Page 17 of The Stolen Princess
Myka’s chest caved in with pain. She didn’t want to think about her mother’s abandonment or the sting of hurt it had caused. Instead, she forced a smile. “I brought you some stuff.” She went to the counter where she had put her bag. After Drake left, Myka had done her best to clean up the scene of the crime. The last thing she needed was for Rommel and Joett to see a trail of blood and her holding a gun. It wasn’t a good look. “I brought you some food.”
Joett sighed. “I don’t know what we would do without you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Myka said, opening empty cupboards and filling them with canned foods, spices, and vegetables. “I’ll always take care of you guys. You know that.”
“That’s more than your father would do,” Rommel mumbled under his breath.
Myka turned over her shoulder in time to see Joett’s disapproving eyes land on her husband. Rommel and Joett didn’t usually talk about King Adler.
“That reminds me,” Joett said, opening the cupboard full of medicines. “I mixed some new herbs together for your father. I think a drop of this in some lemon tea would break apart some of the chest congestion you mentioned last time.”
“That man doesn’t deserve your remedies,” Rommel scoffed.
Joett shook her head. “I don’t do it forhim,” she said, placing the vial in Myka’s palm, pressing her rough hands against hers. “I do it for Myka.”
“I have something for you too,” Myka said, opening the front pouch of her backpack. She bounced on her toes as she held the wrapped package up. “I brought you some items from Cristole, aloe vera leaves and rare spices.”
Joett’s hands went to her cheeks. “Oh, my word! You shouldn’t have.” She snatched the package from Myka and began ripping it open. “But I will keep them.”
Rommel laughed. “Oh, she’ll be up all night mixing things now.”
Myka smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”
Joett set the package down, and grabbed Myka’s hand, leading her to the table. “Now, sit for a minute and tell us all the gossip from Tolsten House.”
Myka didn’t need a lot of convincing.Thiswas her favorite part of her visits. “Okay, but only for a little bit, then I need to get back.”
5
Drake
The Kingdom of Albion
September 2260
Drake stared at the map of the kingdom of Tolsten, circling the dead space in the northeast up by the Tolsten Lakes. He combed a hand through his brown hair, swiping it from his view.
“If it isn’t the great commander of the Albion army,” Trev said. He leaned against the doorframe of Drake’s office with a goofy smile spread across his face.
“If it isn’t the newlywed king fresh off his honeymoon,” Drake replied.
Trev pushed himself off the doorframe, sauntering into the room. “You know, I don’t think a two-week honeymoon is long enough.”
“When you have a kingdom to run, it’s probably too long.” Drake let go of the map, letting it fall to the pile of papers below. “Everything is ready for the mission. I depart for Tolsten tomorrow. You almost missed saying goodbye to me.”
Trev sunk down into the leather chair across from Drake and stretched his legs out in front of him, lifting them onto the desk. “Aren’t you going to ask me about my honeymoon?”
Drake’s expression went blank. “No.”
“Why not?” Trev’s lips turned down like he was offended.
“If you’ll recall, I already know more details about your love life than I care to.”
“Oh, come on! You can tell me about Lizanne.”
Drake sighed, trying to put on a good face. He didn’t want his lovestruck friend to try and fix something that was already over. “There’s nothing to tell you about Lizanne.”
“She visited Albion for a week. I’m sure there’ssomethingto tell.”
