Chapter 288: The Ones I Can’t Escape

Electra’s POV

I hadn’t gotten more than two hours of proper sleep. Scratch that, two hours of interrupted, barely-there sleep.

Between the pain that still came in waves and the loud snores coming from Roxana’s side of the bed, I was honestly surprised I hadn’t lost my mind yet.

Irina and Penelope were both curled up on the floor with spare blankets and half-eaten snacks by their pillows, while Roxana had claimed the entire left side of my bed like it belonged to her.

I’d tried to complain about the fact that they were all squatting in my room, but the second I’d opened my mouth, they each hit me with the same excuse.

“We missed you.”

And really, I couldn’t argue with that. They had missed me, and I had missed them too, even Penelope, even if I wouldn’t admit it out loud.

After everything, the silence would’ve been unbearable without them here, but I hadn’t just let them stay over because I missed them.

I had to tell them everything, and I mean everything. I told them how it all started, the life swap between Seraphina and me, the sickness that came after, how I’d started burning up from the inside, and how Seraphina had nearly died trying to keep me alive.

How she had become my vessel.

It wasn’t easy, especially since Roxana kept interrupting with “Wait, go back” every three minutes, and Penelope, gods bless her, needed at least ten minutes to digest each major event before she could move on.

Even Irina, who was usually smarter, had her slow moments, mostly when she was staring off like she was trying to picture it all in her head.

So I ended up repeating myself a lot, and we talked through the entire night. No exaggeration. I looked at the clock once and realized it was past four in the morning and we were only just reaching the part where I died.

By the time I finished explaining how Seraphina had gone through a lot of pain to bring me back, and how I had seen her at the edge of that world, barely hanging on, they were all wide-eyed and completely silent.

That silence only lasted about thirty seconds before Roxana let out a loud, “Holy shit.”

Then Penelope started tearing up, and Irina just got up and hugged me.

When they finally passed out, Irina mumbling something about “phoenix wings” and Roxana still muttering curses about Azaryon under her breath, I simply laid back down and stared at the ceiling.

I should’ve felt lighter, like a burden had been lifted, but instead, I felt like I’d just opened an old wound and left it out to bleed, and the fact that Seraphina was still not awake also wasn’t helping.

I must’ve dozed off after that, because the next thing I knew, someone was knocking, and it was not a soft knock, but a firm and aggressive one.

I groaned and rolled over, burying my face in the pillow. Roxana mumbled something beside me and turned the other way, and I heard Irina grumble from the floor.

“Whoever it is, tell them to go away,” I muttered, barely lifting my head.

The knock came again, and Penelope, surprisingly awake now, got up and cracked the door open. I couldn’t hear what was said, but when she turned to me, I already knew I wouldn’t like it.

Her face said it all.

“Principal Astor wants to see you,” Penelope said. “You, Irina, Roxana, and I. Now.”

I sat up fast, all the exhaustion slipping off me like cold water. “Of course she does,” I muttered.

Because of course I couldn’t just have one morning to breathe.

I looked at the others. Roxana had sat up with a frown on her face, and Irina groaned and rolled under her blanket like she could pretend not to exist.

“I’m guessing Iris and Yuna couldn’t keep their mouths shut,” I said.

Roxana rolled her eyes. “When do bitches like them ever?”

I sighed, knowing that what this meant was that my parents probably knew too. Vale, Jella, the council, and even the royal guards, and me? I hadn’t even brushed my hair properly and was still too physically weak to deal with the drama.

I stood and ran a hand through my very messy hair, already annoyed. “Let’s just go before they send someone to drag us there.”

No one argued, and we all got up slowly, dragging ourselves into halfway presentable versions of ourselves. I threw on a clean blouse and a jacket. Irina pulled her hair into a messy bun, while Roxana looked like she was ready to murder someone, and honestly? Same.

Penelope was quiet the whole time, eyes still a little puffy but determined.

We walked through the halls together like we were marching to our execution, and maybe we were because if Astor was calling all of us in, especially first thing in the morning after I supposedly came back from the dead, it wasn’t going to be a friendly chat.

No, this was going to be serious, and something told me we weren’t just walking into that office as students anymore.

We, especially my friends, were walking in as people who had broken rules, stolen a princess’s body, meaning that they had risked a lot, and now… they would have to answer for it, but not if I had something to say about it.

We didn’t talk much on the way to Principal Astor’s office, not because we didn’t have anything to say, but because we were all too tired and too on edge to bother pretending.

Even Roxana was quiet, her usual smart remarks kept tightly behind a clenched jaw. Penelope still looked like she hadn’t fully woken up yet, and Irina walked beside me like a bodyguard who expected a fight at any moment.

I felt heavy and extremely tired in my bones. My head still throbbed from the lack of sleep, and all I really wanted was to fall back into bed and pretend I wasn’t part of this ridiculous mess, but unfortunately, I wasn’t that lucky.

When we got to the main administrative hall, Mrs. Hawthorne was already waiting outside Astor’s door. She straightened the moment she saw me, her face softening into something that looked surprisingly kind.

She bowed her head slightly. “Princess Electra,” she said, her voice gentle. “It’s good to see you awake.”

I gave her a stiff nod, not really in the mood for pleasantries.

Mrs. Hawthorne continued, folding her hands in front of her. “Principal Astor has asked to speak with you first. Your companions can wait here until you’re done.”

Of course she did.

I hated the idea of walking in there alone. I hated it even more knowing that Astor probably wanted answers, and judging by the way Mrs. Hawthorne’s eyes flicked toward the closed door, I had a bad feeling I wasn’t the only one inside being questioned.

Still, I didn’t argue. I looked over at Irina, Roxana, and Penelope, giving them a quick nod.

“Wait here,” I said. “Don’t yell at anyone while I’m gone.”

Roxana smirked. “No promises.”

I pushed the door open and stepped inside and immediately stopped short.

There they were, sitting on either side of Principal Astor’s desk like they owned the place.

The man that was unfortunately my father, King Vale, and Queen Jella, the bitch I still had to call my mother only because witch wasn’t a title I could openly use for her yet.

I let the door close behind me and stared at them, taking in the picture they painted.

Vale looked older than I remembered, and even more tired. There were faint lines under his eyes, and his fingers drummed slowly on the wood like he was holding something back.

Jella, on the other hand, looked the same as always, flawless, poised, and cold. Her hair was pulled into a tight braid, her lips painted a shade that matched dried blood, and her expression said everything she didn’t need to: I’m watching you, I’m not happy, but I will smile while I destroy you.

I stared at both of them, then I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath, “Well, shit.”

I didn’t bother hiding the way my shoulders dropped.

Principal Astor stood from behind her desk, clearly trying to hold the tension together with a diplomatic smile.

“Your Highness,” she said, nodding once. “Please, have a seat.”

“I’ll stand,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on Jella. “But thanks.”

Astor gave a small sigh and motioned for me to come closer. “We were just discussing the recent… events.”

“Let me guess,” I said, walking slowly toward the desk, “Iris and Yuna couldn’t wait two seconds before telling the whole world I was awake and alive, and now my loving family rushed all the way down here to scold me for not dying properly?”

Vale’s jaw tightened, and Jella’s smile widened.

“I don’t think this is the time for sarcasm, Your Highness,” Astor said gently. “This is a pretty serious situation.”

“Well, it’s the only language I speak, so deal with it,” I replied.

I stopped in front of them and crossed my arms, keeping my back straight even though I felt like my knees might give out at any second.

Jella was the first to speak, of course.

“You’ve been hiding,” she said, her voice cool and smooth. “You pretended to be dead, and you let your friends lie for you. Do you have any idea how disgraceful this looks?”

I blinked at her. “Well, if you weren’t planning on killing me, there’d have been no reason to hide me away. Don’t you agree, dear mother?”

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