Page 13 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos (The Rossi Legacies #7)
“Lucius Torres, Noctaris, fifth year. Ian Dominic, Luminara, fourth year. Maralai Oaklow, Aetheris, fourth year. Your new leader, the broody, grumpy Jayce Westwood, Aegis, fourth year.”
I hear a mutter from Valerian and glance at him. It’s as if he didn’t say anything, but I’m not the only one who looked at him. “Himari Sato, Luminara, third year. Bruce Jackson, Aegis, third year,” Renji continues.
“Then of course your favourite Westwood, myself, Renji, Noctaris, fourth year.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Shahira says, and I try to smile in agreement, but my nerves are a mess.
“And of course, it’s an honour to have you on the team, too,” Lucius says.
“Yeah, and it’s nice to have some more girls around,” Artemis muses with a glance towards Himari and Allison. Maralai seems to keep to herself, as even now she remains silent.
“See you all later then,” Brock says as Valerian simply walks off. I see a few of them exchange looks and wonder what that’s about.
Jayce brushes past me. “Be there at 8:30,” he says quietly.
That’s meant for me.
Why early? Gods, I hate this!
If I thought the Academy was bad before… it just got ten times worse now.
I get there a few minutes later to see Jayce alone, bouncing a ball distractedly.
He stops when I approach hesitantly. He spins it on his finger before he tosses it over his shoulder and walks towards me.
He’s dressed in grey sweats and a plain white tee, but gods, does he just look so.
.. His eyes narrow, and I quickly look away, my cheeks flushing.
I adjust my hood, pulling it lower over my head and instead decide to keep my attention on his feet, and not the noticeable bulge of his- what is wrong with me?!
“You are a liability right now, one none of us needs. If it were up to me, I’d have put you with Somers. At least he’d have been fine to babysit you, because I’m not.” His harsh tone cuts through me.
“Take it up with the Headmaster or better the King, that way we both get what we want.” I find myself blurting out before I realise what I’m doing.
His face remains deadpan as he looks me over as if I’m something a cat dragged in.
“Once again, you expect someone else to fight your battles. I don’t know what your issue is, but all I know is I don’t want you on my team.
I never fucking did, and I will make sure you’re off before the month is done. ”
My eyes widen at the irritation in his voice, and for a moment, I want to ask why he hates me so much.
“I hope so, too,” I reply softly. I swallow and look away from his icy green eyes.
“The rest will be here in twenty-five minutes. Run laps and you won’t stop until everyone gets here.”
“What?” I ask. Is he really going to work me hard until he gets rid of me?
“Move, or you’ll stay out until midnight.”
“We-we have curf-”
“As division leader, I can change that. Now move.” His command makes me flinch, his eyes flaring blue, and I nod before I break into a run along the length of North Star training grounds. I hate running, I hate sports, I hate my life.
A frown creases my brow as I speed up, my hood slips off, and I only focus on the darkness surrounding me as I push myself harder until it feels as if the wind is rushing past me and the heat of my body clashes against the cold of the night.
Liability.
Failure.
Loser.
Entitled.
Spoiled.
Useless.
Pathetic.
Why? Dad… what would you tell me if you were here?
Be the woman your father wanted you to become…
“Rossi! Are you going to just run all night or join us?” I come to an abrupt stop as Himari laughs. I look at the woman who had called me. It’s her again… Allison.
“Allison, Himari,” Renji warns quietly.
Allison just laughs. “What? I’m just saying. Besides, at least if there’s a mission, we know she can at least run away and not get in the way!” She laughs and high-fives Himari.
“It’s not really funny,” Brock states.
“And are you all just going to stand around or actually warm up and get into pairs?” Jayce asks icily.
“Brock?” Artemis says with a small smile.
Oh, they’re dating. The small smile Brock gives her is proof of that.
“Always,” he says.
“Sienna?” Shahira asks me, but before I can even reply, Allison steps in.
“I’ll spar with Sienna,” she says with a small smile.
Damn, I really don’t like her.
“Shahira?” Lucius offers. Shahira nods as she steps away. I’m already sweating from the run, but I’m not about to remove my hoodie.
We begin sparring, and as I predicted, Allison is out to win, her emotions as aggressive as they can be.
The discord inside of me begins rising, and I clench my teeth, trying to squash it as I block her attacks.
Out here, it’s a bit more peaceful than if we were inside, but her intense emotions are only heightened.
To the right, I can sense the senior who had walked off; his anger is intense as he goes at it against Ian with everything he has.
His emotions are distracting, and my senses heighten. And for those precious moments, I lose focus, giving Allison an opening, and she punches me across the jaw, sending me flying. I hit the floor hard, rolling over a few times before coming to a stop.
“She doesn’t have her wolf! Take it easy!” Is that Renji? I’m not sure, he sounds… angry. My head is pounding too much to figure out what’s happening.
“She may never get one. She’s something else, isn’t she?” Allison snaps back.
“Enough.” Jayce’s voice cuts through the air. “Get up.”
That command is for me.
I force myself to my feet, my head pounding. I want to kill her; I want to rip her limb from limb. I look at the woman, my head pounding as I close the gap between us.
Stop! I tell myself. My chest rises and falls, my curls covering my face.
“Continue,” Jayce orders.
Allison smirks as she rushes at me once again, raising her hand. This time I duck. Focus, Si, focus!
I spin around when her ugly emotions rear their head again, and my mind feels like it’s humming.
Fuck!
She kicks me, and I block. But it’s futile as I flinch, my emotions heightening, and she aims another kick to my stomach. I grab her ankle when the urge to snap it almost consumes me, and I freeze, giving her the chance to yank free.
“Jayce… call it off,” I hear Artemis whisper.
“Last I looked, I was in charge,” Jayce’s reply cuts in.
Blow after blow, I can no longer hear them as I do my best to defend and block everything I can out. It isn’t as bad as it is inside, and everyone’s stopped sparring and is watching us. It helps, but it won’t help me on the battlefield, where negative thoughts and emotions will spread chaos.
“Ouch!” I gasp when her elbow hits me in the face, and I’m slammed into the hard floor, my vision spinning.
Then Allison is pulled away, and through my spinning vision and the taste of blood in my mouth, Artemis and Shahira are helping me sit up before Artemis begins checking if I’ve broken anything, a frown on her face.
Renji is having a stare-down with Jayce, clearly mind-linking, but Jayce’s eyes are fixed on me. But it’s the white-hot anger in his eyes that makes my breath hitch.
Without another word, he turns and leaves.
Maralai sighs as she steps closer and, kneeling down, whispers a healing spell, and I feel the pain beginning to ease.
“You two are the healers,” she grumbles, giving Shahira and Artemis a pointed look.
“Thanks,” I say. I need to find the spell to shut off the thoughts from around me. Maybe it’s time to confide in the girls… Maybe they could help, after they rip me apart for not sharing this earlier.
Gods, I’m screwed.