Page 82 of The Stolen Princess
Portlend nodded. “If we only show her the letter from her father, then maybe she will be so hurt by him, she’ll turn on him and give up some information.”
Drake shook his head. “I really don’t think she’s going to do that.”
“Oh, come on!” Portlend scoffed. “Everyone at camp can see that the princess likes you.”
Did shelikehim? All of this time, Drake had thought that Myka hated him.
“You need to do whatever it takes to get her to trust you. Charm her, woo her. It’s not that hard to figure out,” Winslow said. “Get her to tell you about the weapons.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” Drake asked.
Or if I refuse to do it?
“Then we’ll be forced to take her back to one of our kingdoms and throw her in jail. Interrogate her.” Dawsick smiled. “You know, the usual treatment of a traitor.”
“I don’t know.” Drake bit his lip. “I don’t like this plan.”
“Give it a couple of days,” Grady said. “Let’s see what happens. We don’t have another choice. We can’t hand her over to Stoddard because we don’t know if he’s telling the truth or not.”
“I’ll do it.” Dawsick raised his hand. “Let me be alone with the princess, and I’ll get the information out of her.”
Drake’s fists clenched.
“Myka hates you,” Grady said. “You’re the last person here she would trust.”
“Drake, I don’t know why you are being so difficult.” Portlend looked at him. “Do you want the weapons or not?”
“Of course, I want the weapons,” he snapped.
Kase shrugged. “Then what’s the problem?”
In every other situation in his life, Drake had done whatever he needed to do for Albion, so why was he having such a hard time doing this? If Myka did know where the weapons were, then his hesitation was stupid. She was the enemy, but the problem was, Myka didn’t feel like the enemy. Maybe he could go along with their plan to a point, find out what he could, pivot when he needed to. If Myka divulged the location of the weapons, which Drake doubted she would, then he would’ve done his job. But if she truly didn’t know where they were, then he could protect her, get her out of camp and take her back to Albion before any of the other operatives had a chance to hurt her. This may have started as the Council’s mission, but Drake liked to work alone.
“Fine.” He nodded. “I’ll charm the princess, do what it takes to get her to trust me.”
“Good,” Winslow said. “The rest of us need to act normally. The princess can’t suspect anything. She can’t know about Commander Stoddard’s letter. For now, tell her we’re still coming up with our response to her father’s letter.”
The other men nodded.
“Let’s go show the princess her father’s response, see what happens,” Dawsick said with a smile.
Drake didn’t understand his smile. Myka’s entire world was about to come crashing down, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Myka
Myka was numb. A thousand thoughts flew through her mind. Was her father alive? Was he coming for her? Did he really have weapons to trade?
She sat still—nothing moving but her pounding heart—watching as the six men talked, glancing in her direction every once in a while. She placed her hand on her chest, and her fingers rubbed absentmindedly across her collar bone. It felt like they had been talking forever. Then suddenly, the group of men walked toward her. Each of their footsteps drove into her, increasing her sense of impending doom.
“Myka?” Drake said. “We need to speak with you.”
Well, obviously.
His sobering expression and the formal way he’d addressed her said something was off. She nodded, wiping her hands on her pants even though there was nothing on them.
“What’s going on?” she asked. She looked at Kase. “Did my father send a reply?”
Or did the letter say that the king had died? By the fierce look on Kase’s face, she might have guessed that her father was dead. Or would that information have caused the kidnappersto jump with joy? She didn’t know. Now she was more confused than ever.
