Page 80 of The Stolen Princess
Blink, she had to remind herself.It’s weird if you don’t blink.
He cleared his throat, turning away, and suddenly the moment was ruined.
She took off her jacket and slung it over the back of the chair, trying not to be disappointed.
“Don’t judge every man based on Dawsick,” he said behind her. “Not everyone is like that.”
“I know.” Myka bit her lip. “You’re not like that.”
Drake sat on the edge of the cot, removing his shoes. Myka stood by the chair, using it as a support.
“Did you mean what you said? Will you kill Dawsick if he touches me again?”
“Probably.” His eyes were hard, and his expression was serious.
They were talking about killing someone, but his hard expression and the way he wanted to protect her felt very romantic.
Kidnapping and romance—what was happening to her?
21
Drake
The next morning, Drake sat silently, eating his breakfast, listening to the crackling fire and the sound of the wind rustling through the trees. He glanced up at Dawsick and the blue bruise tinting his jaw. His nails dug into the palm of his hand. What if he hadn’t gotten to Myka in time? Drake’s mind couldn’t even go there.
The humming sound of a personal transporter filled the camp and everyone turned their heads behind them. It was Kase. He was finally back from Tolsten House. Myka’s blue eyes darted to him. A thousand question lingered behind her gaze—questions that Drake didn’t have the answers to.
Kase slowed the machine to a stop, and the other men stood, walking to greet him. Drake nodded at Myka as he followed after them out of her earshot. The nod was stupid and subtle but it was the best he could do to reassure her.
“That took forever,” Kase said, shaking the helmet off his head.
“Did you get a response?” Winslow asked.
Kase huffed, lifting his lips into a smile. “I got two.”
Drake narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean you got two?”
“I got a response from the king,and…” Kase paused like he was trying to add suspense to his words, “…a response from Commander Stoddard.”
“Why would Commander Stoddard reply?” Portlend asked.
Kase pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket. “Both replies were in the same letter. The one from the king says that he isn’t going to give up the location of the weapons for the princess. He doesn’t care what we do with her.”
Drake’s chin dropped and he looked over at Myka. Her hands wrung together nervously as she watched them. She was going to be heartbroken.
“What did Stoddard’s letter say?” Dawsick asked.
“It saida lot.”Kase held the note out in front of him, and Drake snatched it from his hand. “You can read it out loud.”
Drake looked down at the folded paper, shaking it open. He cleared his throat and began reading, loud enough for the men to hear, but soft enough that Myka couldn’t.
To the men who took Princess Myka,
My name is Commander Stoddard, and I am the commander of the Tolsten army. I have spent the last twenty years in service to King Adler, working under his wicked rule. He was a weapon-obsessed leader, with no consideration for the law and the Council of Essentials. For years, he’s been ignoring the Essentials Treaty and going behind the back of the Council, doing whatever he wanted.
King Adler started a war with Albion that I couldn’t stop. He planned and had Princess Seran assassinated to stop the alliance between New Hope and Albion. And for years, he’s been building and hiding larger-scale weapons so that he could use them against all of the kingdoms and take over the world.But today, King Adler died.
Drake paused, reading that line again in his head, making sure he had gotten it right. Adler was dead. He swallowed, glancing back at Myka. More news that would crush her.
