Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 105 105: Borrowing Authority.

Electra's POV

The tug on my hair was enough to make my blood boil. I could feel the girl's fingers tangled in it, pulling just hard enough to make a point but not enough to cause real pain—yet.

She thought she was being bold, probably trying to intimidate me, but all she was doing was pushing me closer to the edge of my already thin patience.

I sat rigid, my hands gripping the edges of the table so tightly my knuckles turned white. I had to remind myself—over and over—that I couldn't just slam her head into the table like I wanted to. Not this time. Not anymore.

I wasn't Electra Vale, the princess who could do whatever she wanted and get away with it. Now I was just some girl in Class 4, and if I hurt someone, there'd be consequences. Real consequences.

But that didn't make it any easier to sit still.

Yuna, sitting across from me, looked like she was on the verge of tears. She kept glancing between me and the group of girls hovering over us, her hands fidgeting nervously in her lap. "Electra," she whispered, her voice trembling, "please. Let's just go. We can find another table."

I turned my head slightly, just enough to meet her panicked gaze. "We're not going anywhere," I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep my voice steady. "This is our table."

"But—" she started, her voice rising with desperation.

"No," I cut her off, my tone firm. "They don't get to do this. Not to me."

Her eyes darted around the dining hall, and I could see the panic rising in her. She'd clearly noticed what I had—that we were attracting attention. Heads were turning, and the whispering had grown even louder, and more coherent.

A situation like this was practically entertainment in a place like this, and the last thing I wanted was to give them a show.

But that decision wasn't entirely up to me.

The girl still holding my hair leaned in closer, her smug smile practically dripping with malice. "Didn't you hear your little friend?" she said mockingly. "Why don't you just run along and find another table, new girl?"

Her friends laughed, and it was the kind of laugh that made my skin crawl, the kind that told me they thought they'd already won.

I forced myself to take a deep breath, counting silently in my head. I wasn't going to lose control. Not here. Not in front of everyone.

"I'm going to give you thirty seconds," I said slowly, my voice calm despite the rage I felt. "Thirty seconds to take your hand out of my hair and walk away."

The girl blinked, clearly not expecting that. Then her smirk widened, and she pulled my hair a little harder, making my head tilt back slightly. "Oh, really?" she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "And what happens if I don't?"

I turned my gaze to her, meeting her eyes with a coldness that made her flinch—barely, but enough for me to notice. "If you don't," I said evenly, "you might not have hands by the time I'm done with you."

That made her laugh, loud and sharp, and her friends joined in. "You're funny," she said, shaking her head. "But you're not scary. You're just a nobody."

I felt something snap inside me, a thin thread that had been holding everything together. The laughter, the smugness, the audacity—it was too much. I'd tried to stay calm. I'd tried to handle this the way a normal person would, but there was only so much I could take.

Without thinking, I grabbed her free hand with one hand, twisting her wrists hard enough to make her yelp and stumble back. Her grip on my hair loosened instantly, and I didn't let go until I was sure she was unbalanced. She caught herself before falling completely, her face a mix of shock and anger.

"You've got your hands," I said, my voice low. "Be grateful you still do."

The entire dining hall went silent, and I could feel every eye in the room on us. Even Yuna, who had been practically begging me to back down, looked stunned.

The girl recovered quickly, her face twisting into a snarl. "You think you're tough, huh?" she spat, stepping closer. "You think you can just—"

I stood up slowly, rolling my shoulders back with a sigh. The air around me felt tense, electric, and I could see the shift in the girls' expressions almost immediately.

They had underestimated me, clearly expecting someone smaller, someone easier to intimidate, but now that I was on my feet, towering over them, their bravado seemed to waver.

Good. They should be nervous.

A smirk tugged at the corner of my lips as I turned my attention away from the group and toward the table across the room. Her table.

Seraphina and the rest of the girls sat together like I expected, and I could immediately tell they were paying attention to this mess.

Seeing that they were brought a strange idea to my mind. Even though I no longer had the authority of Electra Vale, there were ways to borrow it, and who better to borrow it from than the one person now carrying my crown?

I turned back to Yuna, who was watching me with a mixture of confusion and worry. Her wide eyes told me she wasn't sure what I was about to do, and I didn't intend to explain myself. "Yuna," I said calmly, "get up."

"What?" she asked, blinking rapidly. "Why?"

I gestured toward a nearby table, a few feet away. "Go wait over there for a bit."

Her brows knitted together, clearly misunderstanding. "Oh," she said softly, her voice uncertain. "Okay. Are we… leaving?"

I could tell she thought I was giving up, ready to move on and let this situation fizzle out. I didn't blame her for thinking that—she didn't know me well enough to understand that I never walked away from a challenge, but when her gaze met mine, and she caught the look in my eyes, she stopped questioning me.

Without another word, she rose from her seat and moved to the table I'd indicated, her movements hesitant but compliant.

Once she was out of the way, I turned my attention back to the girls in front of me. They were watching me with irritation, their audacity still intact.

With a sly smirk, I finally spoke. "Enjoy your table."

The confusion on their faces was almost amusing, but I didn't linger to explain. Instead, I turned on my heel and walked across the room, heading straight to Seraphina's table.

She came into clearer view with each step, and I could see her eyes narrow as she realized I was heading straight for her. The rest of the girls exchanged glances, clearly unsure about what was about to happen.

When I reached the table, I didn't wait for an invitation. I stopped at the head of it, meeting Seraphina's gaze with a stare. Her expression was almost blank, but I could see the flicker of something behind her eyes—annoyance, curiosity, maybe even a hint of amusement.

Roxana, seated at Seraphina's right hand, shifted in her seat. She opened her mouth to speak, likely to ask me what the hell I was doing standing here, but I held up a hand, cutting her off before she could even start.

My gaze stayed fixed on Seraphina, who hadn't said a word yet.

"Seraphina," I said, "I need to borrow something from you."

Her brows rose slightly. "Borrow something?" she echoed. "And what, exactly, do you think I have that you could possibly need?"

"Authority," I said simply, leaning forward just enough to close the space between us, my voice dropping slightly. "I need to borrow your authority."

The shift in her expression was immediate and almost comical. The blank look she had maintained until now gave way to outright confusion, her head tilting just slightly as if she hadn't heard me correctly.

Her lips parted, the beginnings of a question forming, but I didn't give her the chance to ask.

"I need you," I continued, my tone casual, "to come to my defense after I beat the hell out of those four girls and end up in the principal's office. Do you think you can do that, your highness?"