Dark Castle by Shanna Handel

12

Willow

The next morning,things are tense between Santo and me. There’s a bit of consolation when he takes my hand to lead me into the forest. If I can’t have him, at least I can hold his hand.

True to his word, my father arrives right on time. Santo has his gun tucked in its holster and an arm around my waist protectively.

Stefano gets straight to the rest of the story. “I hadn’t planned on being a father, but Briar was born, and then you, Willow.” My father gives me that special smile that warms my heart, the one I would sneak out here just to see. “I loved you girls. It killed me to leave you. But Prue had moved on to another man and she had her mind set.”

I think of all the work my father did on the land before he left. It always felt to me that he was preparing us for something. Now I know he was preparing to leave.

I hide the tears from my voice, telling myself to be strong. “That’s why you built the farm, put in the solar power, made it so we could be self-sufficient if she made you go?”

“Yes. A small parcel of the land was mine, it belonged to my family. It was only an acre or so. The rest was owned by someone else. I built the cabin on my land, hoping no one would find you. I did everything I could. I promise.” His hands reach for me.

Santo, having stood silently by as my father made his confession, steps closer to him, his hand hovering by the gun at his hip. His voice is deadly. “It wasn’t enough.”

Stefano shakes his head at Santo. “You don’t understand, son. She had…powers. I know it sounds crazy, but when Prue told you to do something, you did it, or you knew there’d be consequences.”

“And you came back and married Demi,” I say.

“Yes.” He nods. “I tried to make it right by marrying into the Meralo family and securing those woods for you girls. I had them established as protected lands.”

So. Many. Secrets.

I can barely keep up with all of these revelations. My clouded past is even darker and more twisted than I knew. I can’t believe this is my father, that my father is Stefano, that all this is a part of my life story, and I had no idea this whole time. My head feels light.

I collapse against Santo, letting his strong body hold me up. “I can’t believe this.”

Stefano lowers himself to the ground, burying his head in his hands.

Santo leans against a tree, holding me against him, sleek and dangerous, hand on his gun. “Tell us more.”

Stefano sighs with pain. He leans his head back, resting it against the tree behind him. “I couldn’t go see the girls. I didn’t want Demi to find out about them. It killed me to be so close to them and not be able to see them, but I wouldn’t risk my wife finding out about my first family.”

“Were you afraid she’d hurt them?” Santo asks.

“Demi is…” he glances up at the sky like he’s searching the clouds for the right word to describe her, “obsessive.”

“And a powerful woman.” Santo growls a laugh. “You have a type, don’t you, Stefano.”

Stefano ignores Santo, looking at me, the expression on his face begging me to understand. “Before, when I was first with Penelope when we were teens, and then when I was with Prue, I was just a nobody Bianchi. Prue Rosa was a gypsy, a drifter. No one really knew of her, or her family. We lived on the edge of the village at first, and you girls went to a smaller school, not the main one in town, under the last name Rosa. When your mother got sick, it was easy to escape to the woods, just Tano and Prue, a couple of nobodies.”

He takes a deep breath and continues. “But when I married Demi, I became a someone. Everyone suddenly knew who I was. They didn’t know about Prue and you girls and my time in the woods, but they remembered me as Penelope’s scorned lover and Demi hated that. My life with Demi became strained. She wanted more than I could give her. She was obsessed with me. It’s my fault; I seduced her in the first place to get the land to protect you girls, but still, I kept a wall up between us. Demi knew she couldn’t quite reach me, and she hated it.”

“The stress was too much. I was miserable, but I at least knew you girls were safe. The Meralos were powerful. They had old money. I used that money the best I could to keep the woods safe. I just wanted to know you were safe. Then…Penelope and I started meeting secretly.” His throat grows tight and he clears it before he says, “I think you know the rest of the story.”

I nod. “My mother recited it to us often.”

At the time, I thought my mom just liked the drama of the story. Only now do I realize she was speaking of her ex-lover, the father of her first two daughters. Did she miss him? Or was she just lamenting an old failure, a spell gone wrong?

“Demi killed Penelope. I took the blame.” The tired lines on Stefano’s face seem to deepen. “And I left. But now I’m back and I’m trying to make it right.”

“You came back and faked an alliance with Demi.” I say, then ask, “Then you came to Aldo, to propose an arranged marriage between him and Briar?”

“He didn’t come.” Santo tilts his chin toward Stefano. “He sent a proxy.”

“He’s right.” Stefano gives Santo a sheepish grin. “Even though no one had seen me in a long time, I was too well known in the village to come to Aldo myself. He would have shot me on sight. I sent a friend under the name you girls would know, Tano, to arrange the marriages. To ensure you have the protection of the Russos.”

“She already does.” Santo’s arm tightens around my shoulders.

“Maybe so.” Stefano’s eyes lock on mine. “But you’re in real danger.”

“More than usual?” I try to joke, but my words sound strained.

Santo stiffens beside me. “Demi? She knows the girls are yours, doesn’t she?”

He nods. “Yes. She figured it out. I’ve been careful, but maybe she’s had me followed. I’ll take care of her to protect the girls. These things take time. And to be honest? I haven’t had the heart to kill her. I’m trying to find another way.”

The sound of a stick cracking echoes through the woods. All three of our heads snap toward the sound. Santo is in front of me with his gun cocked in the beat of a second.

I hand my father’s gun back to him. “Here.”

“Go. I can’t be sure it’s one of my men.” Stefano takes the gun, stepping toward the sound. He tilts his chin over his shoulder. “Take her. Take her and run.”