AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We still have the succession problem, even if I could marry someone else. I can’t be Queen,” my sister explains.
Why did I not take more notice in royal law class?
“Valerius will never allow me to marry anyone else.” Magnolia sighs sadly.
“You could try,” I add, hope floating in my voice. Now that our father is dead, does Valerius have as much power over the laws of the land as he thinks he does?
“Remember at my eighteenth birthday party where Father and Valerius declared to everyone we know that Dante and I were engaged?” she asks.
I nod, remembering that night well. Magnolia was so happy as they both stood together hand in hand. I think she was in love with Dante then.Does she still love him now?No. I remember the next morning the hearts in her eyes were gone and she had fled back to Aegina, practically ghosting Dante.
“You looked happy that night.”
“I was until I found out what Valerius, our father, and Dante were capable of. We can’t fight the devil, Rosie,” Magnolia says, shaking her head.
“Not alone we can’t, but if we had the power of a prince and their kingdom behind us there could be a chance,” I add hopefully.
“I’m pretty sure we are not prized princesses, thanks to father dearest and his reputation. And I don’t think another kingdom will want to create a war with Valerius.” she sighs. “I don’t think my marriage is truly about paying back a debt. Valerius needs this marriage to become even more powerful, and he’s not going to give it up that easily,” she warns me.
“It’s always about power with these men,” I moan. Magnolia nods in agreement. “Do you think Dante has changed that much since you’ve seen him?”
“I heard Father talking to Valerius one night, and he said that Dante and Enzo had moved to the States to expand a route between the two countries. That would have been many years ago now,” Magnolia explains.
“You think that might have changed him, being away from Valerius?” I ask her.
“Maybe. I remember how much Dante hated his father growing up, how he talked about never becoming anything like him. But that was a lie. He turned into his father as soon as he was old enough.” Maggie sighs.
“What happened that night, Mags?” I ask gently.
She shakes her head like she always does when I ask her about it. “I don’t want to talk about it, Rose, you know that,” she says angrily, looking up at me through icy-blue eyes.
“If I knew what happened maybe I could help. Maybe it could help our cause to know what we are dealing with here,” I argue.
“Drop it, Rose, I mean it,” my sister warns me, and she’s serious; she is taking whatever happened that night to the grave.
I hate that she’s had to deal with this alone; we’re her sisters, her pain is our pain too. “I just want to help,” I answer back quietly.
“I know you do, but you can’t save me, not this time. I will do everything in my power to save you and Skylar,” she tells me.
“I heard my name,” Skylar calls out from behind us. “This looks tense. What the hell’s going on?” she questions as her blue eyes narrow and dart between the two of us.
“Rose is trying to convince us to take the crown back and fuck the patriarchy,” Magnolia says with a chuckle.
I turn and frown at my sister; she doesn’t need to make fun of me like that.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Skylar says, giving us both a wide smile. Magnolia frowns at me while I give her atold-you-sobrow. “I will not let a dead corpse control my life,” she states angrily, kicking the ground of our father’s grave.
“That dead corpse whether you like it or not still controls us because a dead man has more power than a living woman. I don’t get how the two of you don’t see this. We have no power, it’s always been that way,” Magnolia argues angrily.
“Just because it’s always been that way, doesn’t mean it has to stay like that,” Skylar argues back.
“And you think Valerius is going to give up power if we succeed?” Magnolia questions us.
“He’ll have to if he’s dead,” Skylar states coldly.
We all fall silent at Skylar’s words.
“Are you fucking stupid, Sky? You can’t say something like that out here, you don’t know who’s listening,” Magnolia hisses angrily at her.
