Page 69 of Save a Wish

“Orla and Fionn have nothing to do with this,” I shot back.

“Don’t they?” Cian reached into his suit jacket and extracted a folded piece of paper. He held it out to me.

I snatched it up and unfolded it. It was a royal order for the arrest of my two best friends.

“You may think Verdalach is not as advanced as America,” Cian began, “but someone like me, someone who has a life outside royal court as well as inside it, has access to a great many things. I hired people to scour the internet for any mention of you, but they only turned up something when they added your picture.” He pulled a cell phone from his jacket pocket, tapped the screen, then showed me a picture of me leading the launch event at Hartley’s Nest.

Dammit. I’d kept my picture off my website and had required cell phones to be turned in at the event to stop this exact thing from happening. Someone had obviously still had their phone though.

“This photo then led us to a Kalm Kingdom website,” my father said. “All the talk about meditation and mindfulness and such could only be you.” He rolled his eyes. “This silliness led us right to you, Aislinn.”

“And of course we questioned every member of the palace staff,” Cian continued. “Someone on the palace laundry staff witnessed Orla squirreling away to your chambers with a suitcase.”

“Containing your disguise, no doubt,” my father said.

“Orla and her brother were both questioned and the result of that interview was their arrest.” Cian tapped the order still clutched in my hand. “If you come back with us, however, they will be freed and cleared of any wrongdoing.”

My gaze snapped from the order up to Cian’s face.

“That’s right,” he said. “Come back to Verdalach and your friends will be spared. Stay here and they’re going to be locked up. Forever.”

I couldn’t let Orla and Fionn suffer such consequences for helping me. They were my closest friends and had put themselves at risk for me. I’d thought our plan had been foolproof.

Which proved I was a fool.

My shoulders slumped. “Fine. I’ll come home.” I tore up the arrest order and let the pieces flutter to the ground between us.

“I can, of course, get another copy of that.” Cian pointed to the scraps. “When we touch down on Verdalachian soil and you marry me, I’ll officially rescind the arrest order and Orla and Fionn will be released.”

“Let me grab a few things from inside,” I said.

“Leave it all,” Cian demanded. “I’m sure whatever items you’ve accumulated during your hiding away here are not befitting royalty anyway.”

“I have things I’ve made,” I argued. “Necklaces.”

“Trinkets,” Cian countered. “They have no place at court.”

He grabbed my left arm while my father took my right one. They manhandled me over to a waiting luxury car with tires that wouldn’t survive the bumpy, hole-ridden dirt roads of Vermont for long.

“I don’t need to be escorted as if I’m a criminal.” I attempted to shake free of their hold, but they both tightened their grips.

“Ah, but you do,” my father said. “You’ve proven to not be loyal to the crown. Your crown and mine. A stunt like this will not occur again, Aislinn.”

“We’ve arranged for around-the-clock protection for you,” Cian said.

“You mean around-the-clock surveillance.”

“Call it what you wish,” Cian said. “They both mean you shall not make a move that we don’t know about.”

I hadn’t thought my life in Verdalach could have been worse. I was wrong. Now I was subjected to the old traditions and would be watched relentlessly. I actually had trouble swallowing as I was pushed into the vehicle ahead of Cian and my parents. It felt as if a noose was tightening around my neck.

Or was it a leash? A noose suggested an end to the torment. A leash, however, only led me somewhere I didn’t want to go.

If only Hank hadn’t left for the hardware store.

If only Jimmy had been home next door.

If only Cian and my parents hadn’t found me.