Page 62 of The Stolen Princess
“Oh. When you described her, it sounded like she wasn’t around anymore.”
“She’s not around anymore. She got sick of my father never being home. He was the Commander of the Albion army, and she was alone most of their marriage. She left him when I was about ten and found a new family. I haven’t seen her since.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Drake shook the familiar hurt away. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Is that why you don’t want a serious relationship with a woman?”
He looked up at the ceiling, wondering how his simple question about her mother had turned into them talking about him and his life. He was supposed to be learning about her. He nodded. “Yeah. I don’t plan on making the same mistakes as my father. It’s not worth it.”
They lay in silence, and just when Drake thought Myka wouldn’t say anything else she opened her mouth to speak.
“My mother was flawless,” she said, surprising him. “She was classy and always put together. She could work a ballroom like a pro, making everyone in the room feel like they were special to her. And every night, she would come and tuck me in, no matter what. She would lean over me and tell me stories, letting me play with her long black hair. It’s weird how my mother, who never missed a night of tucking me in, was okay with leaving me. It shows how selfish she was—how she cared more about herself than she did about my dad and me.” Myka sucked in a breath, gathering a new sense of strength from the air. “We’re better off without her.”
Myka’s voice cracked, making it impossible for Drake to believe her. The air around them thickened like it was infused with a new feeling, something they hadn’t shared in any previous conversations.
He closed his eyes.
Pine nuts. He was doing this for pine nuts. That was the only reason.
15
Drake
The golden sun drifted through the windows, and Drake could tell by the shadows that they had slept later than he had intended. He turned his head to the side and found himself inches apart from Myka’s sleeping face. It had been a conscious decision in the middle of the night to flip his body around the same direction as hers. But, at the time, his only thought had been to free himself from her wild limbs so he could get some rest. Now the position seemed dangerous.
Her even breaths tickled his neck as his eyes carefully scanned her face like studying her was illegal. The relaxed expression she wore softened her features, giving her a look of innocence that probably didn’t exist.
The princess was beautiful. Anyone would say that. A faint pattern of freckles dotted her cheeks and under her eyes, spreading across the bridge of her nose. The freckles were so light that Drake could only see them when he was close to her. Usually, Drake stood a full head taller than her, even when her hair was in a bun on top of her head, but lying down, they were lined up evenly. Was she as dangerous as her father? In some ways, it felt like she was evenmoredangerous than Adler. In the short time that Drake had known her, a restless feeling had settled in his stomach. Myka put everything inside of him on edge, and he couldn’t relax.
This is a job, he reminded himself.
She was a naive princess blessed with a pretty face and the pawn they needed to get Adler’s weapons.
Her eyes fluttered open and immediately widened when she saw Drake’s face inches from hers.
Oh, no!
She kicked and shoved his body away, but there was no more space on the cot. Drake rolled, crashing to the floor, landing hard on his back. The rope tangled around and under his body, pulling her down with him so that her stomach landed flush on his chest.
“Get off me!” she yelled as she squirmed, pushing against his chest.
“You’re on top of me!” he said with his palms up.
Her efforts to get off of Drake were in vain. It was like the rope was attacking them. Myka began slapping his shoulders as if it was his fault that they were lying on top of each other with their limbs tangled together. He wrapped his arms around her back and used the force of his body to roll them both over so he was on top. Myka grabbed his arms, letting out a squeal as they rolled.
Drake stared down at her crystal blue eyes, momentarily forgetting everything. He couldn’t account for his sudden heavy breaths. It’s not like he had just finished doing a set of pull-ups, but his heart raced like he had. Her breathing matched his own, and without thinking, his eyes glanced to her lips.
That was a mistake.
He had no intention to kiss her.
Her knee jammed into his groin for the second time in less than twelve hours, and he rolled off her, buckling over in pain.
“Are you...trying to make it...so I can never go to the bathroom again?” His words were broken up by pain.
“I told you that rope would be a problem,” she said in between her own heavy breaths.
