Page 71 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos (The Rossi Legacies #7)
Jayce
A few days have gone by, and we’ve pored over these tomes for hours on end. Sienna had to return to the Academy, and I’m stuck here as we have to get this done. I miss her and I’m worried about her, but there’s little I can do as I try to get this stuff wrapped up.
The team Leo put together is here at ours, and we’ve all been working late daily.
We have a lot of work to do, and Mom and Grandma have been helping as well. Right now, Dad is working with Uncle Damon and Jax. Grandad has been working with Enrique and Uncle Alejandro, and I’m working with Raihana and Royce.
These groups were set out by Dad, and no one got a say in it.
Royce is proofreading right now and making sure it makes sense.
Raihana is typing up everything I say, which helps me avoid repeating myself and ensures we don’t misinterpret anything.
Then, Royce reviews it to make sure it makes sense.
They’ve been switching between typing up and proofing, so the other gets a break.
Raihana now crosses her legs as she puts down the laptop she had in her lap.
I’ve been working on the tome titled The Archway Between Worlds .
“Skotos and Nur form an arch across the world. One that once stood as a gateway for immortals to venture through at will. Yet no humans could go through it?” She looks up at me, and I nod.
“Correct. It says here… Any human whose spirit was not strong enough could not last the crossing. I ventured through only a handful of times, my final time being when Ra challenged me.” I read aloud.
“It costs me my strength for days, despite how powerful my aura is. Our aura’s intensity depends on our soul energy, which is what our strength is measured by – our spirits. ”
Everyone is silent as they listen. After all, Dante has been trying to find the pillars for a while, and we’re all wondering if the answers are here.
“Zeus and Selene created Skotos from the power of the moon and the storm. They resurrected half of the bridge that formed the archway to our world. And Ra and Anubis created Nur from light and protection and erected the second pillar. They created these pillars with power and blood at the exact moment when the planets aligned, and the power of the universe was at its strongest.”
I look up. “Anubis, that’s a new one.”
“He’s mentioned in the Book of the Gods . He’s the one who guides the souls of the dead to Hades, or as he was once known, Osiris. Anubis is also known as a protector and a leader,” Enrique explains.
“And I think…” Grandma begins as she enters the room with a tray of drinks. “He might also be the one to favour the Volkov line. That’s if we assume each of you rulers is favoured by one of the four creators of the pillars.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Dad says with a nod.
I continue reading, “This was at a time when the gods still looked upon each other with unease, so the four came together and created this archway. The pillared arch stood between the two lands, a bridge between divided people. Its purpose was clear: to unite worshippers across boundaries, to share in power, and to silence the growing rivalries that had begun to rot the divine order. It is understood that a god’s strength is not their own.
It is drawn from the breath and belief of mortals.
Where some gods were praised more in one land, others were exalted in another.
The archway was meant to balance this, to bind all worship under one structure, one vision.
” I take a breath as everyone listens quietly. Only Raihana is typing away slowly.
“But peace among gods is a delicate thing. What began in unity soon bent under ambition. Some gods twisted the veil to their advantage, reaching across the archway not in friendship, but in conquest. They stirred fear among mortals, reestablished long-forgotten temples, and demanded loyalty through threat rather than faith. Others enslaved, deceived, or manipulated their way back into relevance, claiming power not through reverence, but through control. Ra was one of these, and he became a threat to Zeus. His name – Helios, which was once forgotten, soon became popular in Olympia.”
“Helios is a fucking nutcase,” Alejandro drawls. “That fucker seems to always be causing issues. I’ve got my eyes on you.” He points at Royce with the hand that’s holding his glass of vodka.
Royce simply grins. “Hey, I’m not him,” he says in defence, raising his hands in surrender.
“Thus, the archway, once a monument to cooperation, became a contested symbol. Its shadow grew long. Its purpose became uncertain, and with the gods calling more and more beasts to build their armies, humans were dying out, races and nations were lost, and the world was fading. And so, a handful of gods decided to bring down the archway, wanting to force the gods to return to the immortal realm. At the Great Council of the Higher Gods, this was put to a vote. Some gods worried about their waning powers, whilst others thought rather than prayer, perhaps fear could feed their power. But ultimately, with the argument that with no humans worshipping them, that the gods’ powers would diminish vastly, the majority ruled in favour of closing the archway for good. ”
The room is silent, and I pause, allowing Raihana to get that all written as Royce reads it over her shoulder.
“Then what the fuck happened?” Uncle Alejandro asks.
“Patience,” Uncle Damon answers, narrowing his eyes.
“I don’t have patience. I hate stories.”
Uncle Damon simply smirks. “These are answers. There’s a difference.”
“Shall I continue?” I ask.
“Continue.” I look up to see that Leo has arrived with Dante. Both of them come inside, and Dante takes a seat beside Grandma, and Leo leans against the wall.
I nod as I turn the page. These books may be ancient, but they are well preserved. “Yet, when the gods went to destroy the pillars, they could not, for they were created when the planets were aligned precisely, something that happens only once every 10,000 years.
And so, the gods who wanted the archway gone resurrected a veil between the two realms. Something that cannot get rid of Skotos and Nur, but creates a barrier before it.
A barrier that keeps the mortals and the immortals separate.
But I foresee a time will come when the veil will no longer stand, and the only way to truly stop a calamity from befalling our world is to destroy the pillars.
Something that even the gods could not do. ”
I fall quiet as a heavy silence settles in the room.
Dante sighs as he sits down beside Grandma, who tucks her legs under herself just so she can wrap her arms around his shoulders, planting a light kiss on the side of his head. “So, the veil and the archway are two separate things. That makes a lot of sense.”
“So, the prophecy about the veil falling – that means there is still a way to destroy the barrier for good,” Jax says.
Leo and Dad both nod. “Yeah, but even the gods couldn’t fucking bring it down,” Leo murmurs.
“There’s got to be a way. The crawlers said to Kataleya that they needed her blood for Skotos and Nur, but that was just a front when it was really my blood they needed ‘willingly’ – that is what Hera said anyway,” Enrique reminds us. “There’s got to be a reason.”
“Willing blood… You are from Hecate’s lineage…” Grandad says.
“In the book we were reading yesterday, it says gods cannot lie, but they can trick and manipulate words. So she most likely wasn’t lying,” Dad ponders.
“But we don’t really know what they wanted his blood for, was it to bring the veil down sooner? Does it say exactly how the veil was created?” Raihana asks, looking at me.
I frown, looking down at the book. “It’s at least a 300-page book, so yeah, maybe.”
“Then we all better get back to it,” Leo says as he pushes away from the wall he’s leaning against and looks at Grandma. “Can I at least have a fucking smoke?”
“No,” Grandma says firmly, making Uncle Alejandro snort in disdain.
I sit back, propping my feet on the table as Royce takes the laptop from Raihana, ready to continue as everyone returns to the books they’re working on.
Dante picks one up, motioning for Leo to get to work typing it up.
I look down at the book. Is there really a solution to destroying Skotos and Nur when even the gods couldn’t? Or are we doomed?
Another four hours later, my head is pounding from the reading. I massage my forehead as I step out into the back garden for some fresh air. I’ve never gone so long without training, and it’s annoying. I spot a ball lying to the side of the garden and walk over to it as I begin kicking it around.
My mind wanders to Sienna. Something’s going on, but what?
“What’s on your mind?” I glance up to see Leo walking out, lighting a cigarette. He and Uncle Alejandro kept needing smoke breaks to the point Dad asked if they could smoke inside, but only a glare from Mom and Grandma made him say nothing more after that.
“A few things,” I admit.
He shuts the door behind him and comes over, kicking the ball away from me. “Oh yeah? Like?”
Two brains are better than one… “Something’s going on with Sienna,” I begin, stealing the ball back from Leo. The ball thuds softly against the toe of my boot and rolls across the grass. Leo traps it with ease, barely glancing down, then sends it back with a lazy flick.
“Like?”
“The dreams she was having, with the cloaked figure, and the temple of Zeus’ favourite?”
“Yeah?” he asks as I kick the ball back at him.
“Well, she went into her dreams – visions, whatever you want to call them, by choice, and something happened. One thing she didn’t mention to you was that there’s a man who tells her to follow him.
One night, she woke up crying and distraught, and she has not been the same since.
Her roommate said there was a cut on the side of her neck, and she can’t speak of whatever happened.
That much I managed to get from her.” I look up at him, and he looks up from the ball with a knowing nod. He knows how I got those answers.
“No one fucking learns to stop keeping secrets.” He frowns. “And you don’t have any idea what it could be?” he asks, eyes back on the ball.
I shake my head and kick it back. “No.”
He stops it dead under his foot, his weight settling on top of the ball as he takes a long inhale on his cigarette. “Then most likely it’s the man who told her to follow him.”
“Yeah, but we don’t know who that is.”
“We don’t, but she fucking might. Get that answer out of her, and we might be able to figure it out,” Leo says with confidence as he kicks the ball harder. It comes shooting back, and I move fast, my boot hitting it with a resounding thwack, sending it careening off to the side.
“Understood.”
“Perfect.” He smirks slightly.
“One more thing… something that’s been on my mind.
The Academy, you do know the security has a lot of blind spots.
I know it’s a training facility for our most trusted, but sometimes you can’t trust anyone.
” My stomach twists with guilt, knowing exactly why I’m bringing this up.
Having to admit to myself that I don’t trust my own…
Leo chuckles, a low, callous sound as he cocks a brow. “Do you really think my surveillance would have blind spots? That you students could evade them? Maybe that’s what I wanted everyone to think. Aside from dorms and bathrooms, every part of that Academy is covered.”
I frown. “Oh yeah?”
He nods. “Why?”
I answer with a question of my own, “Is there a way for me to get the library footage then?”
He tilts his head, observing me for a moment. “Sure, since you told me about Sienna.”
“Of course, if she’s in trouble, it doesn’t matter who saves her as long as she’s safe.”
He nods. “You’ll get the footage, but it stays between us. After Azura’s friend, who knows who’ll turn to the dark side next?”
“Yeah…” I say quietly.
Who knows?