Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 246 246: Hide and Seek

Third-person POV

The only sound in the old classroom was the steady dripping of water from a leaky pipe in the ceiling, and by the time Electra arrived, the show had already begun.

Deena sat tied to a wooden chair in the center of the room, her wrists bound tightly behind her back. A thin trickle of blood ran from the corner of her lip, and the bruising on her cheek indicated that someone had already given her a not-so-friendly welcome.

Electra's gaze flickered to Roxana and Irina, her lips pressing into a firm line. "Who hit her?"

Roxana, arms crossed, raised an unimpressed brow. "Do you really think it was me?"

Electra sighed. She knew who the culprit was before even looking at her.

Turning to Irina, she saw the smug expression on her friend's face, the telltale glint of mischief dancing in her eyes.

Irina shrugged nonchalantly. "What? I couldn't help myself. The bitch deserved it."

Electra exhaled sharply. She expected nothing less from Irina. While she understood the sentiment, they had a purpose here, and wasting time getting rough with Deena before she even spoke was unnecessary.

"Just wake her up already," Electra ordered. "Let's get this over with."

Irina grinned wickedly. "With pleasure."

Before Electra could prepare herself, Irina delivered a slap so hard that the sound echoed through the empty classroom, making both Electra and Roxana flinch.

Electra narrowed her eyes. That slap was definitely hard enough to loosen a tooth.

Deena gasped, her body jerking against the restraints as her eyes shot open. A second later, she spat a glob of blood on the floor, her expression twisting with pain before she turned her gaze to Electra.

Her eyes—filled with confusion, hurt, and defiance—locked on Electra's as she whispered hoarsely, "What's going on? Why are you doing this to me?"

Electra crossed the room slowly, heels clicking against the tiled floor, stopping just in front of Deena. She leaned down slightly, tilting her head to study the girl before her.

"Come on, Deena," Electra said, voice sickly sweet. "I think we both know why you're here."

Deena swallowed, her throat bobbing, but she kept her expression guarded. "I don't."

Electra's lips curved into a small, humorless smile. "That's funny because I saw you sneaking out of school today. I saw you get into a car—a car from the palace."

A flicker of something—recognition? Panic?—flashed across Deena's face, but it disappeared just as quickly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Deena muttered.

Electra clicked her tongue in disapproval. "See, that's not a good answer." She straightened, turning to Roxana. "What do you think? Should we give her another chance to be honest?"

Roxana smirked, walking closer to them. "I think that sounds fair. We're reasonable people, after all."

Electra turned back to Deena, her smile gone. "I'll ask again. Who were you meeting at the palace?"

Deena's jaw clenched. She stayed silent.

Irina let out a dramatic sigh. "I hate when they make this difficult."

She reached forward, gripping Deena's chin tightly, forcing her to look up. "You do realize you're not leaving this room until you talk, right?"

Deena's breathing became heavier, her lips slightly parted. "This is insane," she whispered.

Electra rolled her eyes. "No, Deena. What's insane is thinking you could betray me and get away with it."

She crouched down so they were at eye level, her voice turning eerily calm. "I trusted you. I let you be close to me, and yet, here you are, sneaking out of school, meeting with someone from the palace behind my back."

Deena's lips trembled for a fraction of a second, but she still didn't speak.

Electra sighed, standing up straight. "I really hoped you wouldn't make this difficult."

She glanced at Irina, who immediately grinned. "My pleasure," Irina muttered before grabbing the back of Deena's chair and tilting it backward slightly, just enough for Deena to feel unsteady.

Deena let out a sharp gasp, her body jerking as if she thought she would fall.

"Alright!" she finally blurted, her voice shaking. "I'll talk!"

Irina smirked but let go of the chair, allowing it to settle back into place.

Electra folded her arms. "Go on."

Deena took a shaky breath before finally meeting Electra's eyes. "It was Queen Jella."

The room fell silent.

Even though Electra already knew it, her blood still ran cold. "Say that again," she said, voice deadly quiet.

Deena hesitated before repeating, "Queen Jella. She was the one who called for me."

Electra clenched her fists at her sides. Of course.

Of course, it was her.

"Why?" Electra demanded.

Deena swallowed hard. "She… she said she needed information on you. On everything you were doing at school, your weaknesses, who you trusted the most. She—she wanted me to be her eyes and ears."

Electra's nails dug into her palms. "And you agreed?"

Deena hesitated before nodding slightly. "She—she gave me no choice. She made it clear that if I didn't… there would be consequences."

Electra felt her temper rising. "So you sold me out because you were scared?"

Deena's lip quivered. "I—I didn't want to, Electra. But you should understand what she's capable of—"

Electra grabbed the chair, leaning in so close that their noses almost touched. "Don't you dare try to justify this. You betrayed me. You chose yourself over me, and I'm sure you agreed to more crazy things after switching sides."

Deena's eyes filled with unshed tears, but Electra felt no sympathy.

She released the chair, straightening up. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Irina and Roxana. "Untie her."

Irina frowned. "What?"

Electra exhaled sharply. "I said, untie her."

Roxana looked confused, but she obeyed, stepping forward and cutting the ropes that bound Deena's wrists.

Deena let out a small, relieved breath as she rubbed at her sore wrists, eyes flickering up to Electra with hesitation.

Her breath hitched as Electra's piercing blue eyes locked on hers, her sly smile deepening into something darker—something dangerous.

Electra tilted her head, feigning innocence as she crouched to Deena's level, their faces mere inches apart. "Right now," she began, her voice deceptively sweet, "we're going to play a little game of hide and seek."

Deena's brows furrowed in confusion. "W-what?"

Electra's smirk widened. "It's simple. You run and hide somewhere in this building. If you manage to stay hidden for more than ten minutes, I'll let you off with just a small punishment." She paused, her eyes gleaming. "But if I—or Irina and Roxana—find you before time's up…"

She let the words hang in the air, watching as the color drained from Deena's face.

Irina, standing with her arms crossed over her chest, let out a low chuckle. "I like this plan."

Roxana, ever the eager one, grinned mischievously. "Oh, I *love* hide and seek."

Deena's body tensed, her breathing coming in shallow gasps. "You're joking… right?"

Electra straightened up, brushing off the imaginary dust from her uniform. "I never joke about things like this."

Deena's eyes darted around the room, her mind scrambling for a way out of this situation, but she knew—she *knew*—that pleading or trying to talk her way out of it wouldn't work.

Electra leaned against the edge of the desk, arms folded. "Your ten-second head start starts now."

The moment the words left her lips, Deena bolted.

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