Chapter 312: Stay Away

Electra’s POV

I stepped out of the car the second the palace guard opened the door for me. The air felt heavier the moment my feet hit the ground, like even the universe could feel how pissed off I was.

I adjusted my hoodie and shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans, silently reminding myself to stay calm, but that was easier said than done, though.

Ever since Seraphina told me that Queen Jella had the nerve to come all the way to Elysium and summon her behind my back, I’d been fuming. She didn’t even try to hide how shaken she was when she told me about it, and what made it worse? Jella had apparently threatened to expose our relationship.

Left to me, I wouldn’t mind it, but it would cause way too many problems for Seraphina, and I wasn’t about to let my stupid stepmother ruin another’s life just to spite me.

I didn’t even wait for Seraphina to finish talking before I was already calling the palace, demanding they send me a car, and now, here I was.

As soon as I got inside, I made a beeline straight for Jella’s side of the palace. The guards standing in front of her hallway straightened up the second they saw me, clearly uncomfortable.

“Announce me,” I said, keeping my voice cold.

One of them hesitated. “The queen has asked not to be disturbed, Princess.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” he added carefully. “She said she’s not seeing anyone today.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Well, that’s too bad because I’m not just anyone. Now, I’ll say this once: announce me.”

The second guard stepped forward, trying to be polite but firm. “I’m sorry, Princess, but the queen—”

I didn’t let him finish. My hand moved faster than I expected, and without thinking, I slapped him across the face, the sound echoing through the hallway. I didn’t even give the first guard a chance to react before I turned and slapped him too.

Both of them looked stunned.

“Try to stop me,” I warned, my voice stern and my irritation more than evident. “I dare you to touch me, and I’ll have both of you thrown into the palace dungeon so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

Neither of them moved. That was smart.

I pushed the doors open myself and marched into Jella’s private wing like I owned the place.

To my not so much of a surprise, Jella was lounging on the couch in her ridiculous silk robe, pretending to read a magazine. Her head lifted the moment she heard the door slam open, and for the briefest second, something flashed in her eyes—annoyance, maybe surprise—but she covered it quickly.

“Well, look who’s here,” she said with a sweet smile that made my stomach turn. “To what do I owe this tantrum, Electra dear? Don’t you have a tournament to prepare for?”

I didn’t even sit down. “You really thought I wouldn’t find out?”

She cocked her head like she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. “You’ll have to be a little more specific, darling. I do a lot of things people don’t approve of.”

“You threatened Seraphina,” I snapped. “You came all the way to my school to summon her behind my back, and you even threatened to tell the King of Aldoria that we’re supposedly together. Are you out of your damn mind?”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, Jella burst out laughing like I’d just told her the funniest joke she’d ever heard. I wasn’t sure what part of what I said was supposed to be funny, but there she was, laughing, like this was all just some joke to her.

I stood there, arms crossed, trying to keep my cool, but I could already feel the heat under my skin starting to rise. That familiar burning sensation that came when I was seconds away from losing it.

She wiped a fake tear from the corner of her eye and let out a final chuckle. “If you really want to protect your little girlfriend from getting exposed, Electra, all you have to do is drop out of the tournament,” she said. “Forget about this ridiculous idea that you’ll ever be queen of Elmeria. That’s all I’m asking. Is that too much for love?”

I scoffed. “So that’s what this is about? Still convinced I don’t deserve the crown?”

She didn’t say anything.

“Is it because I’m not fully human?” I continued. “Or is it because you know I won’t let you control me like some puppet? Or maybe it’s just the fact that you hated my mother so much, you can’t stand that I’m still here, still breathing, and still a threat to your delusional world, where you want to be ruler but can’t because you’re a nobody.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Solara’s dead,” I said, voice low. “And yet, you’re still jealous of her. You can’t stand that your husband loved her more than he ever loved you, so now you take it out on me because somehow, it’s my fault you’re not lovable.”

Jella stood from her chair, and her expression changed in an instant. Gone was the fake smile, the smugness. Now, she just looked pissed.

“What the hell would I be jealous of?” she snapped. “A good-for-nothing bitch who died like a fool? Some so-called Phoenix who couldn’t even protect herself? That’s who you think I’m jealous of?”

That was it. That was the last straw.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I crossed the room. My body moved on its own, like my anger had taken over completely, and after that, my hand shot up, and I grabbed her by the throat.

The moment my fingers touched her skin, I felt it—that heat, not just anger this time, but fire. Real fire.

She let out a sharp gasp as the heat from my hand began to sear her neck, and I could see her skin turning red, the mark of my power burning into her. Her eyes widened in terror, and for the first time, Jella didn’t look smug or in control.

She looked scared.

“Don’t you ever talk about my mother like that again,” I said through clenched teeth. My voice didn’t even sound like mine. It sounded deeper, heavier, like something else was speaking through me.

She tried to push me off, but my grip didn’t budge.

“Electra!” a voice shouted behind me.

The sound of my name being shouted made me freeze for half a second. My grip around Jella’s throat didn’t loosen, but I turned my head slightly.

It was him.

“Electra!” my father barked again as he stormed into the room, his voice bouncing off the walls.

He looked furious and confused, with a storm of emotions swirling on his face.

“What are you doing?” he demanded. “Why are your hands around her neck?”

My jaw clenched, the heat in my veins still alive and humming, and I didn’t let go.

“If you don’t want to be next,” I said coldly, “I suggest you stay out of it.”

That shut him up.

He stopped dead in his tracks, just staring at me like he was seeing me for the first time. His silence was almost funny. The king, speechless. If I hadn’t been so furious, I might’ve laughed.

I turned my full attention back to Jella.

She was crying now. Her breath came in short, panicked gasps; her eyes were wide with something like fear, a look I had never seen on her before. Her skin under my fingers was blackened and cracked, the heat from me having left a very permanent mark.

Good.

“Let this be the last time you ever open your disgusting mouth to speak about my mother,” I told her, my voice stern and low. “Because next time you do, I’ll be sure to finish what I started.”

She blinked rapidly, more tears spilling down her cheeks. I tightened my grip one last time, not to hurt her further, just to drive the message in, then finally let go.

Jella crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, wheezing and grabbing at her neck. She looked pathetic, weak, and not at all like the powerful queen she pretended to be.

Her skin was burned black where I’d touched her, and the raw patches were starting to bleed a little.

Still, I felt nothing.

No guilt, no fear, and definitely no regret.

“Also, you better stay far away from Seraphina,” I said, stepping over her like she was nothing. “If you so much as look in her direction again, I will kill you.”

She whimpered, and I smiled. “See you at the tournament,” I added, my voice sweet but cold.

Then I turned around and walked toward the door. My father still stood there, frozen in place, his eyes flicking between me and Jella like he couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed.

I brushed past him without a second glance, and he didn’t say a word. Neither did I.

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