Seraphina’s POV

Pacing back and forth in my room, I couldn’t stop replaying Irina’s words in my head. Half-human and half-Phoenix.

It sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, not something anyone would genuinely believe about me—or Electra. That was the thing, wasn’t it? Whatever Irina thought I was, it wasn’t really me. It was Electra she was talking about, not me.

I stopped mid-step, gripping my temples as the thought sank deeper. Electra is half-Phoenix. The most feared girl in Elysium wasn’t entirely human.

My mind raced, and I shook my head, utterly frustrated. None of this made any sense.

Was this why I had been brought here? Was my reason for being here to live Electra’s life and discover her secrets in the process? To expose whatever reality she was hiding? But if that were the case, why me?

I stopped pacing and let out a heavy sigh, staring at the ceiling. “Why me?” I muttered, hoping that somehow, someone would answer.

Of course, no one did.

Instead, my thoughts wandered to Yuna. She’d told me that many students at Elysium weren’t entirely human, that most of them were hiding their true selves. At the time, I’d believed her, but I would have never imagined that Electra was one of them.

I groaned in frustration, raking my hands through my hair, and let out a loud yell.

I didn’t know what to do. My head was spinning, my chest felt tight, and every nerve in my body wanted this to just be one big joke.

I suddenly wanted nothing more than to wake up from this nightmare and go back to my simple, albeit miserable, life as Seraphina Hook. I didn’t care that my life had been a constant spiral of pain and disappointment—I’d take it all back if it meant escaping whatever this was.

Before I could drown any further in my thoughts, the voice returned. It was the same voice I’d heard before everything went wrong. It was calm, yet unnervingly playful, as if this was all a game for its amusement.

“So,” the voice chimed, echoing from nowhere and everywhere at once. “Are you enjoying your new life, Seraphina Vale?”

I jolted, my pulse spiking as my eyes darted around the room, searching for the source. My panic turned into anger, a red-hot frustration building in my chest.

“Who are you?” I demanded, my voice shaky but loud. “Where are you? Show yourself!”

The voice laughed, a chilling sound that rang in my ears. My hands flew to my temples, pressing against my pounding headache as the voice continued to laugh, unbothered by my obvious distress.

“Now, now,” it purred. “No need to shout. I’m right here—well, everywhere, really.”

“Everywhere?” I snapped, the anger in my voice rising. “What the hell does that even mean? You owe me an explanation! What is this? Why is this happening to me?”

The voice chuckled again, as if my frustration was the most amusing thing it had encountered all day. “Ah, yes. I suppose you have quite a few questions. Go on, ask away while you still can.”

I clenched my fists, breathing hard. “Fine. Why did you do this? Why did you switch my life with Electra’s? I never asked for this—I never wanted any of this!”

“Oh, but you did,” the voice replied smoothly. “You agreed to the switch. That’s the only reason it happened.”

“What are you talking about?” I snapped, heat rising to my cheeks. “I didn’t agree to anything! I didn’t even know what the switch was about!”

“Are you sure about that?” The voice’s tone dripped with mockery. “Think carefully, Seraphina. You made a choice—a desperate, pathetic choice, and I simply granted your wish.”

My stomach turned as I replayed the moment the voice appeared to me in the bathroom. I hadn’t understood what it was offering, but I did remember feeling desperate to get it to stop.

Was this my fault? Had I somehow agreed to this craziness without realizing it?

“I didn’t know what you meant!” I protested, my voice shaking with anger and fear. “You tricked me! You didn’t tell me what you were going to do!”

“And yet you still said yes,” the voice countered, its playful tone turning sharp.

I let out a long, defeated sigh, my breath trembling as I tried to keep myself from yelling. “How long is this going to last?” I asked. “I don’t think I have what it takes to deal with being in Electra’s shoes. I’ll admit, the idea seemed interesting at first, but it’s only been a day, and I already have so many questions. So please tell me how long I’ll have to deal with this.”

The voice responded with another maniacal laugh that sent a shiver down my spine. “Instead of worrying about when it will end—if it ever does,” the voice drawled, its tone sickly sweet, “why not enjoy your new life? You’ve been given a rare opportunity, Seraphina. Not everyone gets to trade places with a princess. Embrace it.”

I clenched my fists, the voice’s nonchalant attitude making my skin crawl. “Enjoy it?” I snapped. “How am I supposed to enjoy a life that isn’t mine? A life where I have no idea what I’m doing and everyone around me either fears or hates me? I foolishly thought I could, but I can’t do it. Electra clearly had a lot going on, and I don’t think I want to know any more than I do right now.”

The voice let out another laugh, this one quieter, almost as if it pitied me. “Ah, you poor thing,” it said, feigning sympathy. “You’re so focused on the wrong things. Stop focusing on what you can’t understand in a day, and start thinking about what you can do instead. With all this power, you could finally be the one who’s feared, instead of the one who lives in fear. Isn’t that what you wanted? To stop being a ragdoll everyone thought they could push around?”

“Does Electra know about this?” I asked, my voice quieter now. “Does she know we’ve… switched lives?”

There was a pause, and for a moment, I thought the voice had left me, but then it spoke again, its tone playful and cryptic. “That’s for you to find out, little princess.”

I blinked, my confusion deepening. “That’s not an answer,” I muttered under my breath, but the voice ignored my complaint.

“If I were you,” it continued, its tone shifting to something almost fatherly, “I’d focus on taking this chance to rewrite my story. There’s so much left for you to discover about yourself, Seraphina. You’ve spent so long being scared, running from everything and everyone, and letting people like Electra dictate your emotions. This is your chance to return the favor. Use it wisely.”

I could feel my heart racing, my thoughts spiraling in a million different directions. I wanted to ask for a clearer explanation on how I was supposed to do that, but the voice paused again.

When it finally returned, its tone was darker and more serious. “But remember, with power comes responsibility. And pain. So brace yourself for the best and the worst.”

And just like that, the voice was gone.

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