Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 333: Bring her to me

E’s POV

I could only stare in confusion as my father pulled me into his arms, and not to lie, the hug caught me completely off guard. He was holding me tight, like he’d been afraid I wouldn’t wake up at all. His chest shook a little against mine, and I realized he was breathing harder than normal. For a second, I didn’t know what to do with my arms since I hadn’t expected this.

As far as I knew, Electra and our father were not close in the slightest, and in fact, she had a love-hate relationship with him, which was why the hug confused me, but I guess he was scared we would die, which would explain the reaction.

Part of me wondered if I should say something, if I should explain to him that I wasn’t Electra. That I was E, the phoenix inside her, the one he didn’t raise, and the one he probably didn’t even realize existed until recently, but as the thought ran through my mind, I shook it off. Telling him the truth right now would only make things worse.

How would he even react? Would he understand that Electra and I share the same body, that we’re technically one person with two minds? That I never truly met her until recently, and now I can’t even reach her at all? No, he’d just be unnecessarily confused. He might even think I’d lost my mind, and confusing him was the last thing I wanted.

Right now, I had only one goal, which was to convince him to bring Seraphina to me. Everything else could wait.

Finally, he pulled back, his hands still on my arms as if making sure I was real. His face was lined with both relief and worry, and I forced my own expression into something neutral, something that wouldn’t give me away as emotionless.

"You’re awake," he said, his voice low, almost breaking. "Thank the stars."

I gave him a blank look, then asked, "Are you okay now?" The question came out flat, more practical than caring. I quickly added, "I have something important to tell you. That’s why I asked you to come."

His brows drew together. The relief in his eyes shifted into worry, and he stepped back slightly, his gaze scanning me from head to toe, lingering on my skin, on the faint glow I could never quite hide. Not like I wanted to anyway.

"Are you still very unwell?" he asked. "Why do you still look like this? Why haven’t you gone back to your normal self?"

I let out a breath, not exactly surprised that he asked since I had expected that question. Everyone was thinking about it, even if they hadn’t said it out loud. I didn’t flinch, though. I only raised my chin and met his eyes.

"Unfortunately for you," I said, my tone sharp, "I’m going to be looking like this for a long time." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He stiffened. I didn’t let him speak before I continued. "Except, of course, if you do me a favor. A favor that will help restore the balance between this side of me and my human side."

He froze, his eyes narrowing slightly. He was listening, and that was good because I needed him to listen.

I pressed forward. "What I need is simple. Bring Seraphina to me. If you do that, I can start to fix what’s broken because she’s the only one who can help me. Without her, I’ll stay like this, and without her, I won’t be able to find Electra, who is technically my human side."

The words came out calmly, but my chest tightened as I spoke them. Saying Electra’s name out loud reminded me of the silence I kept running into every time I tried to reach her. It was like yelling into a void. No response, no sign, and just emptiness.

I saw the look of confusion flicker across my father’s face. His brows pressed together, and his lips parted like he was about to speak but didn’t quite know how. He stared at me the way someone might stare at a puzzle they couldn’t solve.

"What do you mean," he finally asked, "that you can’t find Electra?" His voice carried more frustration than curiosity. "Why are you speaking of yourself in the third person? You are Electra, and even though you look a little different, you’re still the same."

The way he said it made something churn inside me. He wasn’t wrong, not completely, but he wasn’t right either. Too bad he had no idea how much bigger the truth was and how complicated.

Before I could even think of how to respond, he pushed on. "And another thing, what does this Seraphina girl have to do with any of this? With you not changing back to your normal self?"

I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes for a moment. I had known this would happen because, of course, he would ask, but again, I had no intention of wasting my time to explain anything to him.

So I shook my head. "Explaining is something I can’t do," I said. "Not right now." I raised my eyes to meet his, forcing my voice to remain steady. "But you should trust me. Just trust me enough to do what I ask. Find a way to bring Seraphina here... or take me to her."

His expression hardened instantly. "No," he blurted out sternly. "Leaving this house is absolutely forbidden for you. You don’t know what waits outside those doors, Electra. Half the kingdom wants your head."

I pressed my lips together, swallowing the response that rose to my tongue.

He wasn’t finished. "And as for bringing that girl here..." His jaw clenched. "It won’t be easy. She’s under the care of the Aldorian prince she’s engaged to. Prince Darius has stationed guards around her room, and the investigation into who stabbed her is still ongoing. Do you think he would allow his dying fiancée to be moved from the hospital? When her health is at risk?"

"Then let the prince know," I said, my voice even more serious now, "that I can heal her."

He blinked at me, as if the words had slapped him across the face.

I stepped closer, lowering my voice but making sure each word was clear. "Tell him that once I see Seraphina, I will help her wake up, and when she wakes, a lot of our problems will be solved."

My father stared at me, his confusion deepening. He looked at me like I had just spoken in a language he didn’t know. "Heal her?" he echoed, his voice filled with disbelief. "You’re saying you can heal a dying person? That’s impossible."

I clenched my fists. "No," I snapped, my voice rising. "It’s not impossible. Do you hear me? If Seraphina dies, then I will die as well."

His eyes widened, and I pushed forward, no longer caring about sounding calm. "If you don’t want that happening sooner than you think, then bring Seraphina to me as soon as possible. Do you understand?"

The silence that followed was deafening.

He just stared at me, his lips parted slightly, his chest rising and falling faster than before. I could almost see the storm behind his eyes: fear, anger, doubt, and guilt. The same storm that had lived inside me since the moment I realized I couldn’t reach Electra anymore.

I held his gaze, refusing to look away because he clearly needed to know I wasn’t bluffing. He needed to see that this wasn’t some dramatic lie, but the truth.

Finally, he spoke, his voice low, almost broken. "You’ll die?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "If Seraphina’s life ends, so does mine. That’s the bond, and that’s part of the truth I can’t explain fully right now. So if you want your daughter alive, if you want even a chance of seeing Electra again, stop wasting time, and bring Seraphina to me."