Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 267: A lot of nonsense

Third-person POV

At the far end of the hallway, in a corner where they were hoping that no one would see them, Roxana, Irina, Penelope, and Seraphina stood shoulder to shoulder, hardly breathing as they tried to make sense of everything that they had just heard.

Seraphina had rushed to find them not long ago, with wide eyes and a pale face, and she had told them about how Electra had collapsed, as well as how the queen and king were going to show up soon before she could get to confirm if Electra was doing okay.

It had been clear from the start that sneaking into the infirmary wouldn’t be possible with Electra’s parents being on their way, so Irina came up with an idea, a crazy one that Seraphina, despite being skeptical, had agreed with since she didn’t exactly have a better idea.

So, Irina had taken Penelope’s phone, called it using her own, then quietly slid Penelope’s phone under the infirmary door so they could hear whatever was going on inside for when Electra’s parents arrived, and thankfully it had worked.

But they hadn’t expected to hear what they did, and saying they were shocked felt like an understatement.

They stood there frozen, and when they noticed that Electra’s parents had left the room, they’d end the call and immediately start to look back and forth at each other like they were trying to come to terms with everything that they had just heard.

Roxana was the first to speak, and her voice was barely above a whisper, but it cracked anyway.

"Well?" she blurted out, clearly disoriented. "Am I the only one that just heard the Queen say Electra’s a half-human, half-Phoenix?"

Penelope blinked at her in confusion, still reeling. "I heard it too, but a... Phoenix? That’s not possible, right? That’s— that’s a myth, isn’t it? I mean, it’s more believable to say she’s a snake or a vampire than a phoenix. They’re supposed to be gods of some kind, right?"

Irina and Seraphina didn’t respond right away, and that silence was enough for Roxana to snap her gaze toward them. "You knew," she said, voice laced with accusation. "You both knew."

Irina shifted uncomfortably. "Now’s not the time to talk about that."

"Are you serious right now?" Roxana fired back.

"Yes, I am being dead serious, my dear Roxie," Irina snapped, her voice stern. "Because while you’re freaking out about mythical birds and learning the royal family secret, there’s a girl in there, our best friend, who’s dying. So unless you’ve got a brilliant idea on how to bust her out, I suggest you focus."

Penelope swallowed. "But the King, he didn’t agree to it. He told Jella to shut up."

Roxana scoffed, folding her arms. "Are we really going to trust a king who apparently, Jella’s words, not mine, killed Electra’s mother and stole her as a baby?"

Seraphina flinched slightly at those words, but she didn’t say anything until Irina turned to her, eyes narrowed. "You’ve been quiet this whole time," Irina said. "If you know something, say it. Don’t hesitate."

Seraphina’s hands were trembling slightly at her sides. She wasn’t a fan of standing in the middle of so much chaos and so many raised voices.

"I..." she hesitated, but then she exhaled, firming her voice. "I’m the only one who can save her."

Three heads whipped toward her.

"What?" Roxana asked, her brows furrowing in disbelief. "What do you mean you’re the only one? Can you get her out of there yourself, or are we talking about something else entirely?"

"I know how this is going to sound," Seraphina said quickly. "And no, I’m not talking about getting her out of there. I’m talking about getting her to get out of the unconscious state that she is in, and believe me, I’m telling you the truth. Even if Jella didn’t try to kill her, Electra’s going to die either way."

Penelope stepped forward, her usual sarcastic charm nowhere to be found. "Seraphina, what are you talking about? How do you even know that?"

Seraphina hesitated. "Solara told me. She’s Electra’s birth mother, and again, I’m aware that I sound very crazy, but I’m being very serious right now."

"You spoke to Electra’s birth mother? A dead woman? Are you fucking joking?" Irina’s voice lost its edge, replaced by a stunned breath of disbelief.

Seraphina nodded. "She appeared to me a few days ago, and Electra knows about this. To cut the very long story short, she said Electra’s time is running out and the process has already started. She said that for Electra to live, she has to reach the brink of death... and I have to be there with her when it happens. That’s how the vessel bond works, and that’s how I save her."

No one said a word after Seraphina’s strange explanation, and Irina, Penelope, and Roxana just froze, staring at her like she had suddenly grown a second head.

Seraphina tried to hold their gazes, but even she could tell how mad she must have sounded, but that didn’t change the truth. It didn’t change the urgency building in her chest and the fact that Electra’s fate was now resting on her shoulders.

Seraphina exhaled deeply and broke the silence. "Even if you don’t believe me right now, we need to get Electra out of that room tonight. So instead of staring at me like I’ve lost it, how about we actually start thinking about how we’re going to do that?"

Roxana scoffed and crossed her arms. "You can’t just drop all that—about a supposed Solara showing up, about you being some ’vessel’—and expect us to nod and go along like this is just a normal Tuesday night."

"I didn’t say it was normal," Seraphina shot back. "Nothing about this situation is."

"But we’re supposed to believe that you’re the key to saving her life?" Roxana asked, eyebrows raised. "I mean, come on, Seraphina. I know you’re Electra’s little girlfriend or whatever, but that doesn’t mean we have to believe every nonsensical word that comes out of your mouth, and trust me, you said a whole lot of nonsense."

Seraphina flinched a little at the term "little girlfriend," but bit her tongue. Now wasn’t the time to argue over tone or feelings.

Irina finally stepped in, her voice calm. "Rox, that’s enough."

Roxana opened her mouth to argue, but Irina raised a hand to stop her. "You don’t have to believe her right now. I get it; none of this makes sense yet, but we heard what the Queen said. They’re going to kill Electra if we don’t act, and that alone should be enough reason to move."

Penelope, who had been silently taking in Seraphina’s words, finally spoke. "So... what’s the plan, then? We can’t exactly march into the infirmary with a banner and a sword like the princess’s soldiers."

"We’ll figure it out," Irina said. Then she turned to Seraphina. "And after we figure out how to get Electra out of that room, you’re going to tell us everything, from the beginning until it makes sense to us, but until then, we need to disappear from this hallway. The guards start rotating soon."

That got everyone’s attention.

Seraphina nodded, grateful. "Okay, but later—when I explain, please just try to keep an open mind."

"I will never make sure a dumb promise, little girl. If you want me to believe you, make it make sense; otherwise, I’ll recommend a psych ward for you," Roxana muttered, but she didn’t argue further, and Seraphina also decided not to let her words get to her.

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