Page 42 of Three's A Crown

“He’s right, I promised,” Magnolia states solemnly.

“No.” I cry and rush to my sister. I will not leave her to fend for herself with the wolves. “You can’t go. Please,” I plead, wrapping my sister in my arms.

“Don’t leave us. Please don’t go,” Skylar says as she joins us, tears falling down her cheeks.

“Rosie, you need to look after Sky while at the palace, don’t let her fall for any handsome soldiers,” Maggie says, cracking a smile through her tears as she looks between the two of us.

“Don’t promise her that,” Skylar argues with a watery grin.

“You don’t have to go with him. Come with us,” I beg and plead my sister.

“This was always my fate. I was living on borrowed time,” she says, wiping the tears from my eyes.

“The prince is helping me find a loophole in the succession law. He promised me he would help me,” I whisper.

“I think time’s runs out, Rose,” she tells me.

No.

No, it hasn’t, it’s only started.

We can fight this.

We can fight the Carandini family.

This isn’t over.

“I’m so proud of you, Rosie. You did it. You snagged the prince. Are you sure about this?” she asks me.

“Yes.”

Magnolia frowns. “How can you be so sure, you don’t know them?”

“They have shown me more kindness since knowing them then our own father our entire life,” I explain.

Magnolia’s tears begin too well. “You deserve to be happy, Rose.”

“If it means saving my sisters, then I’ll be happy.”

“Don’t do this for me, Rose,” Magnolia pleads.

“Don’t marry, Dante for me, then.”

“I have no choice,” she says quietly.

“At the moment you don’t, but there will come a time when you will have a choice, I promise you,” I tell her.

“Oh, Rosie,” she says, pulling me into her and giving me a hug, “please don’t worry about me. I knew this was my fate for a long time. If you can do anything, save Sky. She’s not strong enough for this world,” she whispers into my ear as she squeezes me tightly.

“I promise,” I tell her, she moves away from me and gives me a tight nod.

“You need to call us every day,” Skylar tells her.

“I will, I promise.”

“We will need to come up with a secret code to talk because there will be so many ears there,” Skylar whispers.

Magnolia gives me a knowing nod and pulls us both into a tight hug.