Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 368: The first testing

Third-person POV

Electra didn’t stop until they were inside her room.

The moment the door shut behind them, the noise from the hallway disappeared, replaced by a quiet that felt almost heavy, but Seraphina barely had time to register it. One second, she was still trying to steady her breathing, her hand warm where Electra had been holding it. The next...

Electra kissed her.

It wasn’t tentative or hesitant in any way. It was just sudden and full, Electra’s lips crashing into hers with no warning at all, and the force of it drove every thought straight out of Seraphina’s head.

She froze.

Her body went stiff, her eyes widening as her mind scrambled to understand what was happening. She didn’t kiss back, but she also didn’t pull away from it. Instead, she just stood there, completely still, her heart slamming against her ribs like it was trying to escape.

Electra, for her part, didn’t seem to notice the lack of response. She kissed Seraphina like it was a test, firm, curious, and unrestrained. There was no hesitation in her movements, no uncertainty in her posture. If anything, she seemed focused, like she was waiting for something to happen.

Twenty seconds passed, but to Seraphina, it felt like both an eternity and nothing at all.

Then Electra pulled back.

She frowned slightly, her brows knitting together as she searched Seraphina’s face. "Am I supposed to feel something?" she asked plainly. "Or am I doing it wrong?"

Seraphina didn’t answer.

She didn’t even blink.

Her gaze was unfocused now, fixed somewhere past Electra’s shoulder, as though her mind had stepped completely outside her body. The room, the bed, the desk, and the faint scent of Electra lingering in the air might as well not have existed.

Electra tilted her head, studying her. "...You look strange."

There was still no response whatsoever from Seraphina, and Electra sighed, clearly unimpressed, before lifting a hand. She tapped Seraphina lightly on the forehead, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to get her attention.

"Why are you making that face?" she asked. "And why aren’t you answering me?"

Seraphina flinched.

Her eyes refocused all at once, and she sucked in a sharp breath like she’d just surfaced from deep underwater. "What..." she stammered, then stopped, shaking her head as if that might reset her thoughts. "What did you say?"

Electra blinked. "I asked if I was supposed to feel something."

Seraphina stared at her for a beat, then swallowed hard. Her heart was still racing, her cheeks burning hot. "You..." She stopped herself, took another breath, then tried again. "Why did you just kiss me?"

Electra’s brows furrowed. "Kiss?" she repeated slowly, as if tasting the word.

Seraphina nodded. "Yes. What you just did. Why did you do it?"

Electra considered this, then shrugged. "That’s what it’s called?"

"Yes," Seraphina replied weakly. "It is."

"Hmm." Electra looked thoughtful now, her earlier confidence fading into something more contemplative. "Then yes. I kissed you."

Seraphina pressed her lips together, trying to steady herself. "Why?" she asked again.

Electra’s shoulders lifted in a casual shrug. "I saw some other girls doing it earlier."

Seraphina stiffened. "You... saw them?"

"In some room down in one of the hallways," Electra continued calmly. "They were pressed against a wall, and for some reason, they were very distracted and very invested." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "They seemed... absorbed, like nothing else existed, and until I left, they didn’t realize I was watching them."

Seraphina’s stomach dropped.

"I didn’t understand why," Electra went on. "They weren’t fighting, and it wasn’t like they were exchanging information of any sort, yet they were behaving as though something important was happening."

She paused, then looked back at Seraphina. "So I got curious."

Seraphina let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. "Electra, that’s not..."

"And," Electra added, cutting her off without malice, "you confirmed that you and I had an intimate relationship before my memories vanished."

Seraphina’s heart skipped.

"So," Electra finished, sounding entirely too casually, "it made sense that you would be the best person to ask, or test it with."

The words landed heavily between them.

Seraphina opened her mouth, then closed it again. She ran a hand through her hair, pacing a single step away before stopping herself. "Electra," she said, her voice quieter now, more careful, "you can’t just... do things like that without warning."

Electra frowned. "Why not?"

"Because," Seraphina said slowly, choosing each word, "kissing isn’t just an action. It’s... it means something."

Electra studied her face again, that sharp, searching gaze returning. "It didn’t mean anything to you just now?"

Seraphina hesitated as the honest answer lodged painfully in her chest.

"It did," she admitted softly. "But that’s exactly the problem."

Electra’s expression shifted, confusion flickering across her features. "Explain yourself cause I really don’t get it."

Seraphina exhaled. "Before you lost your memories, what we had mattered to both of us. You don’t remember it now, and I do, so unfortunately, that puts us on very uneven ground."

Electra crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed by the metaphor. "You said we were involved."

"Yes." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"So why are you reacting like this is inappropriate?"

Seraphina met her gaze, thinking of what to say that wouldn’t involve her divulging the real reason she was this stunned. "Because you don’t know what you’re doing, and you don’t even know what we used to be. I just don’t want to take advantage of your curiosity."

Electra stared at her for a long moment.

Then she scoffed lightly. "You’re assuming I would allow that. I’m the one who kissed you, not the other way around."

Seraphina blinked.

Electra stepped closer again, her presence suddenly intense. "I may not remember everything," she said evenly, "but I am not helpless or stupid. If I didn’t want to kiss you, I wouldn’t have."

"That’s not what I meant," Seraphina said quickly. "I just..."

"You’re afraid," Electra interrupted, her tone sharp with sudden insight.

Seraphina went quiet.

Electra’s eyes narrowed. "I’m not sure what it is you’re afraid of, but I have a feeling it has more to do with you than it has to do with me."

Seraphina looked away, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Electra sighed, the sound softer this time. "I didn’t feel what those girls looked like they were feeling," she admitted. "Nothing overwhelming, and definitely nothing consuming enough to tune me out of my environment."

She glanced at Seraphina. "Was I supposed to?"

Seraphina hesitated, then nodded slightly. "Sometimes," she said. "But not always, and not right away."

Electra seemed to accept that. "Then perhaps I need more data."

Seraphina’s heart lurched. "...Electra."

Electra’s lips curved, just a little, not mischievous this time, but curious. "Relax," she said. "I won’t repeat the experiment with you. Since it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll just find a new partner."