Page 74 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos (The Rossi Legacies #7)
I glance down the hall, waiting for the senior witches to come out of class. It’s the last lesson of the day, but I’m unable to shake off Sienna’s early birthday gift, and whatever is going on, I decided to come find Heaven.
What she had said, I couldn’t confirm whether it was the truth or a lie. That has never happened.
I spot Heaven walking out of the class with a group of other witches, all of whom are older than me, but apparently, she’s been moved up due to the level she’s at.
She’s holding a grimoire, her head tilted up slightly.
I guess that the saying you come across in books, ‘she had her nose in the air,’ is real.
She spots me and arches both eyebrows. I motion to her with my head, and she glances at the other witches before she comes to me.
“Yes?” she asks.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” she answers. She doesn’t make it any easier to talk to her…
“Can I talk to you in private?” I ask.
She waves her hand, whispering something, and I feel a pulse of power. “Sure, talk.”
Was she always so hostile? Yeah, she’s always been like this. I shake my head. “It’s about Sienna.”
“What about her?” she asks. This time, there’s a hint of worry in her eyes.
“Something’s not right. Something is going on ever since she woke up crying that one night, her roommate, the one in-”
“Hold up, crying?”
Right, so they don’t know.
I glance at the witches passing by, with looks of curiosity in their eyes. “Shall we go somewhere private?” I ask quietly. “It’s a long story.”
She nods, but there’s a hint of disapproval in her eyes, and I know it’s not directed at me but at Sienna.
Well, fuck.
“Follow me.”
I oblige as she leads the way. Several twists and turns and two flights of steps later, she leads us into a small study room. She casts another spell before she turns to me, folding her arms.
I begin by filling her in, starting from the day she woke up crying, but then had to go back and explain the dreams, too.
Sienna hadn’t told them, and I might not sense Heaven’s powers, but her flared nostrils, her eyes glaring at me, and the twitch in her jaw are proof enough that she is pissed off.
I’m shocked Sienna hadn’t mentioned any of it, and right now I’m not sure if I did the right thing, but there’s no going back now. Something is off, and we need to help her. I tell her about the events that followed, including what Shahira told me about the cut on her neck right up until today.
And I had to fill her in on how I can tell the difference between truth and lies. How I managed to get those answers from Sienna back at the Blood Moon Pack.
I don’t want people knowing that, but Sienna is my priority, and there’s no other way I could explain it to Heaven.
“And for the first time today… I couldn’t sense anything,” I finish softly.
She nods slowly. “So Sienna is hiding something from us… again.” The disappointment in her voice doesn’t go unnoticed.
“There’s a reason for that,” I remind her, hoping it softens the blow.
But she simply gives me an unimpressed smile. “So, what do you want me to do?” she asks.
“Read her mind. You can do that, right? Your mom can.”
“I can… but that won’t work, as this will not be a willing read. Not to mention if she finds out, she’ll be angry, too. I’ll need to go into her mind, and during that time, my body will be left vulnerable. It’s a far riskier spell…”
“Can it be done?”
She pauses for a moment. “Yes, but it would mean breaching her trust; you shouldn’t be doing that.” She looks at me disdainfully.
“I’m worried about her, and she’s hiding something; that much I know. This is to help her,” I say. Yeah, I know it’s wrong, but there aren’t many options. “And… I think we’re running out of time.”
She places her hand to her chin, pacing as she thinks it over.
“Then let me talk to her first; maybe I can get her to talk,” she says, stopping.
I nod. “Alright, if you think you can, just try not to mention me?”
Heaven nods. “Of course I won’t. I’ll let you know how it goes. She has been acting differently, even I noticed that.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Let’s see if we can figure this out first. I’ll talk to her today.” With that, she picks up her things and heads out, the door opening by itself for her.
I lean back against the desk, brushing my hand through my hair. Now I just need to wait and hope that Heaven can get through to her, although I’m not confident she’ll be able to. Sienna is stubborn, that’s for sure.
I decide to hit the training room for a workout. There are still a couple of hours before Sienna’s training session, but I need somewhere to release these pent-up emotions.
It’s barely been an hour since I spoke to Heaven when I see Sienna striding over. Instantly, I know something is wrong. I glance at the time. She’s two hours too early. We don’t meet up in this gym either.
“Hey-”
“Don’t ‘hey’ me,” she says, her eyes glittering with tears, her heart hammering.
There are a couple of people here, and all eyes turn to us, but she doesn’t seem to care.
“Why did you tell her?” she asks accusingly.
“I…” I can’t lie. “What happened?”
“I hope you’re happy. Heaven is upset with me now! Why are you trying to get into my business?!” she half shouts, half sobs, but even her anger makes me simply want to protect her. I step closer to her, but she pulls back like she might burn if I touch her.
“Si-”
“No, just… I’ve dealt with it. I have! I just need you to stop interfering!” She glares at me in anger before she turns, and I take hold of her wrist. I can’t let her leave like this.
“Sienna,” I try again.
“No!” she cries out. My heart pounds, realising I can’t sense her emotions. Somehow, she’s blocking them from me – or something is.
She pulls free and runs towards the door.
I’m about to chase after her, but I decide to give her a moment, feeling her powers surging.
The moment the door bangs shut after her, I glance up, my eyes cold as they glare at the spectators.
They quickly look away, busying themselves with what they’re doing.
Frowning, I pick up my shirt and take my leave, too. Whatever happened, I need to fucking find out. Now.