Page 69 of The Stolen Princess
“For starters, it would decrease his respiratory rate to a level I’m not comfortable with.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t he going to die anyway? I don’t know why we're trying so hard to keep him alive.”
Doctor Von blinked. “Because he’s the king.”
Stoddard ignored his response. “I thought that fever a couple of days ago was supposed to kill him.”
“It was very concerning, but it went down.”
“Did the princess give him that herbal medicine again?” He flashed his eyes to Blanch. “I thought I told you to dump that stuff out.”
“I did dump it out.”
“Sometimes with cancer, things can go up and down,” Doctor Von chimed in.
Stoddard turned his head to the window again. The spotty clouds were clearing out, and rays of sun were filtering through the sky. “I’ll think about telling the king about his daughter.”
Stoddard’s voice went soft. “I don’t want him to worry about her safety. We’ll find her soon and bring her home.” That wasn’t the real reason he withheld the information. If Adler knew that his beloved daughter had been taken, he would spend all of Tolsten’s resources to get her back. He would have responded immediately to the letter from the kidnappers with the location of the weapons, and that was something Stoddard could not have happen. If Stoddard’s plan to take over all of the seven kingdoms was going to work, he needed every single weapon Tolsten had.
“Fine.” Doctor Von nodded. “You’re in charge.” He moved to leave.
“What about the other?” Stoddard asked. “Are you taking care of her as well?”
Doctor Von shifted his eyes nervously. “Yes, she’s a beauty. I’m very proud of the medical advancements I’ve made. I can’t wait to share them with the world.”
Stoddard gave him a pointed look. “Yes, but you won’t share them with the world until I say so.”
Doctor Von nodded. “I know the agreement.”
“Good. Then everybody gets what they want.”
Blanch’s husband was freed. Doctor Von would get his medical accolades, and Stoddard would get to be the most powerful leader since Desolation.
“What about King Adler?” Doctor Von asked. “Is he going to get what he wants?”
No, Adler would get what hedeservedfor all of the years of putting him down and thinking himself better than his commander.
Stoddard forced a fake smile. “I hope so.”
“I’m afraid he’s not going to last much longer,” Doctor Von said.
“Like how much longer?” The doctor had said that before, but the king always seemed to rally.
“A matter of days.”
An anxious feeling spread over Stoddard. He needed to get the location of the weapons before Adler lost complete consciousness or else the fool would die, taking his secret to the grave with him.
Stoddard turned around. “Maybe you could give me a minute alone with the king.”
Doctor Von and Nurse Blanch nodded. “Of course.” They shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Stoddard walked to the side of Adler’s bed. There was a time when he would have considered the king his friend, but that was years ago. He had put in his time of service, had taken a back seat, had let the king put him down over and over again. But now it was his turn to rise to power. He was sick of being second best. He wanted to be number one. Once Stoddard knew where the weapons were, he would take the biggest weapon of all and he would make his move.
He sat down on the edge of the mattress, jostling Adler’s body.
The king jerked his arms up in the air. “Myka. Where’s Myka?” he hollered. His cheeks were sunken in, and a bluish hue tinted the skin around his eyes.
“She’s gone,” Stoddard said, looking over the king’s frail body. “She’s been kidnapped.”
