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“Y-Yes. Of course,” I stutter as my legs begin to move of their own accord. Panic rises as I rush through the darkness toward the ballroom. “I’ll meet you out the front,” I tell her. Pushing my legs to move as quickly as they can through the dew-covered grass, my heart is thumping wildly in my chest, hoping that everyone back home is okay. That we haven’t lost it all. I’m not sure if I will be able to handle the loss of anything else. It’s not like anything in the palace was going to remain ours for long if Valerius gets his way. But now Magnolia won’t have to marry Dante and Valerius won’t get the power he craves. We will regain the crown, once we find the loophole and turn Aegina back into a country that has promise and prosperity, not a country overrun by criminals and a depraved king.
I rush through the back of the ballroom and pause as I hear the king announce that his son has found a bride. I still, indecision catching me as I realize that I had finally achieved everything we had been hoping for, but it’s now slipping through my fingers. My sisters need me, my palace needs me, and I can’t abandon them in their hour of need. I hope that the prince will forgive me and not think I’ve stood him up.
I suck in a deep breath and continue toward the front of the palace where I can see my two sisters huddled waiting for me. Dante is screaming into his phone and Enzo is furiously typing away on his.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask my sisters.
“All I know is Henny called us in a panic. Someone lit a fire to the south tower, and they are trying to put it out,” Magnolia explains.
“Why? Why would anyone do such a thing?” I ask, looking between them.
“My guess is it’s a warning,” Magnolia states angrily, her eyes falling on Dante. “I’m assuming our father’s debt collectors are becoming impatient.”
“What’s the point in burning down what they will ultimately get?” I ask, shaking my head as we wait for our car to arrive from the valet. “Excuse me, can you get someone to tell the prince we have to leave, it’s urgent,” I tell one of the footmen standing around, he nods and heads off inside.
“They probably get off on it,” Skylar states angrily.
“We can’t let them intimidate us like that, I have a plan,” I tell my sisters, feeling utterly helpless over the situation.
“What are we supposed to fight them with, Rose?” Magnolia asks me angrily. “We are just women. Our lives mean nothing to these men. We are commodities to them … to be bought and sold for whatever reason.” A single tear falls down Magnolia’s cheek.
Reaching out, I wrap my arms around Magnolia and pull her into a hug, one that she seems desperate for. She hugs me back tightly, and we soak up each other’s strength. Skylar joins us, and I know that no matter what, I will always have my sisters. We will get ourselves out of this fucked-up situation. Everything will work out because I have faith in the three of us.
“Let’s go,” Dante says, his face like stone. Tension, anger, and rage radiate from him as he gets into the limousine.
We all follow, taking our seats away from Dante’s men.
“Rosalie,” someone calls my name as Enzo slams the door shut behind him.
I press my hands against the window as I see Greyson standing at the top of the stairs looking down at our car. He begins to rush toward us, looking forlorn, a frown across his face; he’s probably confused as to why I’m leaving after promising them the world. I try and push the button for the windows, but they are locked. I bang on the window hoping he realizes that I’m distraught leaving him. That I’m still all in.
“What the hell are you doing?” Magnolia snaps at me as she looks out the window and sees the prince’s bodyguard rushing toward the car. “Don’t tell me you did something with him after I told you not to? This is probably why the palace is burning down, you ruined our chances,” she screams at me.
I sit frozen in place at the venom of my sister’s words as the limousine takes off into traffic and toward the airport.
“Maggie, calm down,” Skylar says, placing a soothing hand on my sister’s arm.
I can see anger and hatred in my sister’s icy-blue eyes, and it’s directed firmly at me. A single tear falls from my cheek as I stare in shock at her. Magnolia turns away from me and scowls in silence for the rest of the journey while my heart breaks.
* * *
Arriving at the palace, we pull up through the gates of our home and see smoke still billowing from the tower. The royal fire brigade is working overtime to put out whatever is still smoldering.
“Henny,” I call out. My face drops seeing our nanny standing outside, staring at our crumbling home in disbelief.
“Girls?” She turns around and rushes toward us.
Henny has been with us since we were born; she’s been a mother to us all since our own passed when I was five. She died in a car accident late one night. Our mother was quite independent and liked to race around town in her red sports car that she adored. It was raining and she took a turn too quickly, crashing over a cliff and into the ocean with Dante’s mother. They found their bodies on the beach the next day. I remember our father being distraught; he loved our mother, and until that moment in life, I remember my childhood being idyllic, and our father being nice, but everything changed once our mother died. Our father’s heart was broken, and Valerius was able to get his claws into my father during a vulnerable time. The only stable person during that turbulent time was Henny; she was the one that hugged us, and told us that we were loved, even though my father raged around us. He was drinking excessively and became unstable, never recovering from that night.
“Don’t follow us,” Magnolia hisses at Dante and Enzo.
We pull Henny into our arms as we all break down crying, relieved that she is safe and sound after what has happened.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop it,” she cries as she looks between us all, her guilt palpable.
“This isn’t your fault,” Magnolia stresses. “We knew going to the palace was a long shot.”
I haven’t told my sisters what happened between the prince and his guard. They would only feel guilty pulling me away from the ball. I knew walking away in that moment meant giving up on our chances of being free, but how could I have stayed and celebrated something while my family was suffering?
