Chapter 358: Back to Elysium

Third-person POV

The gates of Elysium Girls High rose ahead of them, tall and pale, just as they always had. Wide iron bars framed the entrance, decorated with carvings that were meant to look welcoming rather than imposing. The school grounds beyond were green and open, familiar paths winding between old stone buildings and trimmed gardens, but nothing about this felt welcoming.

Seraphina walked a half step behind Electra, her eyes fixed on the side of Electra’s face like she was afraid to blink and miss something important. Irina, Penelope, and Roxana flanked them, their usual ease completely gone. All four of them were tense, shoulders tight, and expressions sharp.

Electra noticed. She noticed everything, even if she didn’t comment on it.

The way their eyes kept flicking to her, as if she might suddenly explode, the way their footsteps unconsciously adjusted to match hers, and the way the air around them felt heavier, like the school itself was holding its breath.

The security guard at the gate had been the first problem. He had stepped forward as soon as he saw Electra, his hand lifting in a clear signal for them to stop. He hadn’t looked nervous, more stiff and more defensive, like someone who had been warned ahead of time.

“I’m sorry,” he had said, eyes locked on Electra, “but she can’t enter.”

Irina had nearly bitten his head off.

“We’re all students here,” she had snapped. “You don’t get to decide that.”

The guard hadn’t budged. “Electra Vale is currently classified as a threat to Elmeria. Until Principal Astor gives explicit permission, she is not allowed on school grounds.”

Penelope had looked like she wanted to sink into the pavement, Roxana had crossed her arms, mentally preparing to throw out all the swear words she had in her mental vocabulary, while Seraphina had gone quiet in a way that usually meant she was terrified.

Electra, on the other hand, had simply stared at the man.

Eventually, after enough arguing and a very pointed promise from Roxana about what she would do if he kept blocking their way, the guard had contacted Astor’s office. The response had been short and impersonal.

They could enter, but only to go straight to the principal’s office.

Now, as they walked deeper into the school, the familiar halls felt… off. Students passing by slowed, conversations trailing off mid-sentence as eyes turned toward them. Whispers followed them immediately, just as they had expected, soft but constant.

“She’s back.” “Is that really Electra?” “I heard she burned…” “Why is she here?”

Seraphina clenched her fists at her sides.

Electra didn’t react.

She walked with steady steps, her posture straight, her expression unreadable. Her appearance had changed enough to blend in at first glance, no blazing wings and no feathers, but there was still something about her that drew attention. The faint, ember-like lines beneath her skin caught the light when she moved, like fire trapped under glass.

Irina leaned closer to her. “Just… remember what I said,” she murmured for what felt like the tenth time. “Astor is annoying, and she’s also condescending. She’ll probably try to provoke you. Just endure it.”

Electra glanced at her briefly. “Endure how?”

Irina hesitated. “By… not threatening her, or insulting her, or setting anything on fire.”

Electra considered this. Then, calmly, she said, “I make no promises.”

Irina groaned under her breath. They reached the main administrative wing, where the noise of students faded into something quieter and more controlled. The door to Principal Astor’s office stood at the end of the hall, and Seraphina stopped just short of it.

Her heart was pounding. She could already imagine it, Electra saying something blunt, Astor reacting badly, and the final door slamming shut on their last real chance to help Electra remember who she was or who she had been.

She reached out without thinking and lightly touched Electra’s sleeve. Electra looked at her, head tilting slightly.

“Please,” Seraphina said quietly. “Just… try.”

Electra studied her face for a long moment. There was something searching in her gaze, like she was trying to match Seraphina’s expression to a feeling she couldn’t quite access.

Then she nodded once. “I will try.”

It wasn’t reassurance, but it was something.

She let out a slow, steady breath as they stepped further into the administrative wing, her fingers curling slightly at her sides as if she needed the reminder that she was still standing. Irina walked close beside her, close enough that their shoulders brushed every now and then, while Roxana and Penelope followed just a few steps behind. No one spoke again.

The moment they entered the outer office, they spotted Mrs. Hawthorne behind the front desk with her papers neatly stacked and posture straight. She looked up automatically, then froze.

The color drained from her face as her gaze locked onto Electra.

For half a second, she simply stared, eyes wide, mouth parting like she wasn’t sure whether to speak or stand or run. Then she pushed back her chair slightly and bowed, small but unmistakable, hands smoothing her skirt as she did.

“Y–Your Highness,” she said, voice tight with nerves. “I… I wasn’t aware you would be returning to the school.”

Electra didn’t react. She only looked at Mrs. Hawthorne the way she looked at everything lately, with distant curiosity, as if she were studying a strange object that had no real meaning to her. Then she turned her head slightly toward Seraphina.

“Is this supposed to be the principal?” Electra asked, flat and uninterested.

The question landed like a dropped plate, and Mrs. Hawthorne straightened slowly, confusion spreading across her face, while Seraphina’s heart skipped painfully in her chest.

“No,” Seraphina said quickly, offering Hawthorne a tight, apologetic smile before looking back at Electra. “That’s Mrs. Hawthorne. She’s Principal Astor’s assistant.”

Electra hummed quietly, as if that explained everything she needed to know. She looked back at Hawthorne, her gaze calm and unreadable.

“Tell the principal we’re here,” Seraphina added, turning her attention to Hawthorne. “She asked to see us.”

Hawthorne nodded stiffly, though her eyes flicked back to Electra again, lingering in a way that suggested she was trying to reconcile the girl in front of her with the stories that had flooded the kingdom over the past few days. Still, she reached for the telephone, her fingers a little less steady than before.

“Yes, Principal Astor,” Hawthorne said into the receiver a moment later. “Princess Electra and her friends are here.”

Seraphina watched her closely, waiting for the familiar words, you may go in, or please wait, anything that would signal they were all facing this together. Instead, Hawthorne paused, listening, and her brow creased.

“Yes… I understand,” she said carefully. “I’ll let them know.”

She hung up and looked up at them, lips pressing together before she spoke.

“Principal Astor says she will see Princess Electra now,” Hawthorne said. “Alone.”

The air shifted immediately.

“What?” Roxana blurted out before anyone else could stop her.

Penelope’s eyes widened. “Alone?”

Irina took a sharp breath, already shaking her head. “That’ definitely not a good idea.”

Seraphina felt her chest tighten. She turned instinctively toward Electra, already forming a dozen arguments in her mind, reasons why this was a bad idea, why Electra shouldn’t be left alone with Astor in this state, but Electra didn’t look surprised.

If anything, she looked relieved.

“That’s fine,” Electra said calmly.

Seraphina’s heart dropped. “Electra…”

“I can handle it,” Electra continued, her voice even. She glanced at Seraphina briefly, then back at the closed door leading to Astor’s inner office. “She wants to speak to me, not you people.”

“That’s exactly the problem,” Roxana muttered.

Irina stepped forward, lowering her voice. “You don’t even remember who she is. You don’t know what she might say.”

Electra looked at her then, really looked at her, her gaze sharp in a way that made Irina falter just a little.

“I don’t know who any of you are,” Electra said simply. “And yet you’re all still standing here.”

That shut them up.

Seraphina swallowed, her hands clenching into fists. She hated this, hated how right Electra sounded, and hated how powerless she felt. Still, she forced herself to nod.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “But if anything feels wrong, you walk out. Don’t stay just because you think you have to.”

Electra scoffed, throwing her an unimpressed look. “I’m not an idiot, little girl.”

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