Page 64 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos (The Rossi Legacies #7)

Sienna

“ T hey’re here.”

I turn at Enrique’s words. His eyes are glowing orange as Dante’s aura suddenly ripples around him. Several spells, along with his amulet, had been suppressing his aura.

“Well, I’ll be damned…” he murmurs, his eyes sharp.

“Formation,” Enrique commands.

We all know the plan. It’s been drilled into us several times over since we planned this mission.

Enrique snaps his fingers, and a buzz of power simmers around me. The shields he had in place for each of us individually are now activated. A huge barrier glows vividly around us, just as something powerful smashes into it. The three guardsmen stand spread out around us.

“You know the plan!” Kataleya shouts.

“We need three minutes,” Uncle Liam’s voice comes, tense with urgency.

Three minutes… That might not sound like much, but a lot can happen in three minutes.

“Then we hold them off. When they’re out, you know what to do,” Dante says.

“Now we’re talking.” Theo flexes his hands, his aura rippling. Allie has shifted, her pure black Lycan stark against the colour of the sand. Her eyes are like Grandpa Al’s – blood red, and she’s ready to kill.

I’m calm. For the first time in a match, I’m not doubting myself. I know I may not be strong enough alone, but I’m not alone right now, and together we are stronger.

My breath hitches when I see the man in the mask land on the barrier, the ominous pulsating of power beneath his boots ripples across its face. How he manages to hold his position and not be deflected from it is beyond me.

“Remember, this is not a combat mission. We get out as soon as possible.” Kataleya’s voice is calm yet clear, but the look in Enrique and Dante’s eyes tells me neither really wants to just back down, but the rules were clear.

Don’t engage unless there is no other solution.

I spot Velasara behind the man in the mask, her pure white hair shimmering beneath the blazing sun as Ahren’s eyes blaze and he transforms. I can see two more figures with Velasara.

The masked man jumps off the barrier and turns to face us.

The sand is rising violently, and I can barely make out much more than that.

“Remember the plan,” someone murmurs as we get ready.

The plan.

Ahren will teleport us to another location, one that only he and Enrique know.

From there, we will get on a plane that will take us back.

If there’s contact with the enemy, Enrique will remain behind holding off the attackers with Dante and Uncle Liam.

Enrique is supposed to open a portal and join us the moment he can.

Brock has had flight lessons, as all seniors have to. He knows how to fly a jet if needed, but hopefully we can all return together – safely. Just the thought of having to leave someone behind sickens me.

“Make every second count,” Enrique growls as the protective barrier surrounding us shatters, fragments of energy dissipating into the wind. The silence that follows is short-lived.

Kataleya steps forward, her arm lifting just as a colossal blast surges towards us.

It should have obliterated everything in its path, but it doesn’t, as Kataleya’s aura glows.

The petals of power swirl around her like a soft breeze.

She absorbs the attack without flinching, and the ground trembles at her feet, but she keeps going until it’s gone, and then with one flick, she sends the same attack right back at them.

Dante kicks off, launching into the air, fighting against the sheer weight of the power.

Four wolves materialise, each one holding immense power.

Dante’s wolves! They snarl as two are on the offence, tearing into the enemy, and the other two prowl the ground, guarding us.

The energy building around us is unbearable.

It melts into the burning heat of the desert.

Enrique is already up against Velasara, blades clashing with sparks. Their duel is vicious, but Enrique has an edge over her for now. She’s strong, and whatever hybrid she is, she’s holding her own against Enrique.

Kataleya’s eyes glow as she flicks her wrist, redirecting another attack she had absorbed.

The magic launches from her palm like a meteor, screaming through the air towards the two shadowy figures watching from the dunes.

One is a witch draped in dark silks. The other, a hybrid covered in jagged bones and black runes, snarls like an animal tasting blood.

When the sand finally settles, I see them. A whole legion of masked warriors, standing behind the witch and the hybrid. Each one bears a twisted mask with curved horns. Their features are lost behind those eerier masks, but towards the front is-

“Song…” Kataleya breathes, her voice faltering for the first time.

From amongst the lines of the enemy warriors, her platinum hair shines, a smile, that doesn’t quite reach her eyes, is full of malice.

“Aw, hun,” Song croons. “It’s been so long.” The sarcasm makes me sick. She tossed their friendship aside.

“Song-”

“Oh, spare me the drama,” Song cuts in.

“Shut up, please,” Ahren sighs, appearing between them in a blur, his twin swords now out, eyes narrowed. His tail curls behind him as he moves faster than the eye can follow, slashing at Song as she chants under her breath, making magic crackle in the air.

“I’ll hold her!” Ahren shouts. “Kataleya, go!”

But Kataleya doesn’t move. She stares at Song for a long heartbeat before she shakes her head. “This one’s mine.”

Ahren doesn’t argue, giving her a small nod before he vanishes into the chaos.

Kataleya moves, her power surging. She slams into Song with a force that sends her skidding across the sand. Song laughs through the pain, rising slowly.

“You’ll kill your friend? Do you have it in you, Kat?” she mocks, her voice dripping with poison.

“You are no friend of mine.” Kataleya’s voice is steady now, stronger. “You made your choice.”

Song flings her hands out. Poison-tipped daggers race through the air, humming as they fly. Real steel, not just magic; she knows magic alone won’t work on Kataleya.

Kataleya is ready, and with a flick of her fingers, she sends them scattering. Her sword appears in her hand in a shimmer of light, and she swings it forward, sending a shockwave straight into Song’s chest.

Song crashes to the ground just as two more witches flank her, chanting spells with raised hands. Their voices weave together, becoming louder and stronger.

We need to join.

Don’t engage unless it’s important.

They need my help. There’s too much happening. The ground is a battlefield of explosions, blood, shouts and power.

I run forward, the shadows spreading from beneath my feet. My aura swirls around me as I strike again and again – the shimmering hue of my power destroying all in its path.

This is where the chaos resides. This is how the chaos feeds.

Screams rise, but they fade into the roar of battle.

Across the field, Brock and Artemis are fighting back-to-back, blood painting the sand around them.

Theo has shifted, his wolf glossy black with a stark white face.

His eyes glow an eerie milky blue as he tears through a line of wolves, ripping out their throats savagely.

As I spin, cutting down man after man, my gaze flits to the sky where Velasara and Enrique are facing off.

Velasara is strong, but Enrique has her in a corner. She’s not laughing like she did when she faced me. I want to join him, to finish her, but something pulls me back, and I focus on what I’m doing.

“We’re almost there!” Uncle Liam shouts.

“Ahren, be ready!” Enrique shouts.

There are too many of them, and there’s not enough time to back up.

I take one step back, steadying my breath. The world seems to tilt around me as I draw deeper into my power. My aura surges. My wolf rises with it. She howls inside me, clawing to be free. I raise both hands and let the power loose.

Darkness erupts from the ground like a scream.

It swallows warriors in tendrils of shadow.

Some escape. Most don’t. I draw both swords and leap forward, slashing through the stunned survivors.

One tries to escape, but I twist around his defence and cut him down.

Another lunges. I kick him in the chest, muttering a spell under my breath, and watch as the earth opens up beneath him.

I’m not just fighting anymore, I’m surviving.

All around, chaos reigns. I glimpse at Heaven and Allie battling a beast not of this world. It towers over them, saliva dripping from jagged fangs. Blades bounce off its thick hide, leaving only scratches.

Then I spot some movement that makes me turn sharply.

Not far from us, the Masked Mustard Man – Mama’s ridiculous name echoing in my mind – steps into view.

Dante lunges at him. The man doesn’t even blink.

He catches Dante mid-air and hurls him across the battlefield like he’s nothing.

Jayce appears, two bags slung over his shoulder, panic in his eyes.

His gaze locks with mine.

Ahren reacts the moment they come into view, placing a hand on both Liam and Jayce’s shoulders, and they vanish just as the masked man slams into the spot where Jayce had stood. The impact shakes the ground. Dust erupts.

“KILL. THEM. ALL!” the masked man roars. The command carries across the sands, thundering in the sky with pure, white-hot rage.

So, this was the real plan. They never intended to kill us right away. They wanted us to find this place. They knew only Jayce could… How much do they know that we don’t?

Jayce’s voice crackles through the Schattensicht. “We’re not leaving them! That wasn’t the plan!”

“You are the priority!” Ahren’s voice follows, filled with strained tension.

“YOU LEFT HER!”

And then the connection fizzles into silence.

My heart pounds. Please let them be safe. Please.

Dante’s wolves charge again, but the masked man cuts through them like they’re nothing. His blade hums with magic. Blood splashes the sand. He is fast, and he’s pissed.

I roar, shifting mid-charge. My wolf form erupts from me in a rush of dark red fur and shadows. Power rolls from my body in waves. I hit the line of warriors head-on, tearing them apart. My teeth find flesh. My claws find bone. Screams echo, the blood blinding me.

How many were lying in wait or standing ready? How did they get so far without being detected?

Velasara crashes into the sand, her body limp. Blood pours from her wounds. Enrique stands over her, breathing hard.

“Now!” he shouts.

We retreat as one, falling back, a barrier rising around us. Not invincible, but strong enough to provide us with sufficient time to get out of here. Or so we hoped.

Theo lands beside us, Artemis slung over his shoulder. She’s bleeding and unmoving. He places her gently beside Brock and turns, snarling at the monster still locked in battle with Dante.

I lift my head, blood on my tongue, my heart pounding as I keep backing up.

I turn, ready for the next command, when the ground pulses.

This is far from over.

My stomach twists as something I have never seen before approaches us through the sand.

The ground shakes slightly as the monster steps into view, hulking, bone-armoured, its skin mottled and bruised like rotting meat stretched too tight over muscle, eyes like burning coals. Saliva strings from its fangs, hissing where it hits the sand.

Allie’s beside me, panting, blood trickling from a cut along her cheek. Heaven’s crouched low, fire swirling around her, her breath ragged but eyes locked on it. We don’t speak as I shift back and take up my swords.

The monster roars.

The sound rings through the air, creating a wall of force that cracks the earth beneath our feet.

Then it charges.

We scatter. I dive left, roll, and then rise with my weapon glowing in my hands. Allie’s already attacking it, her blazing eyes sharp as her claws rip through the monster’s chest, but it almost instantly heals.

What on earth?

Heaven dashes forward, fast as a whip, sending a spell that slices through his leg. The beast snarls and backhands her across the sand, making her crash into a rock formation with a sickening crack.

“Heaven!” I shout as I send a wave of power and a spell of fire at the beast, watching as Heaven rolls to her feet, coughing.

“Allie! Right side!” I call.

We move together. She throws a burst of force to its left; I use the opening, using the sphinx as leverage before I launch into the air, flipping into a spinning strike, both blades aimed for its exposed neck.

I connect.

Blood sprays across the golden sand, but it’s not enough. It grabs me mid-air, its claws closing around my torso.

Pain explodes across my ribs. I scream.

I spot Allie snarl loudly before she slams into the monster, tearing into him. The monster shrieks, flinching just enough for me to twist free and land hard, coughing blood.

“Get clear!” Heaven shouts.

I throw my hand up, a wall of shadows erupting around us as the monster’s claw crashes down. My body shield buckles, and I can feel the cracks forming in it, but it holds long enough for the three of us to regroup behind the sphinx.

“It has a weakness,” I grit out. “Everything does.”

“We need to find it fast,” Heaven says, rejoining us, one arm hanging limp. Allie nods, still in Lycan form. The rest are engaged in battles of their own, and if Enrique thought we could get away, we can’t – not yet.

My power surges. My wolf claws beneath my skin, wanting to come out.

I rise.

“We hit it together. Disorient it enough or distract it so we can finish it off in one go!” I shout.

They nod.

We run.

Heaven throws fireball after fireball at him, but it is pure brute strength, and nothing affects it.

Allie darts at it. The force of her run sends it reeling backwards, but she doesn’t let go of him.

I leap again, higher this time, spinning in the air as I gather everything inside me.

I feel something spread from behind me like wings, my power keeping me airborne, and I throw everything into this attack, my power tightening as I gather it to its limit.

“NOW!” I roar.

Allie lets go, and I unleash it all. It hits and explodes, sending blood, rot and bones all around. I drop to the ground, my throat dry and clogged.

For a moment, there’s silence, and I almost fall to my knees, but Allie is next to me, catching me as she shifts back. The taste of blood is in my mouth, making me sick.

Allie collapses beside me, laughing breathlessly. “That was pretty incredible.”

Heaven smirks through a split lip as she approaches, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Before I can reply, a blinding blast of light throws us to the ground. I hit the back of my head on something hard, and my vision spins.