Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 371: Supposed to be dead

Seraphina's POV

I woke up with my head pounding like someone had been using it as a drum all night.

It was the kind of pain that sat right behind my eyes and made every sound feel personal, like it was attacking me on purpose. The alarm ringing somewhere in the room did not help, and if it had been mine, I was pretty sure I would have grabbed it and thrown it straight at the wall without even opening my eyes.

Thankfully, or unfortunately, it wasn't mine.

I let out a low groan and pulled the covers tighter over my head, pressing the pillow against my ear like it could block the noise. The alarm kept going anyway, loud and ugly and way too cheerful for the way I felt. I stayed there for a few long seconds, breathing slowly, waiting for the ache to calm down just a little.

It didn't.

My mouth felt dry, my limbs felt heavy, and my brain felt like it was lagging behind my body, slow and foggy, like it needed time to remember how being awake worked.

I didn't bother trying to sit up yet. There was no point. Even if I got out of bed right now, I wouldn't get to the bathroom first, and I already knew that. I had learned that lesson a long time ago.

On cue, I heard voices.

"I was in there first yesterday," Jolene said, sharp and annoyed.

"And I was late for class thanks to that," Liana shot back. "You take forever."

"That's not my fault."

"Yes, it is."

I closed my eyes tighter.

Great. They were already at it.

The sound of drawers opening and closing followed, along with footsteps moving back and forth across the room. I heard the sound of someone bumping into a chair while someone else scoffed loudly. It was way too much for how early it felt, even though I had no idea what time it actually was.

I stayed where I was, under the covers, staring at nothing. From the way they were arguing, it was already decided without being said. I'd be last, like always. I bit back a sigh because I didn't have the energy to fight it today. I barely had the energy to exist.

Sometimes I wondered what kind of bad luck I had to end up in a room with people who treated the bathroom like it was a prize you had to win. I would have traded a lot for quieter roommates, or at least less selfish ones.

I was already preparing myself to wait an hour, maybe more, when a familiar voice cut through the noise.

"I'm honestly surprised you're not dead."

I frowned under the covers.

What?

The words didn't register right away. My brain replayed them slowly, trying to figure out if I had imagined them. Ashleigh's voice was clear and casual, like she had just commented on the weather, and I stayed still for a moment, confused.

Was she talking to me? That didn't make sense. I hadn't said anything. I hadn't even moved, so maybe she was talking to Jolene, or Liana, or just… talking.

Still, something about the way she said it made my stomach twist.

Slowly, I pulled the covers down from my face, blinking against the light. The room came into view in pieces. Jolene was sitting on her bed with earphones in, completely absorbed in her phone, thumbs moving fast across the screen. Liana wasn't there, probably already inside the bathroom after winning against Jolene, and Ashleigh was standing near the foot of my bed.

Looking directly at me.

I froze. Our eyes met, and she raised a brow slightly, like she had been waiting for me to wake up properly.

"Oh," I said, my voice rough and barely there. "You were talking to me."

Ashleigh smiled, not a kind one, but more like the kind people gave when they knew something you didn't.

"Who else?" she said.

I pushed myself up on one elbow, wincing as my head protested the movement. "What do you mean… not dead?"

She tilted her head, studying me like I was a strange bug she'd found. "You don't remember?"

My stomach dropped.

That was never a good question.

I swallowed. "Remember what?"

Ashleigh let out a soft laugh. "Wow. You're worse than I thought."

"I just woke up," I said defensively. "My head feels like it's splitting in half. Can you not start being weird before I've even had water?"

Ashleigh didn't move when I spoke. She stayed right where she was, arms loosely crossed, and her expression calm in a way that made my skin itch, like she was enjoying this.

"Weird?" she repeated softly. "I'm not being weird. I'm being honest."

"That's not the same thing," I muttered.

She hummed, unimpressed, then leaned back against the desk near my bed. "I really thought you wouldn't make it past the Revernyn," she said, like she was talking about a test she didn't expect me to pass. "You were supposed to die that day."

The words hit harder than I expected, and I stared at her, my chest tightening. "That's a horrible thing to say."

She shrugged. "It's true."

My head throbbed again, sharper this time, and suddenly the room felt smaller. The noise from Jolene's phone, the running water from the bathroom, and even the light coming through the window, it all felt too much.

"I didn't just stub my toe," I snapped. "I was stabbed, I was in a coma for weeks, and I almost died. So don't stand there and act like it was nothing."

Ashleigh's lips curved into a small smile, but there was no warmth in it. If anything, she looked… disappointed.

"A simple stab wound," she said lightly. "That's what it was. If things had gone the way they were meant to, it would've been so much worse for you. Not even the higher gods could have saved you."

My stomach twisted.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked. "You talk like… like this was predestined or something. And since when are you psychic?"

Her eyes flickered, just for a second. "Maybe it was, and maybe I am. Fortunately, we're not talking about me here, we're talking about you."

That made my breath catch. Images flashed through my mind without warning, starting from Iris's face, twisted with something dark and eager, then the sudden, sharp pain in my side, the warmth of blood soaking through my clothes, and the way the world tilted before everything went black.

I had never really let myself sit with it ever since I woke up. There had always been something else to focus on, specifically Electra, her execution, and now, her memory loss.

I clenched my hands into the sheets.

"You don't get to talk about that day like it was some failed experiment," I said, my voice shaking. "You weren't the one lying there, bleeding out."

Ashleigh pushed herself off the desk and took a step closer. "No, I wasn't," she agreed.

I looked up at her sharply. "So what's your problem?"

"My problem is," she repeated, "I happen to know what was supposed to happen."

A chill crawled up my spine. "Listen Ashleigh, I don't know what game you're playing," I said slowly, "but I'm not in the mood."

She sighed, like I was exhausting her. "You're really not remembering anything, are you?"

"Remembering what?" I demanded.

Her gaze dropped to my side, just below my ribs. "That you weren't the one meant to walk away."

My heart started to pound. "What are you saying?" I whispered.

Ashleigh's eyes lifted back to mine, sharp and serious now. "You should have died that day, Seraphina. That was how it was written, but you didn't. Don't you realize you're forgetting something or someone important?"

My throat went dry. "Get to the point if you want me to understand you."

She didn't answer right away, and the silence stretched. I could hear my own breathing, uneven and fast, and somewhere in the background, Jolene laughed at something on her phone, completely unaware that my world was starting to tilt.

Ashleigh finally spoke. "Someone else took your place."

The words sank into me slowly, like cold water. "That's not funny, Ashleigh," I said weakly.

"Well, I'm not joking."