Page 3 of The Stolen Princess
The queen hadn’t seen how brilliant Adler was. She didn’t understand that in everything he did, he was ten steps ahead of everyone else. She couldn’t appreciate that about him, and Adler was glad she was gone. She only held him and Myka back.
Myka fidgeted with the bark and leaves on the stump in front of them. “When will Mommy come back?”
Adler looked straight into her blue eyes. “Never.”
She twisted her lips, then peeked up through her lashes. “I’m sad she left.”
“I know, honey. Me, too,” he said, surprised by how easily the lie rolled off his tongue.
“I won’t ever leave you, Daddy,” she said, kissing his cheek.
Adler would make sure that was true.
2
Drake
Ten Years Later
The Council of Essentials
The Kingdom of New Hope
February 2260
Drake stood in the corner behind Trev, watching as the other kings filed into King Bryant’s office—all the other kingsexceptAdler. Adler hadn’t even bothered to show up to the Council of Essentials, sending two advisors in his stead. Even if he had come, he wouldn’t have been invited to this particular meeting. This meeting wasaboutthe king of Tolsten and the threat that he posed to them all.
It had only been three months since Seran’s assassination, but now that Trev and Drake had proof from Joniss Doman that King Adler was behind the shooting, they needed to stop Adler once and for all.
Bryant took a seat behind his desk while the other men sat on the couch and in the two leather chairs nearby.
Trev waited until the door was closed before he began speaking. He cleared his throat. “Thank you all for coming. I invited my commander, Drake Vestry, to join us today. He’s worked closely with me on this project.” He paused, glancing around the room at the other kings. “Before I left for the Council of Essentials, I received a letter from a man in Tolsten. His name is Rommel, and he used to work for King Adler.”
“So?” Marx said, raising an eyebrow. He was in his late twenties and carried an air of arrogance with him everywhere he went, like he believed himself to be the smartest person in the room, no matter what room he was in. In Drake’s opinion, Marx was one of the worst rulers to have ever come out of the kingdom of Cristole, and his reign had only just begun.
Trev pinned his eyes on Marx. “Rommel was the engineer who designed and built all of Adler’s weapons.”
“Why would he reach out to you?” Davin asked. King Davin was in his early thirties and had proven himself to be an innovative ruler for Enderlin and someone Albion could work with and trust.
Trev shrugged. “He heard about my tragic wedding recently, and he assumed Tolsten was behind the shooting. He wants to help us take down Adler and his weapons.”
King Reddick’s expression turned to disbelief. “Why now?” It was no surprise that the king of Appa would be skeptical. There were times he seemed as crooked as King Adler.
“The letter says that after what happened at the wedding, he’s concerned Adler might use the weapons to hurt people, not just for intimidation. It sounds like his guilty conscience is weighing him down,” Trev explained.
“Do we believe that?” Bryant asked.
“Well,” Trev turned over his shoulder, looking briefly at Drake. “My commander—”
“Your very young commander,” Marx cut in.
Drake narrowed his eyes at the king. Marx was only a few years older than him.
“Yes. My young and more than capable commander,” Trev said with a pointed stare aimed at Marx, “has done some research, and what Rommel is saying is true. He was the king’s engineer but was terminated around ten years ago. The letter says that he has the original blueprints for each weapon, and he’s willing to hand them over to us.”
“I don’t understand how blueprints could help us,” King Hilton from Northland said. Northland was so far away; they usually didn’t like getting involved in problems with other kingdoms.
“The blueprints help us know what kind of weapons he has, how many, and, most importantly, how we can detonate them,” Trev said.
