Page 203 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

Vincenzo continues, “When the barrier falls, they will come. They’ll fight, and they will bleed.”

His power surges across the barrier, almost suffocating.

“And when they’re weakened...” he continues slowly.

Something cold settles into my chest because I already know where this is going.

“I’ll take everything.” His eyes gleam with terrifying certainty. “Kill them all, and only then will there be a world with only one.”

“Let me guess, you?” Ares asks scornfully.

“Exactly,” Vincenzo replies; his confidence makes me uneasy. Then his gaze turns towards the heavens.

“The difference between us, Sienna, is that when you look at the gods, you see something to worship.”

His eyes darken, the air filling with the same dread I felt the first time we met. “When I look at them, I see prey. They are mine to destroy. So play your battle against the gods; we’ll be waiting.”

The realisation crashes into me, my mind spinning. All this time, we believed the Indomitable were helping the gods. Is he – no, that can’t be true; that is pure insanity.

Yet he has people who are favoured by the gods on his side, too. But… is he really allowing the barrier to weaken, using the gods’ own tools for his own benefit? It sounds like complete madness!

If what he’s saying is true, then we got it all wrong… We have two enemies, both of whom are after different causes. Vincenzo isn’t preparing for the gods to arrive; he’s preparing to wage war against them.

And somehow that is infinitely more terrifying.

Then he sighs and looks at the drakath army. “This did not end as I wanted, but it’s an army in your hands, one that will never reach its full potential. And that’s a shame…”

He steps back, preparing to leave. The Indomitable members immediately begin falling back with him.

Ahren takes a step forward. “Running already?”

For the first time since speaking, Vincenzo’s attention briefly shifts.

“No. I simply refuse to waste time fighting battles that no longer matter,” Vincenzo says, sounding bored, as though his attention has moved onto something far larger. His gaze returns to me and then flickers to Jayce, lingering on him for a fraction longer before he continues.

“The two of you should enjoy this. As far as victories go, it’s an impressive one. The world is moving far faster than either of you realises. When the heavens finally descend upon this realm, pray that your gods are everything you’ve convinced yourselves they are.”

“Bring down the barrier, together,” Royce commands.

Power immediately begins gathering around us as our auras ignite across the battlefield, then Heaven moves.

One moment she’s beside Ahren, and the next she’s crossing the battlefield, appearing directly before the barrier before turning smoothly to face us.

My breath catches. Her eyes are… orange, which is normal, but that shade of orange is not.

“You’ll have to get past me first,” she says in a voice I don’t recognise, older and somewhat cruel.

“Heaven?” I take a step forward.

“Careful,” Jayce says quietly.

Several meters away, Ahren’s entire body stills. “Heaven?”

She tilts her head slightly as though examining him, and a second later, a torrent of fire erupts across the battlefield. The blast slams into Ahren, forcing him back several steps before he cuts through it, flames scattering around him.

Neither of them seems focused on the attack. Ahren is staring at her, and whatever is looking back at him is not our sister.

A faint smile touches Heaven’s lips. Not the warm smile she gives the people she loves, and it’s not the polite smile she wears around strangers.