Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 87 87: Another Nightmare

Electra's Pov

The darkness was suffocating, and my breath came in ragged gasps, my lungs burning as I pushed my legs to move faster.

The sound of my boots pounding against the invisible ground kept echoing in my ears, but it was drowned out by the haunting and maniacal laughter that followed me like a hunter stalking a prey.

It wasn't the kind of laughter that depicted any kind of joy—it was mocking, sinister, and maddening, and it grew even louder as the shadows got closer and closer.

I couldn't see anything except the vague outlines of the shadows chasing me. My chest tightened, and the burn in my legs became even more unbearable. I tried to keep going, to push through the pain, but my body was screaming at me to stop.

I came to a halt, doubling over and bracing my hands on my knees as I gasped for air. My heart hammered against my ribs like a caged animal, desperate to escape the clutches of whatever those things that were after me were.

I could still hear the laughter, faint at first, then louder—much louder. It clawed its way to the back of my mind, sending chills down my spine.

Get up. Keep moving, I told myself, but my legs wobbled under me, threatening to buckle. My fingers trembled as I wiped the sweat from my brow, and I barely had time to think when a ray of light brightened the space around me.

The source of the light was behind me, but I didn't dare turn around to look because I already knew what I'd see.

The laughter came again, closer this time, and my stomach twisted in dread. I bit down hard on my lip to keep myself from screaming, tasting blood as I forced my legs to move again. It felt like I was running through thick mud, and every step I took felt harder.

The ground under me seemed to shift a bit, like it wasn't solid at all, and I stumbled more than once, barely catching myself.

But the shadows were relentless. They were faster, more persistent, and with each passing second, the gap between us shrank. My legs ached, my chest heaved, and my vision blurred. I knew I couldn't keep this up. I knew it was only a matter of time before they caught me.

A sharp pain shot through my knees as I tripped over something invisible and hit the ground hard. My palms scraped against the rough surface as I tried to break my fall, but the impact knocked the wind out of me.

I groaned, rolling on my back and staring into the darkness above. My entire body felt like iron, heavy and unresponsive, and my legs wouldn't move, no matter how hard I willed them to. Panic started to set in, and I found myself shaking with fear.

The laughter around me grew deafening, and even though I couldn't see the shadows anymore, I could still feel them. They were close—too close. I clawed at the ground, trying to drag myself forward, but it was useless.

My limbs wouldn't cooperate, and I was stuck, frozen in place.

"Get up," I whispered to myself, my voice trembling with desperation. "Get up, Electra. Don't let them catch up to you."

But it was no use. The laughter turned into whispers, like a thousand voices speaking at once, but their words incomprehensible. They pressed against my ears, against my skull, until it felt like my head would split open.

My chest tightened, and tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I struggled to breathe.

"No," I choked out, shaking my head. "No, no, no."

Just when I thought the laughter was over, it filled my ears again, ringing so loudly I thought my head might explode. I screamed for it to stop, but my voice seemed to vanish, swallowed by the noise. Then the shadows came even closer, standing over me with terrifying familiarity.

When they stopped, my breath hitched, and for the first time in my life, I felt genuine, unrelenting fear that had nothing to do with my mother.

Five faces stared down at me, and Seraphina stood in the middle, her wicked smile twisted into something unrecognizable—something monstrous. Around her, Irina, Penelope, Deena, and Roxana stood, their expressions filled with hatred.

"Seraphina?" I managed to croak, or at least I thought I did, but my voice wasn't there.

My words were mute, locked somewhere inside me, unable to escape no matter how hard I tried.

I was even more confused. Why were Irina, Penelope, Deena, and Roxana—my own friends—here? Why were they standing with her?

The question screamed in my mind, but I couldn't voice it. Tears poured from my eyes as the laughter grew louder, almost animalistic, and it surrounded me, drowning me in humiliation, anger, and a despair I couldn't comprehend.

The five of them leaned closer, their faces impossibly close to mine now. The heat of their breath burned against my skin as they all began yelling in unison.

"She said yes! She said yes! She said yes!"

My skull felt like it was being crushed, and I opened my mouth to scream, but even that was stolen from me. My throat seized; the sound choked off before it could leave my lips.

I screamed again, silently, and then—

I jolted awake, gasping for air. My heart thundered in my chest, and my body trembled uncontrollably. I was alive. I was awake.

But where the hell was I?

I wasn't in my bedroom. I was lying in the backseat of a car, the leather under me sticky from my sweat.

Panic clawed at my chest. My breathing was shallow and fast as I scrambled to sit up, my hands gripping the edge of the seat for stability.

How did I get here? The last thing I remembered, I had been in my room, drifting off to sleep after another exhausting day.

I turned my attention to the driver's seat. Surely, my driver could explain what was going on. "Richard?" I asked, expecting the usual gruff response from my long-time chauffeur, but as the man turned his head slightly, my stomach dropped.

This wasn't Richard.

The man in the driver's seat was someone I'd never seen before—a middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed beard and a professional demeanor.

He wore a standard black chauffeur's uniform, but nothing about him seemed familiar.

Before I could demand answers, the car slowed and came to a halt. The man turned to face me again, his expression polite but indifferent. "We've arrived, Miss Hook," he said, his tone even and professional.

I froze. Miss Hook? What the hell was he talking about?

"What did you just call me?" I asked, visibly irritated.

The driver's eyebrows knitted together in mild confusion. "Miss Hook," he repeated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We've arrived at your destination."

"Miss Hook?" I repeated, practically spitting the words. "Who the hell is Miss Hook? You've got the wrong person. My name is Electra Vale, and you will address me properly."

The driver's confusion deepened, and for a split second, I wondered if this was some terrible prank, but then he spoke again, and his words sent a shiver down my spine. "You're Miss Electra Hook, aren't you? Daughter of the Aldorian General," he said, his voice careful. "I was instructed to pick you up from the airport and bring you to your new school, Elysium Girls High."