Page 9 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos (The Rossi Legacies #7)

Sienna

“ T here are so many fit guys around,” Heaven whispers as she leans over the table we’re sitting at. It’s late in the evening, and we’re having dinner.

I prefer coming towards the end when most people have eaten and gone, so it’s not so loud in here, but today we came in the first hour, and it’s bustling.

“Do I see you getting a boyfriend?” I whisper, making her smile.

“Maybe.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder, and Allie raises an unimpressed brow.

“That’s gross,” she shudders.

I smile slightly. “Oh, really? We had no idea you thought that,” I reply playfully.

“Why do you think that people are created in the way they are?” she replies, tilting her head.

“Meaning?” Heaven quirks an eyebrow.

“Meaning, why does sex involve the place we pee from? Like a dude’s dick, that’s where his piss comes out from, and then we’re supposed to enjoy touching that? Same with a woman. That area is literally the gutter system of our body, and that’s where you go to find pleasure? Eww.”

I blink. That is the weirdest way to think of it, yet what she’s saying oddly makes sense.

“That is…” Heaven’s lost for words, too, as Allie nods and continues.

“It’s like, yeah, we clean those areas, but we clean the toilet too. We aren’t going to go lick that for pleasure, are we?”

I shudder at the thought. “So, makes me wonder why we were created like that?” Allie raises an eyebrow as if saying: See what I mean?

“Because we beings are dirty dogs,” Theo’s whisper comes from behind me, making me jump.

“Gods!” I exclaim.

“Eww, Theo, I don’t want to talk about gross sex with my cousin. Now, go away,” Allie growls.

“These two are your cousins too, Zombilesandra, remember?” Theo says, “By the way, white looks good on you. You should wear it more often.”

“I hate white,” Allie grumbles. Theo smirks, about to steal something from her plate, when she grabs his wrist.

“Touch my food and I will kill you,” she growls, making Theo snicker.

“Go for it,” he whispers, snatching a few chips from her plate, and I flinch as Allie stands and Theo runs off. He’s fast, but she’s fast, too, a blur of black and white crosses the hall until they disappear from view.

I shake my head, and Heaven does the same. “He’s so immature.”

“Mmm…” and his brother is terrifying. I glance around the hall, wondering if anyone we know is around.

I don’t see any of the boys, but I do spot my roommate. She’s looking this way and… whispering.

I look away, and Heaven cocks a brow. “So… you skipped classes today.”

“You heard.”

“Yeah, I did.”

She doesn’t say more, but simply observes me as if trying to figure out what I’m thinking. Allie returns, her eyes flickering slightly.

I’m not the only one with power issues… “You, ok?” I ask softly. She nods.

“Theo is an asshole. I hate people,” she snarls menacingly as she pushes her tray away.

“I’ll go get you another one.” I offer, standing up.

“No, I’m not in the mood to eat now. That dumb dickhead.”

Heaven sighs. “Did you at least hurt him?”

“I got a punch in, but he wasn’t bothered, and then I was threatened with detention.”

Oh boy. Her annoyance is obvious. “So, how did you both like your first day?” I ask, changing the topic.

“It was good,” Heaven answers. “I mean, it’s a little annoying that we have to follow every rule, and we’re treated just like everyone else.”

“Entitlement doesn’t exist here; you’ll get used to it,” Allie smirks. Heaven rolls her eyes at her. “It was fine, didn’t like some of the lessons, but that’s school. It’s refreshing to be here and just be normal.”

“You two are so different,” I giggle.

“I guess that’s why we all get on, we’re all very different,” Heaven adds. “And we’re together now, so it’s going to be better. I hate my new roommate.”

“Mine stays out of my way. I just hope she’s not messy…” Allie muses.

“I have a new one, too. My last one was killed. Her pack was attacked by a wraith,” I whisper, leaning forward. “And earlier, when I was in the library, I heard one of the professors talking; there was a sighting near her pack of a manananggal.”

Both girls frown. “What? She was from England, right?”

I nod. “So, they’re here,” Allie murmurs.

A chill runs down my spine as the three of us fall silent.

We’ve seen things and experienced things that feel unexplainable at times.

Heaven had her first prophecy at the age of twelve, regarding the four rulers, and I’ve been seeing things for years and Allie? She just fits.

If you ask any of us how we first became so close, none of us really knows. It’s like we just became this tight-knit group without even realising, and despite our ages, we have done and seen more than most others our age.

Heaven whispers a spell so no one can hear us as she leans in. “Have either of you heard anything? Last time, Endora made the manananggals, so who’s making them now?”

“Endora created them from something she read, precisely from the grimoire that is hidden away in the Rossi Mansion that no one but Ri can access. But she didn’t invent it,” Allie says.

“Agreed… so what you are saying is that these might not be created, but the… actual thing?”

Allie shrugs. “That’s something a bloodsucker would know.”

“Oi, that’s offensive,” Heaven whispers, glancing around as if forgetting we can’t be heard.

“Oh, does it matter? We live in a world where everyone gets butt-hurt over the smallest thing. They are bloodsuckers.”

I don’t respond, musing over what she said about the manananggal. She isn’t wrong. Perhaps they are being created from vampires or maybe they just came to be without being ‘made’.

“If that’s the case, would they be stronger than those created by Endora?” I ask the question that is on each of our minds.

It’s much later in the night, and I’m skimming through a book, pondering over my lack of control, when there’s a knock on the door. Anna looks across at me, woken from her sleep. “Expecting someone?”

A quick glance at the clock tells me it’s past midnight. I shake my head and get out of bed. Going over to the door, I unlock it, only to see Professor Loraina, one of the witches who teaches magic.

“Professor, is everything alright?” I ask, I had missed a lesson today, but that was with Professor Magdalia, who taught us healing herbs and poisons, not Professor Loraina.

Her greying hair is pinned back, and her dark eyes are trained on me with an emotionless, assessing stare. “You have a visitor here.”

“A visitor? At this hour?” I ask.

Is it Ahren? My heart skips a beat, or maybe Mama or someone learned I skipped lessons the first day back, which I never have before. Maybe my powers are getting stronger as I’m approaching my eighteenth birthday? I don’t know, but I’m curious who has come to see me.

She turns, expecting me to follow, and I quickly grab my robe and slippers, putting them on over my sleeping shorts and top and hurry after her as she leads the way down the halls, the sound of her heels echoing loudly in the silence.

I glance around. The halls always look so empty at this time of night. Paying attention, I notice we’re heading towards the Headmaster’s Office.

She stops outside the door and motions for me to go inside. I nod hesitantly and knock on the door before stepping inside. I look around the dimly lit room, but it’s not Alpha Aaron in the chair, but… Uncle Leo.

He’s leaning back in the seat, his elbow resting on the armrest as he smokes a cigarette lazily, yet somehow… sharp. In the dim light, he looks even scarier than I remember, his piercing eyes almost glowing. Turning bravely, I turn the light up until it brightens the room.

There, all better.

“I can’t see well in the dark.” That’s not entirely true. I see everything, but it’s like I’m looking through a red lens, and it looks creepy.

“Shut the door and take a seat.” He motions to one of the ones opposite him. I walk to the chairs and sit down, feeling on edge as I perch nervously on the seat.

“You wanted to see me?”

“I’m not one to beat about the bush, so let’s get to this. You were absent from all your lessons today. On your first day back. Care to share why?”

Is that irritation in his voice? I’m not sure, but his cold eyes hold no warmth…

“I…” This is my chance to tell him I don’t belong here.

I look up and take a deep breath. “Because I can’t. I just can’t be one of your elite warriors. I probably don’t even belong in one of the four war academies. I don’t fit in, I’m useless, I’m not elite.”

“I hate that word…” he breathes, his eyes flicking away before he glances back at me. “We’ve had this conversation before. We both know what you’re capable of, so why are you not utilising that?”

“Because I can’t control it.”

“Then learn to.”

“It’s not so easy!” I sound desperate. This is my one chance to get out of here, and I have to take it because he’s the one who wanted me here!

“Explain to me why not? You lost control of your power when you learned of Rayhan’s passing.

” He pauses, my heart aching at the mention of Dad.

“But all I hear is I can’t. I want to go home.

I don’t fucking deserve to be here. Not once have I heard why, and I don’t mean you telling me you can’t control it. I mean a fucking valid reason.”

“What more can I say?” I ask, confused.

His cold eyes are on me again, burning into mine.

“What triggers you? What makes you lose control? You weren’t there when he died, so it can’t be his death that returns to you.

Help me understand, Sienna, because I’m not a fucking mind-reader and I don’t know what exactly it is, but there has to be a trigger. ”

“I have no trigger,” I lie.

“Then work on your shit and focus. You aren’t just anyone; you are the daughter of the Rossi line that holds the most powerful Alpha aura. You are fucking more than this.”

Because Dad and Grandad were the firstborn of their line…