Page 81 of The Stolen Princess
“Keep going,” Winslow said.
Drake nodded, continuing.
Adler wasn’t going to give the weapons up to you. He wrote that letter before he died. But now that King Adler is dead, we need to make sure that his deadly weapons don’t fall into the wrong hands. We need to find the weapons and destroy them. Myka is the only one who knows where the weapons are. King Adler told her the location before you kidnapped her.
Drake tensed his jaw, and his body straightened. There was no way this could be true.
Turn her in, bring her to Tolsten House, and we can work together to make sure that she discloses the location to us all so that we can finally get rid of them.
I’m not your enemy. I want to live in a world where we don’t have to live in fear that someone will start another Desolation. Let me help you make that a reality.
We can take down the princess together.
Commander Stoddard
Drake looked up at the other men, unsure how to respond.
“Do we believe Stoddard?” Grady asked.
“He’s bluffing,” Portlend said. “He must have a plan of his own, a way he thinks he’s going to get the princess back. Maybe the king isn’t even dead. Maybe this double letter is a trick.”
“He might be telling the truth,” Kase shrugged.
Drake felt like he needed to refute Stoddard’s letter, because if the commander was telling the truth, that meant Myka hadn’t been. “There is no way we can trust Stoddard. He’s been Adler’s right-hand man for his entire reign. If Stoddard thought Adler was such a bad king, why did he stay with him?”
“I agree,” Portlend said. “According to King Davin, Commander Stoddard is just as bad as King Adler was.”
“Then let’s put the pressure on Commander Stoddard,” Dawsick said. “Let’s send one more letter with a deadline. If the king or Stoddard or whoever is in charge doesn’t meet our demands within five days, the princess dies.”
Drake gave Dawsick a sharp look. “We’re not going to kill the princess.”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Dawsick threw his hands out. “He had no problem killing Princess Seran.”
Drake’s throat went dry. “If we kill the princess, then we’re no better than Adler.”
“What if Stoddard is telling the truth? What if the princess does know the location of the weapons? We can’t kill her until we have that information,” Kase said.
“That’s true,” Winslow agreed. “We need to get the location out of her before Stoddard does in case he really isn’t on our side.” He turned to Drake. “How are things going between you and the princess?”
Drake’s brows bent. “What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about the stupid bet you made with Grady,” Winslow said. “Where are you on that?”
Drake swallowed. “I’m close. I think she finally believes that her father has weapons and that he had something to do with Seran’s assassination.”
“This is no longer just a silly bet,” Winslow said. “We need answers, and we need them fast. Our entire mission depends on it.”
Drake rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t like where the conversation was headed.
Winslow’s eyes went wide. “Forget about whether or not the princess tells you about her father’s illness. We need her to admit to you that she knows where the weapons are.”
“I don’t even believe Stoddard’s letter,” Drake said. “I don’t think the princess knows where the weapons are.”
“We need to assume she does,” Kase said. “And we have to do everything in our power to get the information out of her.”
Drake shrugged. “She’s not going to tell me, especially if her father is dead.”
“We aren’t going to tell her about her father,” Winslow said. “And we’re not going to tell her anything about Stoddard’s letter.”
