She Calls, I Obey

Seraphina's Pov

 Back in my room, I finally felt like I could breathe. The hours I'd spent with Yuna and Yura had been enlightening, if not a bit overwhelming.

  Learning about hybrids and all the strange, hidden parts of this school had been terrifying, but I realized that I needed to know. 

I needed to feel a little less lost and a little less in the dark about what I was dealing with here at Elysium.

 I was grateful, too, that when I returned to the room, Liana and her friend were nowhere to be found. The awkwardness of my earlier encounter with them was still fresh in my mind, and I really didn't want a repeat performance.

 Being able to shower and unwind by myself felt like a small blessing, and I was determined to get to bed early to avoid any potential drama with Liana if and when she returned. 

I could still remember Ashleigh's warning on my first day here and how she had specifically mentioned that nothing that happened in this room was allowed to get out of the room. At first, I had been confused about all the secrecy, but now it finally made sense.

 I even made sure not to mention anything to Yuna, but I wouldn't be surprised if Liana didn't trust me to keep my mouth shut. I imagined her showing up to confront me and pressing to make sure I hadn't spread rumors. 

I let out a long sigh and collapsed on my bed, grabbing my phone and absentmindedly scrolling through it. I stopped at my father's contact, my finger hovering over it.

 It had been days since he'd texted—just a single, brief message on my first day here to make sure I'd arrived. Since then, nothing. Typical.

 We had our issues, sure, but he was still my only family, and despite everything, part of me wanted to reach out to tell him how strange and terrifying this place really was.

 The loneliness, the weird rules, the way I constantly felt like an outsider, even though I had Yuna—it was all suffocating. As strange as it was, I really wanted to hear his voice, and I wanted him to tell me that everything was going to be okay and actually comfort me for the first time in his life. 

I hesitated, though, because the last thing I needed was a lecture on how to "man up" or how my feelings didn't matter, and I knew that calling him would probably only make things worse, not better.

 He'd probably dismiss it all as my imagination, chalk it up to me being too soft and too sensitive, and then tell me to go stop being a spoilt brat. To him, my feelings didn't matter because I was just as weak as my mother. 

 I threw my phone to the side with more force than I intended and tried to push the thoughts away, closing my eyes and willing sleep to come, but just as I was on the edge of sleep, there was a knock on the door. 

 I sat up, surprised. Who could be visiting at this hour? I wondered if it was one of the other girl's friends, someone who didn't know they weren't in yet.

 With a sigh, I got up and padded over to the door, ready to tell whoever it was that they'd have to come back later.

 But as I opened the door, the words died on my lips. Standing there, with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression etched on her face, was Electra's friend, the same girl who had helped me find Yuna's room earlier. 

 Her presence threw me off completely; I hadn't expected to see her again, let alone outside my room, and I felt my pulse quicken as she eyed me with a strange, almost predatory smile.

"Well, look at that," she said, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Just the girl I was looking for."

I swallowed. There was something unsettling in the way she looked at me, almost like she was enjoying the effect her sudden appearance was having.

 "Uh, I… I think you're looking for the wrong person," I stammered, gripping the door as if it could shield me from whatever she had in mind.

"Oh, I'm not," she replied, her smile widening as she leaned against the doorframe. "I'm exactly where I need to be."

  She looked me up and down, and I felt my skin prickle under her gaze. "Now, if you're done confirming, come with me."

 My instinct was to shut the door and lock it, but the look on her face made me pause. I could tell she wasn't here by choice; there was a sense of duty behind her annoyance, as if this was a task she'd been handed and couldn't refuse.

"W-where are we going?" I managed to ask, my voice shaking despite my attempt to sound calm.

She let out an impatient sigh, rolling her eyes. "Someone important wants to see you," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "So instead of standing here asking questions, why don't you just follow?"

The words took a moment to sink in, and when they did, I felt a rush of panic already guessing who she was talking about, even though she hadn't said it. 

Electra. 

 I hesitated, my heart thudding in my chest. "Is there a chance I could refuse?" I asked, almost as a plea.

  The girl's only response was a loud and mocking laugh as she shook her head. She didn't even bother with words; she just turned on her heel and gestured for me to follow. 

It was clear I didn't have a choice.

Letting out a defeated sigh, I followed after her, my mind racing with questions I didn't dare ask aloud. What did Electra want with me? Why now?

Finally, we stopped in front of room 214, and she knocked before turning to me with a cold, almost bored expression.

"Go inside," she said, motioning to the door as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I blinked, taking a step back. "Aren't you coming in?"

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just go inside and stop asking questions."

Her tone left no room for argument. She was done with me; that much was clear.

 I hesitated a moment longer, but before I could gather the courage to actually step inside, she reached out, opened the door, and gave me a hard shove.

  I stumbled forward, barely catching myself before I could fall. I turned around and was ready to bolt, but she was already shutting the door behind me, sealing me inside.

 The silence that followed was scary, and I took a deep breath before turning around to face the room. 

Whatever I'd been expecting—a standard dorm room like mine, perhaps—this was not it.

 The room was enormous—nothing like the cramped space I shared with my roommates—and there was a queen-sized bed in the middle of the room. 

 It looked more like a suite in a palace than a room in a boarding school, and I suddenly felt even more out of place than usual.

"Surprised?"

I jumped at the sound of her voice, turning to see Electra leaning casually against the far wall, a slight smirk on her lips. 

 I stood there, heart pounding in my chest, as she moved away from the wall, dressed in a wine-colored robe.

  She was close enough now that I could see her more clearly, and the sight of her almost took my breath away. She had her hair tied back in a loose, effortless way that only seemed to accentuate her beauty. 

To top it off, her face was bare, without any hint of makeup, and I almost gasped at how stunning she was. In this simple, understated way, she seemed even more intimidating and more untouchable.

I was just about to mention how beautiful she was, but I barely caught myself from blurting out what I was thinking.

She stopped a few feet from me, a sly smile on her face, and raised an eyebrow. "You seem shocked, Seraphina."

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words didn't come out right away. "I wasn't expecting... I mean, this room—it's beautiful. It looks like it belongs to a princess."

To my surprise she chuckled warmly. "Well," she said, tilting her head, "I'm not trying to brag, but I am a princess. I suppose you haven't heard?"

The reminder hit me, and I mentally cursed myself for forgetting. How could I forget that she was the daughter of the King of Elmeria? 

"Oh," I stammered, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. "I—I did know that; it just... slipped my mind."

 I tried to keep my gaze on her face, doing my best not to notice that her robe was almost see-through, revealing just enough to make me wonder if she was wearing anything else underneath.

I swallowed hard, trying to focus. "With all due respect, may I know why you asked me here?"

Electra stepped closer, and I froze. 

 In an instant, she was just inches from me, leaning down until her face was level with mine, and our noses were almost touching. I could feel her breath on my skin, and I had to fight the urge to back away.

"I wanted to have a little chat with you," she murmured, her lips so close that I felt the warmth of her words. "That's all."