Page 61 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos (The Rossi Legacies #7)

Jayce

S omething is wrong, and I don’t even need my intuition to know that. The only thing I am certain of is that it’s linked to her dreams. Maybe it’s the same dream she’s having, or maybe it’s a new vision. Did she perhaps see what I saw? Is that why she doesn’t want to talk to me?

“Sienna.” I take hold of her elbow, turning her to face me. There it is… the sorrow in her eyes… They’re red. She’s not even bothered about keeping her glamour spell up.

“Hmm?” she asks softly.

“What you saw, is it about this trip?” I ask quietly.

She shakes her head. “No.”

I cup her face. “Alright, then when you’re ready, we’ll talk about it, ok?”

“Ok.” She wraps her arms around me, holding onto me tightly. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly back. She’s never held me like this. Every alarm bell in my head is telling me something is wrong. “Do you want to talk about it? We can hold off for a bit, this mission can-”

Jayce, hurry up, Theo says through the mind-link.

Coming.

She looks at me before shaking her head. “We should go.”

Without another word, she turns and leads the way out. I follow, unable to shake off the concern I’m feeling for her, remembering what Shahira had said earlier…

“Can I have a word?” I turn to see Shahira walk towards me. I had seen her last night without her hijab. I wouldn’t have thought she’d be one with coloured hair. Interesting to know. I shake the random thought away.

“Sure, what is it?”

She looks down, and I can sense her worry and conflict. “It’s about Sienna. When she woke up, there was a thin cut across her neck. It faded quickly, but I thought you should know.” She touches the side of her neck.

“Thanks,” I say, frowning. She’s about to turn away when I stop her. “One moment.”

She turns. “Yes?”

“How could she get hurt in a dream?”

She shakes her head. “That’s the thing. Dream walking, or dreams, you don’t get hurt. Maybe she hurt it on something when she woke up. I don’t know, but it was strange, so I told you.”

“No, that’s good you did. Thank you. If you do have any theories on what may have happened, let me know.”

“I will.”

What happened that she can’t talk about it?

Three hours later, we’re on the jet. We met up with Ahren, Dad, and Dante and boarded together.

“This is going to be a long flight,” Artemis murmurs.

“Best to get rest while you can,” Dad says, giving her a smile.

“Yeah, I can sleep anywhere.”

“Good,” Dad replies. He looks over at me, observing me for a moment. The seats are single, and Sienna is sitting in front of Ahren. She’s been distracted and quiet this entire time. Ahren has thrown a few suspicious glances my way, as if it’s my fault.

Dante is up front flying the jet, although it’s mainly on autopilot. Dad is sitting in the co-pilot seat.

Carter is already asleep, or at least his eyes are shut. Brock is reading a book, and Theo – he’s the only one who is enjoying himself – throwing around paper airplanes from the seat furthest at the back.

He breaks into laughter as an airplane lands in Artemis’s hair. “Theo.” Brock gives him a sceptical look as Artemis glowers, yanking the airplane from her hair.

“Theo, behave.”

“Having fun is a crime, it seems,” Theo says, tossing another airplane, this one heads straight towards Sienna. I narrow my eyes, channelling just a tiny bit of power, forcing the airplane out of the air.

“Damn, protective much, Jaycey boy?”

“Theo,” Dad warns again.

Theo sighs. “Just entertaining myself.” He yawns. “So… when is anyone going to mention the stowaways?”

“Stowaways?” I look at him sharply, and he chuckles.

“Yup, stowaways,” Theo repeats.

Dante turns and scans the back of the plane, sighing. “How did you know? I didn’t sense anything…” he says.

I know exactly who it is: Heaven and Alessandra.

“One of my mighty airplanes landed on them,” Theo says, smirking as Sienna turns.

Dad now stands up and crosses his arms. “Show yourselves.”

I feel a bit of magic before Alessandra and Heaven appear, sitting on the floor at the back of the jet. I glance at Dad, and he doesn’t look pleased.

“This is not what I was expecting from you, Alessandra. And Heaven… I’m sure your mother and grandmother would not be happy.”

“Agreed,” Ahren says icily, looking at Heaven with red eyes.

“We can help…” Heaven says, glancing at Alessandra.

So, this was her idea.

“Besides, we’re not here for you,” Alessandra adds, making Dad’s eyes narrow.

“Allie,” Dante warns. She goes over to him.

“Hey.”

He gives her a smile and looks at Dad. “I’ll keep an eye on them.”

Something tells me he wasn’t prepared for this.

“If we didn’t have to be careful about being spotted, I would have us turn around, but we’ve already taken measures to keep this mission a secret, so you can both stay. However, upon return, this will not be dismissed.”

“The perfect punishment for Zombilesandra is to get her to help with the laundry, dishes or even the toilets at the Academy,” Theo suggests, making Alessandra turn to him with venom in her eyes.

“I swear, I will kill you, Theo,” she snarls.

“A fitting punishment.” Dad frowns. “There are a few rules that you both need to understand. You are both too young for this mission, and although we are hoping there is no clash with the enemy, there is a high chance there will be.”

“I can be of help,” Heaven says calmly, yet there’s a firmness in her voice.

I glance at Dad and shake my head. He can’t even give them a proper punishment because of who they are. “Want me to take over?” I ask.

“By all means,” Dad says, returning to his seat.

I rest my head against the backrest of the seat. “Right, both of you broke Academy protocol-”

“Which you have done on multiple-” Alessandra cuts in.

“I don’t care what I’ve done or haven’t done. This is not a joke,” I cut her off. “You both will face the consequences for breaking rules, especially when you both know this is the new Head Commander’s first week. How the hell do you think she’s going to feel about it?”

Heaven looks down as if feeling a little regretful for her actions. Alessandra frowns and is about to say something when Theo throws an airplane at the back of her head, making her eyes flash red.

“It was my idea,” she states, and Dante shakes his head.

“I guess it runs in your blood.” Brock glances at Theo as he says that.

“Well, I’ve already briefed Enrique and Kataleya, so let me just go through the mission one more time – since we have new additions.” Dad frowns slightly before he starts explaining the mission.

I take one of the maps and scan it. Leo had managed to crack the location. Smart asshole that he is.

“Tell me you’re not jealous that Leo figured out the location and not you,” Theo whispers in my ear, and I almost startle at the sudden intrusion.

“No, it’s impressive, though,” I admit. I glance over at Sienna, but she’s looking at the map.

As if sensing me watching her, she turns and gives me that smile again.

That smile that is full of sadness. Suddenly, I know I need to find out what it is that is worrying her because it’s fucking with me now.

Night has fallen, and we’ve reached the villa where we are staying. We met up with Enrique and Kataleya once our flight landed. They had arrived shortly before us. We’re now in the lounge looking over the final details. The place is small and in the middle of nowhere, and it’s fucking hot.

We’re not using any magic. The only magic Enrique used was to suppress our auras and powers just so we wouldn’t alert anyone if someone is here waiting for us.

I’ve removed my shirt, wearing a pair of three-quarter shorts, and I scan the map once again. “We have a way to go,” I remark.

“We’ll pack food and water. It shouldn’t take us more than a few hours, but once there, actually finding the place won’t be easy. The passages we had and what you noted down from memory didn’t complete everything.” Dad glances at me as Ahren places down the food he has just fetched.

Rice and chicken.

“Where did you get it from?” Alessandra asks, inspecting the bags before Artemis and Carter begin opening the cartons.

“Got to eat up. You’ll need your energy,” Dante says.

Kataleya smiles at her. “Yes, and it looks clean. Did anyone tell Mama you’re here?”

“No, we haven’t. It’s no contact, but I did send Leo a message from onboard,” Dad says.

Everyone begins eating, discussing the mission tomorrow, and I casually walk over to Sienna in the corner. She’s wearing a pair of cotton shorts and a strapless crop top that accentuates her delicious curves. She’s sitting with her legs tucked under her, her hair braided out of her face.

I sit down next to her, leaving a small gap since Dad’s right here, and I haven’t had the chance to tell him about us.

“You, ok?” I ask softly.

She nods, reaching over as she takes my hand, lacing her fingers with mine, and scoots closer, resting her head on my arm. She’s really fucking scaring me now.

Someone clears their throat, and I look up to see Dante standing there, eyebrows raised. “You told Uncle?” he says, passing us two plates of rice.

“Oh, I forgot,” Sienna whispers as she pulls away. She smiles slightly before blushing and getting up, taking a plate from Dante. “Thanks!”

“You really had to be a buzzkill, didn’t you?” I remark, taking the plate from him and shovelling a spoonful of rice into my mouth.

He smirks. “Of course, that’s what big brothers are for.”

I simply cast him a scathing glare. “You knew about us?” I ask.

He simply shrugs. “Depends on what you mean by knowing.”

I’m not going to get an answer from him. I continue eating, hearing the girls talking together. I glance at Dad, but he’s talking to Enrique about the route tomorrow.

The rest of the boys are eating.

“This book, this place… it has to do with me… But I don’t know what to expect. What will we face?”

“Well, the temple was built for Zeus’ favoured, and that’s you.”

“I guess tomorrow we’ll see then…” I say, taking a gulp of water.

I look at Dante, and he gives me a smirk as he continues eating his food. My mind drifts to what is to come tomorrow. I want to ask him about Sienna, but he won’t give me an answer, anyway. I’ve got to figure this out on my own.

I watch her sit there, smiling softly at something Artemis said. She looks at me and gives me that beautiful smile of hers. However, it doesn’t bring me confidence, but uncertainty and worry.

I will find out what’s going on, no matter what.