Chapter 283: Cranky
Electra’s POV
The second the door creaked open and my eyes met the smug faces of Iris and Yuna, I nearly laughed, but it wasn’t out of amusement but from the sheer audacity of the universe to keep putting me in the same proximity as people I couldn’t stand, even when I just finally regained my consciousness after days, or possibly weeks.
I let out a dry scoff, then sighed long and deep, like my soul had been holding that breath for days.
Of course they were here.
I didn’t even bother speaking to them. Instead, I turned to Irina, who was still standing frozen in the doorway like her mind hadn’t caught up to the situation.
"Please," I murmured, adjusting my grip on Seraphina, "can you help me carry her out? I... I’m not strong enough to keep holding her."
My arms had been trembling since I first picked her up inside the bunker, and even though I’d fought to keep a straight face, my knees were barely holding on.
Irina blinked hard, the stiffness leaving her face as her eyes darted between me and the unconscious girl in my arms. For a second, I saw her try to process everything at once: me standing there, alive and speaking, asking for help, Seraphina completely out cold, and then Iris and Yuna watching from behind with a smug sense of entitlement, like they were waiting for an arrest to be made.
Roxana’s jaw fell open slightly. Penelope’s hands flew to her mouth, but Irina snapped into action. She turned to Penelope and signaled sharply. "Go. Get her."
Penelope, still wide-eyed, nodded quickly and rushed forward. I knelt down carefully, my arms stiff from exhaustion, and gently shifted Seraphina’s weight into Penelope’s hold. She handled her delicately, like Seraphina might shatter from any sudden movement.
Once Penelope had her, Irina’s eyes snapped back to me.
"What the hell happened?" she demanded in a low voice, stepping close enough that Iris and Yuna couldn’t hear.
I shook my head, not ready to dig into the chaos of rebirth, burning worlds, soul bonding, or the fact that I might no longer be entirely human. My voice came out hoarse and raw.
"I’ll explain later," I murmured. "I promise."
Without looking back at the other two, I straightened up. My legs ached, and everything about me felt... gritty, not just emotionally, but physically too.
My clothes were damp with sweat, my hair plastered to my forehead, and my skin smelled like smoke, earth, and something sour I didn’t want to think too hard about.
Turning to Roxana, who still looked half in shock, I asked plainly, "Which way is it out of this place?"
Roxana blinked like she hadn’t heard me, then she snapped back to reality with a small laugh.
"I—what?" she muttered, and then shook her head with a quiet huff. "Gods, I can’t believe this."
"Believe it," I muttered. "Because I desperately need a bath. I smell like shit."
That earned a proper laugh from her, one that eased some of the stiffness in her shoulders. "Let’s get you back to your room before you traumatize someone with that stench."
I smirked, feeling the smallest sense of comfort at the sound of her voice, and still, I hadn’t spared a single glance at Iris or Yuna. If they wanted attention, they were going to have to work for it.
We started moving with Roxana leading the way, Penelope walking behind me with Seraphina, and Irina keeping an eye on our surroundings.
And just as I expected, it didn’t take long before Yuna’s mouth caught up with her foolishness.
A loud, obnoxious scoff echoed behind us.
"Wow," she said, loud enough for the entire kingdom to hear. "Is she blind or just plain stupid? Do you not see us standing here, Electra?"
I stopped.
The others froze too, but I didn’t turn around right away. Instead, I slowly pivoted on my heel with the same energy I used when slamming a door in someone’s face.
Then, tilting my head with the most exaggerated feigned confusion I could muster, I blinked at Yuna.
"I’m sorry," I said slowly, blinking again. "Am I supposed to know who you are?"
Yuna’s jaw dropped, and Iris made a sharp sound, something between a laugh and a scoff.
Yuna’s cheeks turned red with rage. "You bitch—"
I raised a hand and waved it lazily. "Language, please. I just regained consciousness, so no swearing."
I was already halfway turned when Yuna’s voice rang out behind me.
"You seriously don’t get it, do you?" she snapped, the words practically dripping with disbelief. "The entire school was on lockdown because of you."
I stopped walking but didn’t turn around. Yuna, of course, took that as an invitation to keep going.
"Your stupid friends kidnapped you from the infirmary and hid you in this disgusting place," she hissed. "Do you know what kind of trouble that caused? The royal guards have been dispatched already, and your parents, they’re going to lose it when they find out your precious little inner circle stuffed you in a moldy dungeon and lied about it."
I tilted my head slightly and closed my eyes for a second. Gods, the air even smelled like irritation. It was exhausting.
I let out a long, heavy sigh.
I wasn’t in the mood for this, and I didn’t have the energy for this. My bones still felt half-asleep, and my entire body was begging me to lie down somewhere soft and quiet and soak in hot water for the next five hours.
The last thing I needed was to waste my limited strength exchanging verbal jabs with Yuna, so I turned slowly, calmly, and fixed her with a stare that even I knew was dangerously blank.
"If you want," I said, my voice quiet, "you and Iris can stay right here and wait for the guards."
Yuna blinked.
I went on.
"And when they get here, you can kindly point them in the direction of my room, because that’s where I’ll be. I’m not hiding, not running, just... there sleeping, bathing, and possibly throwing up, depending on how long this nausea lasts."
Penelope made a quiet choking noise behind me, like she was trying not to laugh. Roxana wasn’t even hiding her smirk.
I didn’t glance back at them. I kept my eyes on Yuna.
"And Yuna," I added, stepping a little closer, just enough for her to notice the subtle shift in temperature around me, just enough to remind her who she was talking to. "I’m going to give you one tiny piece of advice, because I’m feeling generous tonight."
She scowled. "Oh please—"
"Don’t mess with me right now."
My voice dropped to a near whisper.
"I’m extremely cranky. My body feels like it was microwaved and stitched back together, and I currently smell as nasty as a dead body, so if you push me too far, I genuinely don’t trust myself not to do something drastic."
The silence that followed was heavy, like the air had sucked all the sound out of the clearing just to leave room for my words to echo.
Yuna’s lips parted, but nothing came out, and then, just when I thought she was going to try another comeback—
"Enough, Yuna," Iris said quietly.
Yuna turned to her, startled. "But—"
"Stop."
Iris’s eyes were locked on me now, but her expression wasn’t angry or smug, not entirely. No, there was something else there, curiosity, maybe. Intrigue, and then that small smirk pulled at her lips.
"Well," she said, her tone light but at the same time cold, "congratulations on your rebirth."
I blinked.
What? How the hell did she know about that?
My heart kicked in my chest, and for a fraction of a second, I debated asking, pushing, and demanding an answer from her, but then, I reminded myself of something important.
She wanted a reaction, and I wasn’t going to give her that.
So I smiled, slow, sweet, and sarcastic.
"Thank you," I said, batting my lashes before rolling my eyes so hard I thought they might stay in the back of my skull.
Then I turned on my heel without another word and started walking again, with my friends falling in step beside me like they’d been waiting for the cue.
No one looked back because we didn’t have to, and whatever Iris thought she knew, whatever power she thought she had, whatever the hell she wanted from me, none of it mattered.