Page 1 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos (The Rossi Legacies #7)

Sienna

During the Battle of Azarakh’s Doom

“ S ienna!” I look up from the book in my lap, my heart clenching in worry at the tone of Tatum’s voice that rings through the marble halls of the Rossi Mansion.

What is it? I stand up quickly, my heartbeat accelerating as I rush from the room. I’m already on edge, restless as we wait for the news of the outcome of the battle that is taking place right now.

Does he have news?

Dread fills my stomach as I rush from the room. “Si!” Tatum’s usually emotionless voice is strained.

“Tatum? What is it?” I ask as I hurry towards the winding stairway to meet him halfway, but the moment I see his face as he runs up the steps three at a time, it makes my heart drop.

There’s bad news.

“Si…” He walks towards me, his face distraught, an expression I have only ever seen on his face once before, and the very thought makes me draw in a shuddering breath.

Breathe…

“No…” I say, stepping away from him, as if doing so might delay the inevitable. My mind races to everyone who is a part of the ongoing battle. For him to react like this, it has to be Dad, Mama, Ahren, Aunty Ri…

No, please no! Maybe it’s something else!

But I don’t need wolf hearing to hear the thudding of his heart as he closes the distance between us and grips the sides of my face, pressing his forehead to mine.

I close my eyes, terror enveloping me. That gesture alone tells me that what he’s about to tell me will destroy me.

“Si, Uncle Ray has fallen in battle. He’s… gone.”

My world comes crashing to an abrupt stop; my lungs suddenly incapable of breathing.

No. NO!

As Tatum’s words echo through my mind, a choked sob escapes my throat and tears sting my eyes.

No, no, no, no! This is a nightmare! Dad can’t be gone!

I shake my head, looking up at him, wanting him to tell me that it’s not true, that he meant something else.

“He’s alive, though? Right?” I whisper, my voice trembling as I clutch onto his jacket.

He searches my eyes for a moment as if wondering if I’m understanding what he’s saying.

“He’s gone, Si. Ahren is Alpha now. Your mom felt the bond break, and so did Jaddati-”

“NO! He can’t die! We can’t lose him!” I scream, wrenching free from his hold, terror and pain crippling my windpipe. Gods, I can’t breathe, but I don’t want to if it means dealing with this much pain!

“Sienna,” Jaddati’s voice reaches my ear – that’s what we call Grandma Maria – but all I can think is Dad is gone. Dad left… He was all we had. He was supposed to take care of Aunty Ri, Heaven and Tatum, too! Why did he leave us?!

Heart-wrenching sobs echo through the hall as Tatum reaches me again, trying to pull me into his arms, but I just want Dad!

“Why?!” The word rips from my throat, jagged and broken, as I fall to my knees. The havoc inside me becomes a catastrophe of anguish and pain. “WHY?!” I scream again, but I don’t get an answer.

Through the blur of my tears, I see Jaddati rushing towards me, her dress billowing behind her against the whipping wind that surrounds us. Her cheeks glisten with silent tears, but no sound escapes her lips, as if voicing her grief will make everyone around her shatter.

“Ya hayati!” She reaches for me, but she can’t get close enough.

The ground trembles beneath me. My hands press against the cold marble, but all I feel is the storm growing rapidly inside, an inferno born from the ruins of my shattered heart.

“HEAVEN! Get in here!” Tatum’s voice cuts through the chaos. It’s urgent and desperate.

The chandeliers above us rattle violently, the very air around me pulsing with the force surging outward as if it has a mind of its own, like it’s alive. It claws its way free – wild and ruthless, ready to burn the world alongside my grief. Because what is a world without him? Without my dad?

A scream rips from my chest, raw, tortured and endless. The floodgates burst open, and I feel it all, the agony, fury, and devastation. All of it spiralling into something uncontrollable. The shadows around me turn red and black, writhing like living things, feeding on my torment.

“Sienna!” Heaven’s soft voice is barely audible above the storm roaring in my head. “Sienna, control your powers! You’re going to hurt them!”

Hurt who? Hurt what? There is no pain greater than this. Nothing I could do would ever compare.

“Sienna!” Her voice strengthens, the command in it cutting through my frenzy. Power hums around her, green and fierce — Dad’s wolf’s eyes are- were green.

My breath catches.

Through the chaos, I see Tatum. His arms are wrapped tightly around Grandma Maria, shielding her.

Shielding her from me .

Oh gods.

What am I doing?

Dad.

Princess. His voice is a whisper in my mind, the ache so deep it threatens to crush me.

He would be so disappointed in me right now.

I swallow back the sobs clawing at my throat and try to control my powers.

Gods!

I try to pull it all in, to rein in the destruction surging through me. But I can’t.

I don’t know how!

My mind is blank, drowning in grief, rage, and despair. I can’t breathe, I can’t think!

“Sienna!” Heaven screams, and the fear in her voice makes my stomach drop. She stands there, arms raised, magic surging around her, fear and horror in her eyes as she-

My stomach drops. Gods, she’s holding up the very foundation of the walls from collapsing in on us!

What am I doing?

She’s fourteen! I’m the older one! I should be protecting her!

The world shakes. My body trembles. I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing out everything: the storm, the power, the raw agony consuming me. And then I feel it, something… breaking inside of me. The aura around me changes, becoming chaotic, and I’m at its very core, trying to get out of it, but I can’t.

Dad is gone.

Dad…

Focus, Sienna.

“I can’t!” I scream.

I don’t want to!

No, wait, I do!

What am I saying?!

I grip my hair as I hear shouting, but it’s of no use. The screams of agony from within are too powerful. I’m on the brink of insanity, and all I want is for it all to go away!

This pain is merciless, he’s gone, he’s really gone…

Dad’s not coming back. Not ever. I will never hear his laugh again, never feel the warmth of his hand ruffling my hair, and never see the pride in his eyes when he sees how I’m excelling.

I’ll never feel his lips against my forehead every single night as he kisses me goodnight.

Never hear him call me princess again. Never feel the warmth of his arms hugging me and protecting me.

It’s not just me, it’s all of us, and just like that… we’re alone.

He is gone, ripped away from us, from me! And this world just keeps on spinning. How do I move on without him?

A ragged breath leaves my lips. The intense weight of everything pounds down on me.

My entire body feels crippled, only being held in place by the uncontrollable power that storms these halls.

I let the weight of his absence drag me down, pressing me into the earth, as if I could sink deep enough to reach him.

But there is no reaching the dead.

He is gone.

“Now!” Heaven screams, and then I feel something hit the back of my neck. The fury, the sorrow, the unbearable ache – everything slips from my grasp as darkness crashes over me like a wave, and then the world stops.