Page 113 of The Stolen Princess
“He has more than even I expected,” Rommel said.
“Are they nuclear?” Myka asked.
Rommel shone the light over them, shaking his head. “No. It doesn’t look like it.”
Her breath escaped with relief.
“Can you detonate them?”
Rommel nodded. “I can detonate the ones that I made. Once they go off, the rest of them will eventually go off as well.”
Myka sucked in a deep breath. “Okay. How can I help?”
Rommel grabbed her by the shoulders. “You’ve done your part. I’ll do the rest.”
“No,” Myka shook her head. “Let me finish this.”
“Myka, you’ve done what you needed to do. You found the weapons. Go back to Tolsten House and finish your work there.”
She shook her head as her eyes filled up with tears. “I don’t have anything else there. I’m all alone.”
“You’ll find your way,” Rommel said.
A loose tear trickled down her cheek. “What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me,” he said with a smile. “I’m going to join my sweetheart tonight and right the wrongs of my past.”
Myka shook her head. “No.”
“Yes,” he said, hugging her quickly, then he pushed her out the door. “You must go now. We don’t have that much time. Once I detonate the ones I created, we’ll only have a few minutes before they go off.”
“Can’t you leave too?” she said, as he pushed her farther away.
“I’ll try.”
Myka nodded then handed him the hand light. “I love you, Rommel.”
“I know, sweetheart. I know. I love you, too. You’ve made Joett and me so happy over the years, and we are both so proud of you. Don’t ever forget that.” He waved at her, and Myka would never forget the way he looked in that moment, with Joett’s blood smeared across his clothes and courage beaming from his eyes. “Now run, and don’t look back.”
What else could she do? She turned and began running toward Tolsten House.
32
Myka
With each step forward, Myka’s heart pounded louder and louder in her chest. Adrenaline took over, pushing her to go harder and faster. Shouts and screams assaulted her as she neared Tolsten House, but the trees were still too thick for her to see what was happening. She broke out of the dense woods to crowds of servants and guards in their gray pajamas yelling as they piled out of the double doors of Tolsten House. Arco stood in front of them, pointing to the West Woods, shouting for them to move faster. Myka ran harder. There wasn’t much time left.
“Go! Go!” Arco yelled.
She ran up to him, grabbing him by the arm. “Is everyone out?”
He looked at her with wide eyes, not understanding how she had made it back.
“Rommel’s going to do it,” she said through her heavy breaths.
Arco nodded. “I think this is the last of them,” he said.
“Where’s Stoddard?” she asked.
