The Stolen Princess: A YA Dystopian Romance (Desolation Book 3)

by Kortney Keisel

  Drake didn’t want that kind of life.

  He didn’t want to be thinking about Myka for the rest of his life.

  He wanted to be with her.

  No matter how much he tried to fight it, he wanted Myka in his life.

  Drake stood up. He looked behind him. “Where is everybody? Has anyone checked on Myka?”

  “Winslow’s washing his clothes down by the river,” Portlend said, not looking up from whipping the eggs. “And I don’t know where Dawsick is. I haven’t seen him yet.”

  “I think he took the princess to the bathroom,” Kase said. “Because when I walked past her shack, the chains were already off.”

  Drake tensed. He didn’t like the idea of Myka alone with Dawsick. Concern touched his brow. What if Dawsick had hurt her? He never should have left her alone. “I better go check on them.”

  “I’m sure Dawsick’s fine,” Grady muttered.

  “Dawsick isn’t the one I’m worried about.”

  Drake walked through the trees calling out their names.

  When he couldn’t find them in the woods, Drake picked up his pace. “They aren’t out there,” he said to the men around the fire as he rushed by.

  “Relax,” Kase said. “They are probably in the shack.”

  Drake threw open the shack door, glancing around. Dawsick lay face up on Myka’s cot. His eyes were open, but they were hollow. His mouth gaped, and a trail of dried throw-up went from his lips down to his shoulder.

  Drake hurried to his side. “Dawsick!” he called out, shaking him, but he didn’t move. His skin was cold and pale.

  He was dead.

  Drake spun around, looking for clues. On the table was an orange medicine bottle with the name of a drug he’d never heard of. The last sentence stood out to him. Do not mix with alcohol. He set the bottle down, looking over the room until he saw a tin cup. He bent down, picking it up. It smelled of alcohol, and Drake knew what had happened. What Myka had done. He hadn’t been there when she’d needed him the most, and he hated himself for it.

  He barreled out the front of the shack, shouting to the other men, “She’s gone!”

  “What?” Portlend said.

  “Dawsick is dead, and the princess is gone.”

  “What?” The men around the fire stood.

  Drake checked his horse. The stallion was still there. Behind him, Grady and Kase rushed to the shack, looking over Dawsick’s body while Portlend ran to the river, calling out for Winslow.

  Drake walked past all the other shacks, checking their horses. All of them were accounted for. Then he came to the end where Kase’s personal transporter had been parked.

  He closed his eyes. A sinking feeling wrapped around him.

  He turned over his shoulder, looking out to the distance.

  “Where did you go, Myka?”

  27

  Myka

  The afternoon sun lowered in the sky as Myka rode aggressively on. She was almost to Tolsten House. She didn’t know what to expect or how to handle Commander Stoddard and his lies. Why would he say that her father had told her where the weapons were?

  Her mind went over the last few days she had spent with her father. Everything had been normal. There hadn’t been any hidden conversations or clues that he was trying to tell her something. Even their last morning together had been as normal as could be expected from someone with a high fever. He had been delusional, reminiscing about all the times they had played together in the woods.

  Her heart stopped, and her hands gripped the handlebars.

  The woods.

  Her father had said he needed to tell her something. He had said to never forget the woods. Was he trying to tell her that that was where the weapons were? Her mind exploded with a thousand memories of waiting in the woods for her father to come. He had always come from the same direction. Never from Tolsten House. It hadn’t seemed odd to Myka back then, but now it all made sense. He had come back from somewhere in the woods. That’s where the weapons had to be. She had thought that she had scoured the woods, growing up at Tolsten House. How could she have missed them? And if she did know where they were, what was she going to do about it?

  She turned the PT, heading for Rommel and Joett’s house. If she was about to stumble upon deadly weapons, she was going to need some help, and Rommel was the only person she could trust.

  An hour later, Myka knocked hard on Rommel and Joett’s door. Her heart pounded, and she felt breathless.

  The door opened.

  “Myka?” Joett’s eyes shot up in surprise as she looked over her disheveled hair, dirt-ridden face, and strange clothes. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

  “Drake and the other operatives kidnapped me. They’ve been holding me hostage for the last week, and I finally escaped last night.” That was a lot of information to throw at someone. Judging by the look on Joett’s face, she probably should have started with a simple hello.

  Rommel came from the kitchen, swinging the door open wider. “The operatives kidnapped you?” He reached out, dragging her into a hug. “How could they? Are you all right?” He pulled back to get a better look at her.

  “I’m okay.”

  He wrapped her in his arms again. “What happened?”

  Myka shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m home.”

  He patted the back of her head. “You are home, sweetie. This is where you belong.”

  Myka cried in Rommel’s arms for what seemed like forever. When she finally pulled back, his own fresh tears rolled down his face, disappearing into his white beard.

  “I promise we had no idea they were going to do that.” His pleading voice told Myka that what he’d said was true.

  “I know. Drake told me that.”

  Joett pulled her to the couch. “We would never do that to you.”

  Myka looked at Rommel. “Drake said that you were helping him get the weapons.”

  “I was, but I never would have helped them if I had known it would put you in danger. I thought that they would go after King Adler or the weapons. Not you.”

  Myka nodded. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to have a few people in her life whom she could still trust. “Why didn’t you guys tell me about my father and the weapons?”

  Joett sighed. “You love your father so much. We couldn’t ruin that relationship. Maybe we should have told you. We didn’t know what to do or how to handle the situation.”

  “We can tell you the whole story now if you want,” Rommel said.

  Myka nodded. “I want to know about the weapons.”

  Rommel seemed timid to answer her, but the slight nod from Joett pushed him that last little bit. “Your father has produced and stockpiled illegal weapons, and he has used them against his own people.”

  That much she already knew.

  “And what was your involvement with them?” she asked.

  “Do you know why I was fired?”

  She shook her head. She had asked plenty of people at Tolsten House, and no one could tell her. Or would tell her.

  “I was your father’s top mechanical engineer. Ten years ago, before the Council of Essentials, your father came to me with an idea. He wanted me to design some blueprints for weapons of mass destruction like they had had before Desolation. He wanted to present the blueprints at the Council so that they could be deemed essential. At first, I was hesitant. We all knew that weapons of mass destruction were a big part of Desolation. Building new ones was like playing with fire. But I convinced myself that the Council would never approve them, so what was the big deal with making the blueprints? I liked the challenge. I wanted to see if I could really do it. So I made the designs, and your father took them to the Council of Essentials.”

  “But they weren’t approved,” Myka said.

  “No, but that didn’t stop your father from making the weapons. At first, Adler said he wanted to make a prototype, something he could work on and perfect for the next Council of Essentials. So I did it.
I made him the most beautiful and deadly missile. Then he wanted more. He wanted me to draft plans for bigger missiles, smaller ones, explosives of every kind. In truth, it was an exciting project to work on. It challenged me, and I liked thinking I was creating something that hadn’t been done for over two hundred years. Your father is a master manipulator. You’ve seen it yourself. He stroked my ego, and at the end of the day, my need to be the smartest and best engineer won over my logic.” He paused and looked at Joett. She reached out, squeezing his hand as if he needed some added strength for the next part. “Then your father used the weapons against a village.”

  Cora’s village.

  Myka pulled in a ragged breath. How could her father have been so cruel? It was a completely different side to him than the one she had known.

  “When I found out, I told Adler that I refused to make or design anything else. He threatened to kill me. He didn’t need me anymore. He had all my blueprints, and he thought he could find another engineer whom he could pay off to help him create more.”

  “But he didn’t kill you. You were fired.” Myka said the words so low she wasn’t even sure if she had said them out loud.

  “I’m smart.” He pointed to his brain like she had seen him do a hundred times before. “I didn’t complete the design. I didn’t finish the computer that would launch them into the air. Right now, they are only stationary bombs.” He looked at Joett again. “Since then, I’m sure your father has found some other genius who completed the computer mechanism, but just in case, he keeps me alive. I’ve been constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for the day King Adler would kill me or drag me back to Tolsten House to finish what I started ten years ago.”

  “Why didn’t you both leave? Run away to another kingdom?”

  Joett ran her hand over Myka’s hair. She looked at her with glossy eyes. “We couldn’t leave you.”

  Myka’s eyes filled with her own tears. “You stayed for me?”

  “Of course. We love you.”

  It was nice to be loved.

  Joett placed her hand on top of hers. “Myka, honey. I know all of this is hard for you to hear. I know you love your father. He can still be a good father despite all the horrible things he’s done.”

  She shook her head, refusing to cry. “It’s too late. My father’s dead.”

  Joett gasped, cupping her mouth. “Oh honey, are you okay?”

  Myka straightened. “I will be, but I need your help,” she said, looking straight at Rommel. “I think I know where the weapons are.”

  His eyes widened. “I thought nobody but your father knew that.”

  “He told me before he died.” She stood. “It’s time to get rid of the weapons once and for all.”

  28

  Drake

  Drake and the other four operatives pulled the reins on their horses, slowing to a stop in the middle of the village. Since he’d discovered Dawsick’s body earlier that morning, Drake had been a mess. He should have been there protecting Myka. Instead, he had slept in the bomb shelter a mile away from her. Even though she had kicked him out, he could have at least slept on the dirt outside her shack, guarding the door. He could have prevented Dawsick from coming to her. Drake hated that he didn’t know what had happened between them last night. She’d proven that she could take care of herself, but that didn’t stop the feeling that was shaking him up inside.

  Cora rushed to his side with a smile. “Commander Vestry, we weren’t expecting you today.”

  He tied the horse up to the post and grabbed his things. “We’re only here to switch the horses out for personal transporters.” He walked with purpose to the old shed where they had left their PTs and pulled the metal door aside.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to eat something?” Cora asked.

  “No. We’re headed to Tolsten House, and we’re in a hurry.” Drake opened the PT’s compartment and shoved his belongings inside.

  “I’ll be so happy to get back on a PT,” Grady said, coming into the shed behind him.

  Drake barely glanced up at him. His toe nudged the kickstand back, and he swung his leg over the leather seat, feeling urgency flow through him. He needed to find Myka and make sure she was okay.

  He turned the engine on and nodded at Cora. Her expression fell, and she stepped back as he peeled out of the shed. Knowing that he had already left, the other four men would hurry and leave too. By midnight, they would arrive in Denton. He had Myka’s map of Tolsten House, and he planned to use it to get inside. All he had to do was get word to Arco.

  29

  Myka

  That evening, Myka drove up to the front gates of Tolsten House with Rommel and Joett following behind in their wagon. Tolsten soldiers stepped forward as her personal transporter skidded to a stop.

  The first guard, with long hair tied back into a ponytail, strode forward. “These gates are locked,” he said, holding up the palm of his hand while his other hand went to his gun.

  Myka lifted her chin. “Officer Nokes, would you lock out your princess?”

  The man squinted his eyes, leaning forward and shining his hand light into their faces to get a better look. His eyes widened in recognition, and he bowed. “Princess Mykaleen, how did you get out of the grounds?”

  Her brows bent. Didn’t these men know she’d been kidnapped? “What are you talking about? I’ve been gone for a week.”

  Nokes and the other guard, Pollock, exchanged looks with each other. “Your father didn’t tell us.”

  “My father?” she questioned.

  “Yes, the king hasn’t mentioned anything about you being gone.”

  These men clearly didn’t know that the king had died. Myka had assumed that it was public knowledge, since Stoddard had mentioned it in the letter. Or…maybe the entire letter from Stoddard was a lie, a way to trick her captors into giving her up. Maybe her father wasn’t dead after all. A mix of hope and anxiousness stirred inside of her. If her father was still alive, then she could confront him face to face about his lies. But did she want to?

  She took in a deep breath. “Open the gates.”

  The two guards eyed Rommel and Joett behind her in their wagon. “Commander Stoddard said no one enters the premises without his permission. Your friends are going to have to wait out here.”

  Myka leveled the soldiers with her gaze. “Commander Stoddard isn’t in charge here. King Adler is, and if you don’t let in my dearest friends, then I will personally see to it that both of you are removed from your positions in the army. Is that what you want?”

  “But the commander—”

  “I don’t care what the commander said. Open the gates!”

  The men hesitated for a moment, then nodded. The other guard rushed behind the small building and pushed the button, releasing the gate, while Officer Nokes moved aside so they could get through.

  Myka drove down the long driveway that led to Tolsten House. Its stone walls looked beautiful and majestic. The main part of the house had simple architecture, squared off and flat, but as the years had gone by and new kings and queens began to rule, Tolsten House had been added onto several times. Additions jutted out from each side of the main house with pop outs, stone pillars, balconies, and large windows. Spotlights from the roof shone down onto the stone, illuminating it as the sun faded behind them.

  As soon as she slowed the PT to a stop, the front double doors opened. Commander Stoddard stepped out, wearing the slimy smile Myka hated.

  “Princess Mykaleen, what a surprise. We’ve been so worried about you.”

  “I doubt that,” she said, glaring at him, “since you didn’t have any of your soldiers out looking for me. The guards at the front didn’t even know I was missing.”

  Stoddard laughed, something fake that he’d probably been rehearsing for years. “Why would we tell the front guards that you were gone? We didn’t want to alarm anyone.”

  “I’m sure,” she said.

  “Did your captors let you go?”

&
nbsp; She lifted her chin. “I escaped.”

  His eyebrows went up in surprise. “Really? So should we expect some retaliation?”

  “You should, for your response to them.”

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

  Myka’s voice rose. “I’m talking about the letter full of lies that you sent.”

  “Was it full of lies? Or was it the truth?”

  Myka’s father had told her where the weapons were, but she hadn’t known that at the time.

  “I want you out of Tolsten House tonight. Gone from my life.”

  Stoddard gave a nervous smile, looking around. “Perhaps, we should talk about this inside.” He glanced behind her at Rommel and Joett, and his eyes widened. “Is that Rommel?”

  Myka turned her head over her shoulder. “Yeah, it is, and he’s coming with me.” She walked toward the door, stopping right in front of Stoddard. He was only a few inches taller than her. “Is my father still alive?”

  His gray eyes seemed to gloat. “No.”

  She swallowed and moved past him, heading for the living room. Stoddard, Rommel, and Joett followed after her. A servant closed the door behind them.

  Stoddard raised a brow. “Rommel, I'm very interested to see what brings you to Tolsten House after all these years.”

  “I’m here to support Myka,” Rommel said, moving to the side of the room.

  “How interesting,” he said, his gray eyes darkening. “I didn’t know that you and Myka were such good friends.”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know,” Rommel said.

  Joett stood silent next to him, holding onto her husband’s arm.

  Myka folded her arms across her chest, facing the commander. The man standing in front of her was no match for Albion’s commander. Drake looked the part. He was tall, broad, fearless, confident, nothing like Stoddard.

  “I’m releasing you from your duties as commander of the army,” she said.