Third-person POV

Electra looked at Seraphina’s stunned expression and simply shrugged again, as though the entire situation was not nearly as dramatic as Seraphina was making it out to be. There was no guilt in her face, no hesitation, and certainly no attempt to soften what she had just said. To Electra, the truth was simple, and there was no point pretending otherwise. She had gone to the palace, she had seen Queen Jella, and now she had returned. As far as she was concerned, that was the end of the matter.

"I just told you," she said calmly. "I met with Queen Jella."

She moved further into the room while speaking, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face as if the conversation were casual and unimportant. "You shouldn’t look so shocked," she added after a moment. "It was bound to happen sooner or later, whether I got my memories back or not."

Seraphina stared at her in disbelief, her mind struggling to keep up with the calm way Electra was speaking. The more she thought about what Electra had just admitted, the more disturbed she felt. Her chest tightened with a mixture of fear and frustration, and she ran a hand through her hair before looking back at Electra again.

"Electra, what the hell were you thinking?" Seraphina demanded, her voice rising without her meaning it to. "You went to see the queen in the middle of the night? Do you even realize how dangerous that could have been for you?"

Electra shook her head slowly, her expression remaining calm and almost dismissive. The concern in Seraphina’s voice did not seem to affect her much at all, because from Electra’s point of view, the danger Seraphina was describing simply did not exist.

"Even if Jella wanted to hurt me," Electra replied evenly, "she couldn’t. You should know that by now."

She gestured vaguely toward herself, as if that fact should have been obvious. "And as you can see, I came back perfectly fine, not even a scratch."

Then she let out a small laugh, quiet but unmistakably amused. "Although," she added, "I can’t say the same thing about Jella."

Seraphina froze where she stood. Her frown deepened instantly, and a wave of worry passed through her as she stared at Electra. The casual way Electra said those words made something uneasy twist in Seraphina’s stomach.

"What does that mean?" she asked slowly. "Did you hurt her?"

Electra shrugged again as though the question barely deserved an answer. "I gave her a warning," she said simply.

Seraphina continued staring at her, waiting for more explanation.

"If you’re worried that I did something extreme," Electra continued, "you can relax. Nothing like that happened. We talked, I made sure she understood a few things, and then I gave her a reminder so she wouldn’t forget our conversation."

Her voice remained calm and almost bored as she spoke, as though the meeting had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience in her night.

"And after that," she finished, "I left."

While explaining this, Electra had already started removing her clothes as if the discussion was not serious enough to deserve her full attention. She pulled her shirt over her head first and tossed it aside without looking, then stepped out of her pants before walking toward the bed. The movements were slow and relaxed, like someone returning home after a long but uneventful evening.

Seraphina watched her in complete disbelief. She couldn’t understand how Electra could talk about something so dangerous with such indifference. Every part of the situation sounded reckless and frightening, yet Electra was acting as if she had merely gone for a short walk.

The irritation building inside Seraphina grew stronger, and she folded her arms tightly over her chest.

"What exactly did you talk to her about?" she asked sharply. "Electra, you don’t even remember anything about that woman. So what could you possibly have needed to say to her that couldn’t wait until morning?"

Electra paused beside the bed and glanced back at her. "I may not have my memories," she said calmly, "but I still have instincts." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

She sat down on the edge of the bed before continuing, her voice steady and certain. "And my instincts told me to go there."

Seraphina shook her head slowly, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"All I did," Electra added, "was make my first attempt at putting things where they belong. So you really don’t need to worry about it."

With that, she climbed fully into the bed and stretched out comfortably across the mattress. She didn’t bother reaching for the blanket right away, clearly more interested in finally getting some sleep after the long night she had spent walking through the city and dealing with palace guards.

To Electra, the conversation was already finished, but Seraphina stood where she was, staring at her in disbelief.

The casual way Electra dismissed the entire situation made something inside her chest tighten painfully. It felt as though Electra truly didn’t understand why any of this mattered. As if sneaking into the palace to confront the queen who had tried to execute her was no more serious than a simple errand.

Electra closed her eyes, ready to sleep, but just as she was beginning to relax, Seraphina spoke again.

"Do you have any regard for us at all?"

Electra’s eyes opened immediately. She turned her head slightly on the pillow and looked at Seraphina with clear confusion.

"For us?" she repeated. "Who exactly do you mean by ’us’?"

Seraphina let out a bitter scoff, as if she couldn’t believe that question even needed to be asked. Instead of answering right away, she turned away from the bed and began looking around the floor. Her clothes were scattered where they had been thrown the night before, and it took her a moment to find them near the side of the bed.

Electra pushed herself up on one elbow while watching her.

Seraphina grabbed her shorts first and pulled them on quickly, then picked up her tank top and slipped it over her head. Her movements were quick and tense, and the silence filling the room felt heavier with every passing second.

Electra frowned slightly. "Are you going to explain what you meant by that?" she asked.

Seraphina ignored her. She finished dressing and brushed her hair back from her face before turning toward the door.

Electra’s confusion deepened as she watched her. "What’s going on with you?" she asked again.

Still, Seraphina did not answer. She reached for the door, clearly intending to leave the room, and Electra immediately sat up.

"Wait," she said, but Seraphina had already started walking.

Electra moved quickly, climbing out of the bed and crossing the room in only a few long steps. She reached Seraphina just before she could open the door and grabbed her arm firmly to stop her.

"Hold on," Electra said.

Seraphina stopped moving but did not turn to face her, and Electra looked down at her, clearly confused by the sudden shift in her mood.

"What the hell is going on with you?" she asked. "Why are you suddenly acting like this?"

Seraphina jerked her arm out of Electra’s grip, and the movement was sharp enough to surprise Electra, who stepped back slightly.

Seraphina finally turned to face her, and the anger in her eyes was unmistakable. "I just realized something," she said.

Electra raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Seraphina shook her head slowly. "I realized that I have more important things to worry about than you and whatever you decide to do."

Electra stared at her, clearly not expecting that answer.

Seraphina continued, her voice steady but cold. "I can’t spend my time chasing after you every time you decide to run off somewhere dangerous. You don’t listen anyway."

Electra frowned slightly. "That’s not..."

But Seraphina cut her off. "I have other things to deal with," she said firmly.

Electra watched her in silence, and Seraphina reached for the door handle again.

"Goodnight, Electra."

And without another word, she opened the door and walked out of the room. The door closed quietly behind her, leaving Electra standing there in the middle of the room.

For several seconds, Electra didn’t move. She stared at the closed door, trying to understand what had just happened. The conversation replayed in her mind again and again, but the reaction still didn’t make much sense to her.

From her point of view, everything she had done had been perfectly logical. She had followed her instincts, handled something that needed to be handled, and then returned safely, so to her, Seraphina’s anger felt sudden and confusing.

She slowly crossed her arms, still looking at the door. "What was that about?" she muttered quietly to herself.

The room felt strangely empty now that Seraphina had left, and Electra stood there for another moment before finally turning back toward the bed. She sat down slowly, her brows still slightly furrowed as she tried to make sense of the strange tension that had filled the room.

Eventually she lay back down, pulling the blanket over herself as she stared at the ceiling.

She had been exhausted only minutes earlier, but now sleep didn’t come as easily because for the first time since losing her memories, Electra found herself wondering if she had somehow done something wrong.