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I turn and look at my older sister; she’s gorgeous, completely different from me, with her dark, almost-black hair, porcelain skin, piercing blue eyes, and plump red lips. Like one of those Hollywood pinup girls from the fifties, all curves and voluptuousness. Same with Skylar; she’s the blonde version of Magnolia. Then there’s me, with my chestnut-brown hair, thin body that is straight up and down, and no boobs or butt.
“You’re not going to marry Dante, are you?” I ask.
The Carandini and Moore families have always been close through the generations. They were the family that our family relied on to get them what they needed to stay in power all these generations. They were used to snuff out any scent of rebellion from the people, always there to help get rid of our family’s enemies. We grew up knowing nothing of who the Carandini family truly were. We knew that our families had been entwined over the generations together, but assumed it was as friends or confidantes.
We were wrong.
The Carandini family is one of the most notorious, feared, and dangerous families in our lands, especially since Valerius has taken over as head of the family. Our two families were always linked through business or sexual favors. Unfortunately, we were the first generation with no male heir, so they couldn’t use a Carandini to be the king’s mistress. Hence, Magnolia’s betrothal to Dante as she was to be Queen.
“I’m not sure I will be able to get out of marrying Dante. You heard what Anthony said, they will wipe father’s debt if I do. And that means that you and Sky will be safe,” my sister explains to me.
“He’s a stranger and a Carandini,” I argue.
“Dante Carandini is hardly a stranger, Rose,” Magnolia says, shaking her head at me.
We’ve known Dante and his family since we were born. We’ve spent summers together every year since I can remember. Our childhood was idyllic, sailing the azure waters of the Mediterranean on my father’s yacht, and sunning ourselves on our private beach that backed onto our home. All the summer parties where our families entertained the rich, royal, and elites of the lands, where we were dressed up and paraded around balls for our father’s pleasure, showing off to his friends how beautiful his daughters had become. I never thought anything about it because our father would spoil us with the most gorgeous dresses to wear at these events. I looked forward to them as we would hang out with the guests’ children and have our own party away from the adults. The older I got during these parties, the more fun I had with the guests’ sons, a private party on the beach for two, sometimes.
I do remember overhearing Magnolia and Aurora, Dante’s cousin and one of Magnolia’s best friends, talking excitedly one night about Magnolia’s first kiss with Dante that happened one summer and how Aurora was swooning over Enzo hoping he might kiss her. After that summer, the four of them—Dante, Magnolia, Enzo, and Aurora—became inseparable.
Then the night of Magnolia’s eighteenth birthday something happened, and she and Aurora never looked at Dante and Enzo the same way again. The guys never joined us on family vacations either after that night. Magnolia’s never spoken about it. Even Skylar was unable to get it out of her what happened that night, and all I know is Magnolia built a ten-foot-high wall around herself where Dante was concerned, and she hasn’t let those walls down since.
We all recognized Valerius’s bad vibes growing up, but I didn’t realize how bad until one summer night I overheard my father and Valerius talking in his office when I was messing around with one of the cabana boys. He reminded my father about who the Carandini family were and that the only reason he still has a throne is because of them. That our family owes them the world because we wouldn’t have the power we have without them. My father backed down from whatever argument they were having, and I’ve never in my life seen my father do that before. The entire conversation confused me, and I didn’t understand why he would yield to a man like Valerius.
The cabana boy explained once we were away from the castle exactly who Valerius was to my father and the sordid history between our two families. The Carandini family controlled the black market in Aegina, which my father benefited from financially. That the real power of the land was held by Valerius and that my father was his puppet. As the years went on, I watched how my father and Valerius interacted, and I soon realized how much Valerius pulled my father’s strings, which made me hate him even more.
“It’s been years since you’ve seen Dante, he’s practically a stranger. Who knows how much he’s changed?” I explain to her.
“I know this, Rose, but what choice do I have?” she answers me through gritted teeth.
“We can fight, Maggie. The fucking bastard is dead,” I scream as I kick angrily at the dirt over his grave again.
“And wind up dead like him,” Magnolia states coldly.
Silence falls between us as the gravity of her words hit us both.
“Valerius is a dangerous guy, as is Dante,” Magnolia reminds me.
“We can’t just sit here. We need to fight them every step of the way. I’m sick of these men having control over us. When do we get a say in our lives?”
“The Carandini men are ruthless, cruel, and powerful. What hope do we have of fighting that?” she asks me.
“Can’t be any worse than the hell we’ve lived in our entire lives, Maggie,” I argue back.
My sister shakes her head. “Our father was able to keep Valerius in check, even if he didn’t have any real power over him. Now that he is gone, he can do whatever the hell he wants,” Magnolia explains.
“I know the odds are against us, but I won’t give up. Anthony is looking into a loophole.”
“You think whatever he finds is going to change the laws of our land? We can’t, the fucking king is dead. He was the only one with absolute power. And he never changed the laws like he promised and now we’re screwed, Rose,” my sister shouts at me.
“We can’t give up,” I plead with her.
“It’s cute that you think we can change anything, Rose. We are women in a patriarchal society. We should have fought back when Father was alive, but we didn’t because he beat us down and made us believe we were not worthy of anything more than being sold to the highest bidder like we’re some prized beast.” Tears well in Magnolia’s eyes, and her shoulders sag.
I wrap my arms around her and hug her tightly. “I’m going to find a way, I promise you.”
My sister sniffles and gives me a squeeze. “I don’t know what more we can do. But I do know if anyone can do it, it’s you, Rosie,” she says, giving me a small smile.
“You need to catch the eye of a prince from another country? There must be someone desperate to marry. Maybe a second or third-born male that isn’t an heir that you could marry.”
