Page 43 of Her Royal Rebellion

“You have the thanks of the king and queen of Lochland. We are all in your debt.”

Her eyes widened and she began to protest but Isla held up her hand. “My brother is on his way here. He’s the future king and will be able to make all the arrangements for you and your family. If you know where you would like to go, he will make it happen. If you and your family need a place to live, we will set that up. Whatever you need, I will make sure you and your family are taken care of.”

She sounded like a true princess in that moment.

“Marius has been detained,” Shane cut in. “When you’re ready, we will leave.”

Isla looked around the room. “I want to leave, but I’m not going back to the palace.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”

She sighed. “I need time to process everything that’s happened in the past few weeks. I need time to be alone and figure out what I want.”

The word alone felt like a knife to my chest. “Right. Of course.”

“I want you to come with me, Logan. Let Shane handle things here. Let my parents and brothers worry about the rest. Please, just come with me.”

I didn’t need to be asked twice. “Of course, I will.”

She smiled and tightened her arms around me. “I want to go to my house. Can you get us there?”

I’d never actually been to Isla’s private residence on the coast, but I knew where it was and how to get there. “Yes. Just give me a moment.”

Shane was already getting information from Ana. He didn’t need to be told what to do, but the smile he shot toward me told me he’d heard enough to know what was going on. He knew I’d made my decision.

I entered the hall and pulled out my phone. I called Aiden and waited for him to answer.

“Do you have her?” He didn’t bother with a greeting.

“Yes, she’s safe. He didn’t hurt her.”

He sighed. “Thank you. Now bring her home.”

“I can’t do that.”

“What do you mean?” His voice sounded impatient.

“She isn’t ready to come back yet. She needs some time to process, and I’m not going to force her to do anything she doesn’t want to.”

There was a pause before he sighed again. “You’re right. Where does she want to go?”

“Her house.”

“Of course.”

“Can you get us there?”

“Yes, I’ll have a plane waiting for you guys. I’ll call and get the house ready as well. I’ll send you a message with the rest of the details.”

“Thank you.”

“No, Logan. Thank you. Now, take care of my sister. She needs you.” That wasn’t what I was expecting, what did he mean she needs me?

Before I could ask, he hung up and I went back to Isla. “It’s all set.”

“Thank you.” She hugged Ana and Shane before walking toward me. I led her down the stairs and outside, away from the activity at the front of the house. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out to see a message from Aiden with a location. That’s where the plane would be.

I found Alec and called to him. His eyes locked on Isla and his face paled. He hurried over and bowed. “Your Highness, words cannot express my remorse.”