Page 41 of Her Royal Rebellion

“Twenty minutes. The pilot says there’s an area he can land in close to the vineyard. Our transportation will meet us there.”

I was more than ready to get moving and feel like I was actually doing something. I just needed Isla back where she belonged. Safe and with me. It had only been twelve hours since she was taken, but it felt like eternity had passed since Bill woke us up this morning.

“Everyone ready?” I waited for each member of our ten-man team to confirm. We were each armed, but I didn’t expect us to have to use force. The moment Marius realized he was surrounded, he’d be a fool not to surrender. My only hope was that he didn’t do anything crazy and use Isla as a tool or shield to protect himself.

I wouldn’t let that happen. The first thing I wanted was to establish a visual of Isla. Once I knew she was safe and away from Marius, we would go in. Anyone who posed a threat to the princess would be eliminated. I had no flexibility on that.

Time seemed to move in fast-forward from the time we touched down. A Suruso soldier, Alec, met me at the door and instantly filled me in with their progress.

“Our teams have established a perimeter around the residence and the house. We looked through records and didn’t see any tunnels or other means of getting away other than the main road that leads to the nearest town. There are two cars registered to Marius and we have confirmed that both at the house. A tighter perimeter has been made closer to the house, and we’re waiting on your order to move in.”

We climbed into a waiting black truck and Shane and two others joined us while the rest loaded into the second vehicle.

“Have you confirmed the princess’s location?”

“Yes, sir. She is in a room on the third floor.”

“Maintain a visual of her at all times.”

“Yes, sir.” He picked up a phone and spoke into it in a language I didn’t understand.

“How many should we expect?”

“We’ve only seen staff, no armed men.”

What was Marius’ plan? “How far away are we?”

“Less than five minutes.”

The winding road followed the rolling hills that spread in every direction. The countryside was beautiful, but I didn’t have time or mental space to appreciate it. I focused on the path in front of us and waited to spot the house.

“There.” The driver pointed at a white mansion sitting in a valley surrounded by impeccable rows of trees. What a beautiful place for such an ugly person.

I spotted the first line of soldiers and the building nerves kicked into full-force adrenaline. I was ready for this.

“Tell your men to shoot on sight if anyone approaches the princess.” Alec didn’t hesitate before passing along my message. Once we were closer, the driver stopped and I jumped out with Shane at my side.

“What’s your plan?”

“We’re going to knock on the door.”

He laughed. “Wait, really?”

“How else do we let him know we’re here?”

He paused, falling behind.

“I’m not going to ask for a cup of tea, Shane. I’m going to get him out of the house, detain him, then go get the princess.”

He huffed but caught up and shook his head. “Yes, sir.”

I approached the small front gate and kicked it open. The wide double doors of the house swung open and an elderly man looked at us with a terrified expression. I rested my rifle to my side and tried to appear somewhat less threatening.

“Where is Lord Marius?”

He blinked and spun around, leaving the doors open. His shuffle seemed to be as fast as he could walk but at this rate, we might find our man tomorrow. I moved forward and followed the man.

“What are you doing? We want him to come out, not us go in. We don’t have coverage inside.”