Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 170 170: In the middle of nowhere

Electra's POV

The heat of the sunlight burning into my eyelids was the first thing that pulled me out of the foggy haze of sleep. I groaned, instinctively trying to turn my face away from the intrusive rays, expecting the softness of my bed under me, but the moment I shifted, something felt off.

My bed wasn't soft—it wasn't a bed at all. It was hard, uneven, and uncomfortable. And as if that wasn't enough, there was someone next to me.

Someone cuddled against me.

I panicked immediately, and my eyes flew open. The first thing I registered was that I wasn't in my room—or any room, for that matter. My heart pounded as I took in the open sky above me and the bright morning sun glaring down. It didn't make sense. Where the hell was I?

I forced myself to look down, and that's when the second shock hit me.

Lying beside me, her head resting on my shoulder, her arm draped across my torso, was Iris, and she wasn't wearing any clothes.

Neither was I.

My heart nearly stopped, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to stifle the scream building up in my throat, my entire body going rigid as I tried to process what I was seeing.

This couldn't be real. This had to be a dream.

I took in the scene again, hoping that maybe my groggy brain was misinterpreting things, but no, Iris was definitely there. Her red hair was slightly messy, her gentle breathing brushing against my skin as she slept peacefully beside me, completely unaware of the chaos raging inside my head.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will the scene away, but when I opened them, nothing had changed. My heart was racing so fast it felt like it would burst out of my chest.

"How the hell did this happen?" I whispered to myself, careful not to wake Iris.

The last thing I remembered clearly was the party. Iris had gone missing, and Yuna and I had split up to find her. I had spent the better part of the night searching for her, worried sick about what could have happened to her.

But this? This made no sense. My mind was drawing blanks, and no matter how hard I tried to piece the night together, there was nothing. Just a dark void where my memory should have been.

My stomach churned as my brain jumped to the only logical conclusion.

Did Iris and I...?

I cut the thought off before I could even finish it.

No. That wasn't possible. It couldn't be.

But then why were we here like this? Why weren't we wearing any clothes, and more importantly, why couldn't I, Electra, of all people, remember a damn thing?

My breathing quickened, and I tried to force myself to calm down. Panicking wouldn't help. I needed to think.

I carefully shifted my arm, trying to free myself from Iris without waking her, but the slight movement caused her to stir.

Her eyes fluttered open, her lashes brushing against her cheeks before her gaze met mine. For a moment, she looked confused, her expression mirroring the chaos in my mind.

And then realization dawned on her.

Her face turned as red as her hair, and she immediately sat up, clutching her arms around herself as if that would somehow shield her.

"W-what...?" Her voice was barely a whisper, filled with shock and confusion.

I sat up too, pulling my knees to my chest in an attempt to cover myself.

"I don't know," I said quickly, my voice hoarse. "I have no idea what happened."

Iris's eyes darted around, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. "Where are we? What's going on?"

"I wish I knew," I muttered, running a hand through my tangled hair. "I don't even remember anything after the party."

Iris's face twisted with panic. "The party... I—" She paused, her brow furrowing as if she was trying to recall something but couldn't.

The silence between us was awkward as we both sat there, trying to piece together the events that had led to this moment, but the more I tried to think, the more my head pounded, and the emptiness in my memory remained.

Finally, Iris broke the silence.

"Electra," she said softly, her voice trembling. "Do you think... do you think we...?"

I knew what she was asking, and I hated that I didn't have an answer.

"I don't know," I admitted, my voice barely audible. "I don't remember anything."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she buried her face in her hands. "This doesn't make sense. I wouldn't... I mean, not that I wouldn't with you—no, that's not what I mean! I just—"

Her words came out in a frantic rush, and I reached out to gently place a hand on her shoulder, stopping her rambling.

"Hey," I said softly. "It's okay. I get what you're trying to say."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly under my touch, but the tension between us was still evident.

"We need to figure this out," I said firmly. "There has to be an explanation for how we ended up here."

Iris nodded, her gaze fixed on the ground. "But where do we even start?"

I glanced around, trying to take in our surroundings. We were in some kind of grassy clearing, surrounded by trees. It didn't look like any part of the school grounds I was familiar with, which only made things more confusing.

"We should find Yuna," I said. "She might know something, or at least, she might tell us something that could refresh our memory."

Iris nodded again, though she still looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown.

"We should probably... uh..." I gestured to our lack of clothing, feeling my face heat up.

Iris's eyes widened in realization, and she quickly looked away, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red.

"Right," she muttered. "Clothes. We need clothes."

We both scrambled to find something to cover ourselves, eventually spotting our clothes scattered nearby. I didn't even want to think about why they were scattered about like that.

Once we were both dressed, I turned to Iris.

"We'll figure this out," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "Whatever happened, we'll get to the bottom of it."

She gave me a hesitant nod, though the fear in her eyes hadn't disappeared.