Page 68 of Save a Wish

Where I found my parents and Cian.

Chapter Twenty-four

Sadie

“Princess Aislinn Síomóin of Verdalach washing a vehicle?” Cian shook his head, his perfectly tailored suit looking grossly out of place in the wooded landscape that surrounded us. “And not a nice vehicle either.” The disgust in his voice made a flash of anger zip through me.

“What are you doing here?” I stared at my parents and the bewildered expressions on their faces.

“What are we doing here?” Cian let out a condescending bark of laughter. “What are you doing here, Your Highness?” He waved a hand at the car and the cabin and the woods. “Why have you lowered yourself to such an unfortunate station, Princess Aislinn? You should be my wife by now and I should be aiding your father in an official capacity.”

Not we should be aiding my father. Not us as a team. Cian was only concerned with what my leaving Verdalach had cost him.

“Come home now,” my father said, his voice commanding. “Come home now, Aislinn, and we’ll forget this running away nonsense ever occurred and the time that has been wasted. The alliance with Ó Néills will be confirmed and all will be as it should be.”

As it should be for my father. For Cian. Not for me.

I looked at my mother. Surely, she understood why I’d left Verdalach. Surely, she saw why I couldn’t marry a man like Cian or be a game piece in government affairs.

But she stood beside my father, silence her only response, and this well of rage inside me bubbled over.

“I’m not going back to Verdalach!” I shouted. “Not now. Not ever.” I narrowed my eyes and pointed at Cian. “And I’m not marrying you.”

He took three quick steps toward me and grabbed me by the arm. “You don’t have a choice, Princess. Do you understand the resources we’ve wasted on searching for you? The time? The energy? And having to keep it all quiet so as not to alert the kingdom. Your little secret jaunt to the States has delayed the timelines of several important events that should have already happened. First and foremost, our wedding.”

I jerked my arm free and backed up, but the car was directly behind me so I didn’t have much room to move.

Especially when Cian took another two steps forward so I was sandwiched between him and the car.

“Aislinn, dear, don’t make this difficult.” My mother’s voice was barely above a whisper and her unwillingness to fight for me, her only remaining daughter, made me furious.

“Why would you agree to this?” I yelled at her. “Why would you allow them to use me?” I glared at my father and Cian.

My mother bristled and at least I knew my questions affected her if only minutely.

“Because this is how it is done, Aislinn,” she said. “This is how Verdalach operates. It is your duty to marry Cian and solidify the alliance so that our country can continue to prosper.”

“Prosper?” I released a mirthless laugh. “Prospering suggests growth and trying new things and abandoning old ways that should have been abandoned a long time ago. Verdalach isn’t prospering. It’s living in the Dark Ages.”

“Now that you’ve gotten a taste of America, you think you know everything, don’t you?” Cian shook his head then glanced back at my father. “It’s a good thing we found her when we did. Another day here and she’d be thinking she could rule Verdalach better than you could, Your Majesty.”

My father approached and came to stand beside Cian. I didn’t love the way they were crowding me. Since my arrival in Vermont, not one male I’d encountered had pulled this dominating bullshit on me. Not one. Hank, Beckett and his brothers, Jimmy . . . they’d all treated me with nothing but respect. Beckett had encouraged my independence and supported my choices and he would never think of speaking to me like Cian and my father were.

“So here’s what’s going to happen, Princess,” Cian said. “You’re going to come home with us. You’re going to forget your time here.” Again that disgusted look took over his face as he scanned the setting around us. “You’re going to marry me and you’re going to fulfill your duty to your family and your country.” He leaned in closer so his mouth was right next to my ear. “To me.”

I lifted both of my hands, placed them on Cian’s chest, and shoved him back with every ounce of strength I had.

He stumbled back a few steps, a hateful gleam in his eyes.

“Aislinn!” my father gasped. “This is not behavior fitting for a person of your breeding.”

My breeding? Was I an animal to him?

Most likely.

I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I told you she’d be uncooperative, Your Majesty,” Cian said to my father. He narrowed his eyes at me. “And I’m certain Orla and Fionn will be greatly disappointed at your failure to return to Verdalach.” He arched a single eyebrow.