Page 240 of The Tribrid Princess and the Taste of Chaos
“Who said you can?” Grandpa Alejandro growls.
“I did,” Allie retorts. “And I’m sure Mama would agree happily.”
Grandpa Alejandro clenches his jaw but simply growls something I can’t understand, but he doesn’t stop her.
Once they leave, Uncle looks around.
“And where is Sienna?”
There’s silence as no one answers as we all return to the lounge, where Grandpa Alejandro begins, “Well, you missed a whole fucking lot, so I’ll start with-”
“I think I’ll do the fucking honours, at least my version won’t be biased,” Uncle Leo cuts in icily. Oh, he’s so pissed off thatGrandpa hurt Azura’s feelings.
Men.
It’s going to be a long night, and I think I need to stay downstairs, although I just want to find a corner to cry in, but I can’t do that.
And although I know Ahren has a search party for Sienna, there are no traces of the crack in the veil. We all know they won’t find anything.
Half an hourlater, Uncle Rayhan has been filled in. He’s silent for a moment before he asks his first question, having listened quietly until now. “So, Jayce and Sienna…”
“-were dating,” Uncle Leo answers.
“She was so happy with him, she was smiling again, she was living again,” Aunty Delsanra explains softly. Kaden is stuck to Uncle, with pure fascination, seeing the man from the videos and photos in person. Proof of how much Aunty did to make sure he knew his father.
Uncle now closes his eyes, sighing heavily. “I’m the cause of all of this.”
“Let’s not start the blame game again,” Uncle Leo mutters, “Sienna made her decision, and it’s a shit one, but knowing her reasons… I hate to fucking say this, but I get why she’d want to… but I don’t get why she’d think her entire family would just be ok for her to sacrifice herself.”
“Maybe she didn’t know?” I suggest. I’m trying to think ofwhy, why would she do this?
“The gods are fucking annoying.” Grandad Alejandro frowns.
“Like you,” Uncle Leo remarks. “But right now, we need to figure out if there’s a way to get her back. Maybe another god: Selene, Bastet, I don’t know, maybe Zeus, there has to be something.”
There’s silence for a moment. “THE BOOK OF GODS, I think there was something in there. Did anyone hear much when it was being read? Otherwise, Jax was working with Liam, ask him.” Grandpa Alejandro frowns thoughtfully.
“I’ve not gone through the translations yet, Jax will be back from a mission tonight, I can ask him.” Uncle Leo lights a cigarette.
“What books? And why not just ask Liam? He seemed upset,” Uncle Rayhan asks.
Jaddati sighs. “Out of anger and hurt, things were said, and Jayce was blamed for Sienna,” she explains softly.
Uncle frowns. “Are we children that we’re pinning blame?” He stands up, still carrying Kaden, who’s fallen asleep.
The room is silent, and Aunty Delsanra nods. “My Chocolate Chip Cookie is gone, but I wouldn’t blame anyone. The Westwoods have been nothing but helpful since you’ve been gone. Liam and Raven have always checked in on me. There’s been so many nights where I just felt… alone, and it felt like Raven understood that without me having to say a word, and she always texts, keeping me company late into the night.” Her eyes glisten with tears. “Not a day has gone by that Raven hasn’t dropped me a message. She doesn’t need to, but she does. I can never make up for that. The way they left was wrong.”
Uncle Rayhan pulls her close, caressing her hair as he kissesthe top of her head.
“I agree, Alejandro, you need to fix this,” Jaddati says.
Grandpa Alejandro massages his temples. “I was fucking pissed, but I still believe he could have done something. This shit with Helios is over the Deimos bloodline. If she weren’t with him, then this wouldn’t have happened. I just felt- yeah, I fucked up, too. I should have taken care of her, but I failed her.”
“Like Del said, she was so happy… and we did the spell, she’s really gone,” Mama says, combing her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know why she thought giving herself up would be ok. But we can’t blame the Westwoods – we have to fix this.”
I listen to them talk, but I don’t know if this can be fixed. I feel far too much was said for it to be fixed…
Ever since my grandfather and Jayce’s grandfather were young, they were good friends, and that has continued through the years, only getting stronger with every fated bond that tied us closer and closer together. But the rifts were beginning, the first being between Uncle Liam and Mama in Puerto Rico. Since then, Uncle Liam has refused to work with Mama. And what Grandpa Alejandro said, I think things just got worse.
