Electra’s Pov

The silence that followed my declaration in the meeting hall had been satisfying, but I already knew that the elders and my parents weren’t going to let me slip away from this without any consequences.

After I successfully managed to find my way back to my room, I allowed myself a small victory in changing out of the suffocating formal attire they’d forced me into and back into my regular clothes.

The moment I slipped into my black jacket and boots, I felt more like myself again, like I had control over my own body at least, even if everything else seemed to be spiraling.

But as soon as I stepped out of my room, I saw them—two guards, dressed in the Queen’s colors, waiting just outside my door, and I didn’t need to ask who had sent them.

“Your Highness,” one of them said, bowing slightly. “The Queen requests your presence.”

Of course she does. I knew it was only a matter of time before my mother came for me. She couldn’t bear to let me get away with ’embarassing’ her, especially not in front of the elders, and she wouldn’t let me leave without trying to beat me back into submission.

I sighed, feeling the familiar nervousness slowly build in my chest, but I nodded anyway since there was no point in fighting this now.

“Lead the way,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended.

The guards led me to the Queen’s private palace, and I stepped inside, mentally preparing myself for whatever venom Queen Jella had in store.

She was already seated at the end of the room, and her expression was unreadable, but her eyes—those cold, calculating eyes—glared at me the moment I entered.

“Mother,” I greeted with a curt bow. “You called for me.”

She nodded, and without saying a word, she stood up from where she was seated and walked closer, stopping right in front of me.

She had a look of disgust plastered on her face, and before I knew it, her hands came flying out of nowhere until they landed on my cheek.

The slap came hard and fast, the sting of it spreading across my cheek like wildfire before I even had the chance to register what had happened.

My head snapped to the side, and for a moment, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. I stumbled back, blinking in shock, but I didn’t have the luxury of recovering because before I could process the first slap, another one followed.

Crack.

The second one split my lip, and I tasted the blood almost instantly. It dripped down to my chin as I lifted a hand to my mouth, wiping it away with the back of my fingers.

My mother’s chest was still heaving with fury, and her hands were still raised as if she were considering slapping me again.

I straightened, my face still stinging from the slaps, but I didn’t flinch. I didn’t step back. Instead, I met her glare with a glare of my own, letting her know that I wasn’t scared of her.

There was something almost amusing about her anger, something that tickled at the back of my mind despite the pain in my face. Was this really all she had? Just slapping me and glaring like a mad woman? Jella was definitely getting old.

“How dare you?” she hissed, anger dripping from her voice. “How dare you humiliate me—humiliate your father—in front of the elders like that? Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was for the heir of the kingdom to announce—to announce—that she has a preference for women?”

I scoffed, more out of disbelief than anything else, and gave her a look of bitter amusement. “You already knew I would never marry a man, Mother. So why didn’t you stop the elders from suggesting such nonsense if you were so concerned about me ’embarrassing’ you?”

Her eyes widened, furious at my audacity, and before I could react, her hand came flying toward me again. The third slap echoed through the room, causing my head to jerk to the side.

My cheek throbbed, but my pride refused to let me stagger. This was her way—control through violence, through shame, and through fear, but I’d grown up in this world of hers and was now immune to it.

Or at least, that’s what I’d like to think.

“You insolent child,” she seethed, her voice shaking with barely controlled rage. “Do you honestly think your… interests matter? You are the heir to the Vale bloodline, and what you want is irrelevant. Your only duty is to ensure the continuation of this kingdom. So fool around with all the girls you want now because as soon as you leave that school, you’re getting married to a worthy man, and leaving that foolishness behind.”

As soon as the word foolishness left her lips, I felt my face twist into a sneer, and my eyes narrowed as I glared at her.

“Foolishness,” I repeated, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now it’s foolishness, is it? That’s rich, coming from the very person who made me this way.”

Her face froze for a second, the shock evident in her eyes. It was fleeting, but I saw it—saw the fear just behind the expression of control she always wore.

She tried to recover, her jaw tightening as she hissed through gritted teeth, “Shut your mouth, Electra.”

I stepped forward, closing the distance between us, the adrenaline fueling me now that I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to back down. “No. I’m not going to shut my mouth. You might want to pretend like it never happened, but I haven’t forgotten. I will never forget.”

Her eyes were blazing with fury, but there was something else there now, too. Panic. Real, deep-seated panic, and I wasn’t going to stop.

I leaned in closer, my voice low. “If the darling queen hadn’t spent years being sexual with her innocent daughter while threatening her to keep quiet, maybe—just maybe—I wouldn’t be so interested in women.”

Of course, her abuse didn’t exactly have much to do with my interest in women, but I couldn’t miss the chance to infuriate her.

Her face contorted in rage. “Shut up!” she screamed, her hand swinging toward me.

I saw it coming this time but didn’t bother to move. The slap landed hard, stinging my cheek, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the joy I felt knowing that she was triggered. She could hit me all she wanted; it wouldn’t stop me.

I laughed—an unhinged laugh as I let out a manic sound, and I saw her eyes widen just a fraction. I leaned closer, still grinning, and whispered, “How do you think the elders would feel knowing you were my first taste of sex? That their precious queen groomed the girl they believed to be her own daughter?”

Her hand went to my throat so fast I barely registered the movement before the air was forced from my lungs. Her fingers squeezed, her nails digging into my skin as she choked me, her eyes wild with rage.

I gasped, clawing at her wrist, but she only tightened her grip.

“You insolent, ungrateful brat,” she spat, her voice low and deadly. “You think you can humiliate me? You think you can destroy everything I’ve built? You are nothing without this crown, and you will be nothing if I strip it from you. You and I know that without me, you’d be dead just like the bitch who gave birth to you.”

I tried to suck in air, my vision blurring, but I refused to let her see my fear.

“You’ve gotten bold, haven’t you?” she snarled, her face twisted in fury as she squeezed harder. “Maybe it’s time for another visit to our fun little chamber. It’s been far too long, hasn’t it?” she said, and as soon as the word chamber left her lips, I knew precisely what she was talking about, and the fear I thought I didn’t feel immediately came out of nowhere.

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