re burning."

"I feel like it," I muttered. My throat hurt, but I didn’t look up at her yet. "Inside and out."

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Any news from the king?"

I shook my head slowly. "Nothing yet."

Irina pressed her lips together. "He’s trying."

"I know," I said. I didn’t mean for my voice to sound so cold, but it came out that way anyway. "But trying doesn’t stop time."

Silence settled between us. I could feel her eyes on me, studying me the way someone studies a wound they don’t know how to fix.

"You look tired," she said after a while.

"I am." I lifted my head a little, meeting her gaze. "I’m more than tired. I’m... burning out."

Her face softened. "We’ll figure it out."

I gave a short, dry laugh. "That’s what you all keep saying."

She stepped closer then, moving slowly, as if approaching a wild animal. "I know you’re scared," she said.

I didn’t answer.

"You’re allowed to be scared, E," she added.

I closed my eyes and let out a breath. "I don’t know if I’m scared," I said quietly. "I don’t even know what I am anymore, but if Seraphina dies, then none of this will matter. I’ll be gone, and Electra..." My voice broke. "Electra will be gone too."

Irina reached out like she was going to touch my arm but then hesitated. Her hand hovered for a moment, then dropped back to her side. "We’re doing everything we can," she said. "The king is doing everything he can. Darius hasn’t answered yet, but maybe—"

"Maybe," I echoed. The word felt empty.

I leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes again. The heat pulsed through me, steady and relentless. I imagined flames curling up my arms, across my chest, and licking at my throat.

"I can’t just sit here," I whispered.

Irina sat down on the edge of the bed, facing me. "You don’t have a choice," she said gently. "If you leave, they’ll find you, and they’ll kill you. You’re not strong enough right now to deal with the mess on the outside."

"I know." The admission tasted bitter.

For a while, neither of us spoke. The room was only filled with the faint sound of my breathing and the sound of the old clock on the wall.

Finally, I opened my eyes and looked at her again. "Do you think I can do it?" I asked. "Do you think if they bring her, I can help her wake up?"

Irina hesitated. "I don’t know," she said honestly. "But I think you believe you can, and maybe that’s enough."

I let the silence hold us for another long moment. The fire inside me flickered, and I pressed my hands against my knees again, grounding myself.

"I wish Electra were here," I said softly. "She was better at this than me. She was the one who knew how to talk to people and how to make them listen."

Irina’s expression shifted. "She’s still in there," she said. "She has to be."

I nodded slowly, though I didn’t feel so sure anymore, and even if she was, I may never get to hear from her again before we both end up dying.