Page 4 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

They work well on wraiths, and that has helped in many battles.

“Poisons it is,” Allie says flatly. “I’d rather administer the poison than make it, though.”

“I’m sure you would,” I say, with a wry smile. “Meet you outside the greenhouses in twenty minutes.”

They both nod before we go our separate ways.

Fifteen minutes later, I am on my way to the greenhouses when my Schattensicht vibrates against my wrist, the sensation so specific that my chest tightens before I even look down, knowing exactly what it means. My pulse accelerates all the same as I lift my arm, recognising exactly what that pattern of vibration means: there’s been an attack.

I open the report as I walk, my steps never faltering as my eyes skim the details, my mind already rearranging itself around the information. Down south, not far from the Shadow Wolves Pack. Another alert follows almost immediately, calling my division to mobilisation.

Quickly, I send a message to Heaven and Allie.

SIENNA: Can’t make it. Division 9 is called out on a mission.

ALLIE: Don’t die on us.

A faint smile ghosts across my mouth, brief and humourless, the kind I’ve used more often as of late.

HEAVEN: Be careful, Sienna.

She used my full name, and for a fraction of a second, it slowed me down more than the attack report did.

SIENNA: I will.

What was meant to be just another evening has now changed into something far more serious. But at the Academy, that has become the norm.

I break into a jog, turning back towards my dorm. Once I enter my room, I gather my weapons as I would with any drill or mission. Ten minutes. That is all we are given between alert and heading out, and it’s enough.

I braid my hair as I hurry to our meet-up point, saving all my magic for the battlefield. My butterfly sigils are all loaded with power, but still, I have to be careful.

We are always ready. Things have changed; we lead many attacks and are prepared to counter many when needed, too. A division is called out at least twice a week, if not more. And we must be prepared for it at any moment and at any hour.

A lot of students joke lightly about it in the training halls and over meals, but the truth lingers beneath every laugh, an unspoken fear: who will be called next? Will they return alive or in a body bag?

Because we have lost fellow students, family, and friends, everyone knows someone who has died.

And this is the reality of war, even if everyone doesn’t want to openly admit it. It’s the truth. At any moment, on any mission, someone might not make it back, and none of us ever truly know when our turn will come or who will be next.

Thinking Quick

Sienna

Iwipe the blood from my hands onto my pants as I look down at the body that I’ve just dropped to the ground, one of the Indomitable; he looks to be in his mid-twenties – was in his mid-twenties.

I sigh softly as I crouch down and close his unseeing eyes, spotting the mark on his neck. Another mate just lost half their soul.

Even if this is the path they choose, it doesn’t feel good; taking a life never does, and lately I’ve taken several.

The battle is coming to an end; the enemy has been neutralised, and any Indomitable survivors have retreated.

I look around at the pack territory, happy to see that not much damage was done to the buildings. We managed to keep it to the fields, thanks to Skyla and Royce having been close as well. The sun is now setting behind the clouds, and shadows stretch across the ground, creating deformed shapes. The rain pours down; the aftermath of the storm Royce had called.

The field around me is scattered with the dead, their blood staining the ground where they have fallen, an image that will haunt me long after this night is over.

I scan the bodies, searching for any source of life or a familiar face amongst them, my chest tightening with the realisation that someone I know may be amongst them. I lift one of our own and place him to the side, brushing his hair back, and I close his eyes.

“Rest in peace,” I murmur. I knew him. He’s one of the warriors who was on guard at my birthday party.