The Hybrid Princess and the Rebel’s Allure (The Rossi Legacies #8)

Beneath the Ice

Heaven

The surface fades away above me as I slip deeper into the abyss of ice-cold water that steals the breath from my lungs before I’ve even had the chance to hold it.

Ice shards scrape against me from all directions, floating in the water, clawing at me like a thousand knives.

Every wave knocks them around, bringing some even closer as I do my best to remain still.

The cold is far too intense. It seeps into my bones, freezing my blood, squeezing my head with pain.

Breathe…

I will not give in.

I will not let the cold win.

Control.

I am control.

My lungs scream, desperate for air, but I refuse to let those thoughts affect my heart rate.

I am calm.

I am stronger than the pain.

Even through the self-pep talk, I can feel the biting cold. I can feel my body beginning to shut down. How long have I been here?

My lungs need air.

Not yet. Not yet.

My mind tells me to swim up, knowing I’m not alone down here.

But I am the one in control of my mind.

I decide what my body will do, not the other way around.

Stillness is my armour. Self-control is my power, and I wrap it tight around myself like a second skin.

Breathe.

I sense them before I see them. Shadows flicker in the murky darkness around me. Piranhas. Their bodies move like flashes of steel beneath the water’s surface, quick and hungry as they circle me.

To them, the temperature matches the warmth of their tropical climate, a spell I put on them so the water felt warm – because I needed them at their deadliest for this.

One swims close, brushing against my arm with the lightest touch, a whisper of teeth almost taking a bite out of me. My skin prickles, but I don’t flinch. I don’t move.

Remaining as still as possible, I focus on staying calm without any air left.

Focus.

Minutes stretch like hours, but I do not falter. A piranha suddenly rushes toward my floating hair. It clamps down, but I refuse to close my eyes.

It turns, snapping at my arm, and though I remain still, my heartbeat betrays me the moment it clamps its teeth around me. Blood spills from my arm, making all the piranhas turn my way.

It’s over.

With a flick of my finger, I send them away before I begin swimming upward. I break the surface.

The cold slaps me anew, sharp as a blade, and I take a deep gulp of air as I pull myself from the water onto the tiled floor of the swimming hall.

My entire body screams in agony.

I failed. Again.

“You did pretty well. I only heard your heart rate change once for a fraction of a second, when you were chomped,” Allie says from where she’s standing a little away from the wall, a book in hand.

“Not good enough. I’ll work on it,” I say, resisting a sigh, placing a hand on my wound and whispering a spell. Picking up my towel, I wipe my body and the remnants of blood from my arm.

“You know… I loved the touch with the piranhas; they’re interesting, but was it necessary?” Allie asks, her voice as flat as always.

“Yes, I’m trying to master control, where nothing can make me react involuntarily. Control is the key to a witch’s power.” I glance at the pool and whisper a spell. The piranhas vanish as quickly as they appeared.

“Right, but you got bitten. You sure you don’t need some kind of shot or something? What if they had diseases or were contaminated?” she points out, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

“This world is contaminated. A few piranhas won’t make much difference,” I remind her.

She nods grimly. “True. You’re doing great.” She tilts her head before snapping her fingers. “Next time, what about a snake pit?”

I tilt my head, intrigued by the idea. Venomous snakes. That would be… intense.

“Let’s call it a girls’ night.”

“Yesss,” Allie says, her dark eyes sparkling morbidly.

After I pull on a gown and slippers, we leave the Academy pool together. It’s night already, but Jaddati gave us permission to train here.

It’s been four months since Sienna left us. Four months since Uncle Ray returned. It’s confusing – how I feel, how everything is.

There have been good changes. Having Uncle back is great. Yet Sienna’s absence has us stuck in time, worse than when Dad died or when we thought Uncle was dead.

Because it’s not an end.

She left us with a thousand questions and only a handful of answers.

But even though Sienna’s intentions were good, the consequences cost us a lot. Mentally, with relations, trust, and bonds…

Things have been the hardest on Allie, even if she pretends she doesn’t care.

It’s one of the reasons I look to my jaddati as a role model. Even in anger and pain, she doesn’t speak from emotion; she speaks from her mind, in control, with the willpower only a goddess could have.

In my eyes, she is one.

Mama, Aunty Delsanra, Uncle, Allie, and I have scoured countless books trying to find a way to bring Sienna back. Ahren and Tatum, too. Jaddati. We’re all searching for a solution, some loophole where we can find a way to trick a god into letting her go.

The Academy is not the same without her here.

The halls feel emptier, the days darker, and it’s just not as much fun.

Sienna was the one who brought cheer in so many ways, the one who knew when both Allie and I needed a shoulder.

She comforted us even when we tried to pretend everything was all right.

We aren’t great with emotions, and she didn’t need us to vocalise that. She was there for us when we needed her, but I just wish she had let us be there for her, too.

“I haven’t seen Holden around lately, not that I’m complaining.” Allie’s voice pulls me from my thoughts as we walk quietly to our dorm rooms. We’re in the same hall but have separate rooms.

Holden… my kind of boyfriend. I know I’ve been shutting him out lately. Well, I think I’ve been doing that since Sienna left, and that’s around when we got together. So really, it’s always been rocky between us.

“He’s around. He’s patient with me. I’ll give him that.”

“He’s got to be with the daughter of Raihana,” Allie chimes slyly.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

“I am not a diva.” I toss my hair.

“You’re saying your mama is?”

I cast her a pointed look as we stop in the corridor.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Allie.” I turn toward my door and enter the code.

I share the room with a werewolf girl named Karen. I actually pity her for that name, ruined for all of eternity. We don’t talk much, but we’re civil, and the partition in the middle of the room gives me all the privacy I need.

The room is… satisfactory, but not what you’d call luxurious or beautiful by any means.

I’ve added touches of flair and, of course, plenty of crystals and décor, but it just doesn’t make up for the lack of style. Others consider the Academy exquisite, but I think they’ve just grown up without knowing what true elegance really is.

I take off my clothes and head to the small, adjoining bathroom for a shower. Afterwards, I step back into the dorm room and sit down at my desk, turning on my lamp as I take out my journal, whispering an enchantment to unlock it.

I flip it open and pick up my fountain pen.

Pausing, I put it down and flip back through the pages until I stop on the entry about Ares Westwood. Not long after Sienna left, he almost died in a freak attack.

Something happened that no one could explain, a fleeting blackout that defied even Leo’s security. He was dying, and then he was fine, but had no recollection of what happened, how he got there, or who tried to kill him.

A mystery I feel is vital to uncover.

“Aldona?”

“Yes?” I glance at Karen. She’s standing there, arms crossed, wearing her oversized, fluffy panda hoodie. She wears the oddest things.

“What are you doing this weekend?”

This weekend?

Oh, yes.

“I’ll be visiting family.” It’s a weekend holiday, the first since the new school year began a few weeks ago.

“Ah, sounds nice.”

I glance over my shoulder at her. “Why do you ask?”

“Just.” She shrugs.

It’s not simply ‘just’, but she’s clearly not going to tell me so easily.

“What are you going to do?” I ask the obvious question.

She shrugs. “I’m not sure. My pack was destroyed, so we can’t go back. I was just curious if you’d be here or not.”

Oh.

“I didn’t realise that it was your pack. I’m sorry for your loss,” I say, knowing many were killed.

She nods. I don’t do sympathy well, and charity isn’t my strong point either, but she is my roommate, and I do have a duty to her.

I turn in my chair, looking across at her.

“Well, we’ll be going to the Night Walkers Pack.

Although I’ll be extremely busy with family events, I’m sure I can have you set up in a room for the weekend.

There’s plenty to do there, and I’ll have Alpha Alejandro assign someone to show you around, if you would like that, of course. ”

Her eyes light up. “Really?”

“Yes, it’s no big deal,” I reply with a toss of my hair and turn back to my journal.

“Thank you, Aldona.”

“You’re welcome,” I reply nonchalantly. Now, where was I…

“Aldona?”

Is this how it feels to have children? Her constant questions remind me of Kaden, but since he lost Sienna, he’s become quieter.

“You’re cool.”

“Not the word I’d use, but thank you.” I nod, not bothering to look at her.

She laughs before walking off.

I snap my journal shut and look at the flickering light from my lava lamp reflecting on the wall.

This is the first time we’re spending more than just a day at the Night Walkers Pack since everything happened, and I’m not sure how I feel…

Well, there’s only one way to find out.