But her feelings didn’t matter now. Drake was gone. He hadn’t even tried to come after her. At the very least, she had thought he would show up sometime after the explosion—that he had cared enough to come after her. Her heart tightened in her chest.
He hadn’t cared enough to come.
“How did your discussion go last week with the soldiers from Albion?” High Ruler Hatch asked.
Myka’s interest piqued with the mention of Drake’s kingdom, and she turned her head to the men.
“Good,” High Ruler Dobson replied. “We spoke briefly while they waited for their commander to be loaded into the transporter. I relayed to the men all the events that had happened and told them that we are more than willing to make peace with their kingdom. They said they would give the message to King Ezra.”
Hatch nodded. “Excellent.” He turned his head to High Ruler McCarren like he was moving on. “What about the Kingdom of Appa? What communication have we—”
“Excuse me.” Myka stepped forward. She tried to wrap her mind around the words that Dobson had said.
“Yes, Your Highness?” Hatch glanced at her.
She turned her focus to Dobson. “What did you say about the commander of Albion?”
Dobson looked flustered. “I don’t know. What did I say?”
She took another step forward. “You said you spoke with the soldiers while the commander was being loaded into the transporter.”
He was dead—that’s where her mind went. A person wasn’t loaded into the back of a transporter unless they were dead.
Drake was dead.
Myka couldn’t breathe.
Dobson looked at the other men. “Yes, the Albion commander involved in the accident.”
He was dead.
Gone from her life forever.
“What accident?” She barely got the words out.
“We were briefed about an accident that happened the night of the explosion involving two operatives who went in pursuit of Stoddard’s transporter,” McCarren said. “I believe you weren’t at Tolsten House when the report came in.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right,” Dobson said.
“What accident?” Myka asked again. Her lungs felt tight, like they needed air, but even with it, she wouldn’t be able to breathe.
“The operatives managed to catch up to the transporter, but there was an accident, and Commander Vestry crashed his PT into a boulder.”
Myka placed her hand over her heart.
“He suffered significant head trauma, and I believe he’s in a medically induced coma while they wait for the swelling in his brain to go down. King Ezra sent a transporter from Albion to pick him up last week.”
Significant head trauma?
“Commander Vestry was here?” Myka asked.
“Yes, he was in the Denton hospital for two weeks right after the accident,” Hatch replied.
Myka gasped, bringing her other hand to her head. If she had known…
“Is he going to live?”
Hatch shrugged. “I imagine he will, but I don’t really know the details.”
“Is everything all right?” McCarren asked. “You look pale.”
She brushed her hair back from her forehead. “I think I need some water.” She nodded at the men. “If you’ll excuse me.”
The High Rulers seemed confused, but nobody tried to stop her as she rushed out of the room. She leaned her back against the wall outside in the hallway.
Drake had come for her.
Maybe not for her, but he had come.
She pushed off the wall and headed for her bedroom.
Myka had to find out if he was okay.
35
Drake
The Kingdom of Albion
“Has he somehow gotten uglier over the last two weeks that he’s been here?” Trev asked.
Drake slowly lifted one eye open and groaned before closing it again. His head pounded, and the lights above him seemed so bright, making everything worse. He tried again, peeking his eyelid open. He must have been dreaming, because somehow, he was back in his room in Albion, and Trev leaned over him, wearing a goofy smile.
“See!” Trev said triumphantly. “I knew he would wake up if I called him ugly.”
“I doubt you had anything to do with it,” Renna said. “He woke up because the doctors weaned him off of his medication.”
Drake eyed them. Everything surrounding them seemed fuzzy. He waved his hand out in front of him, but the action felt sloppy. “Stop staring at me.”
Trev straightened. “He seems to be in a pleasant mood.”
“Drake, how are you feeling?” Renna asked.
Drake brought his hand to his head, speaking in a slurred voice. “Like my skull was run over by a transporter.”
“Good guess,” Trev said.
Renna turned to Trev. “Would you take this seriously? Your best friend was involved in a life-threatening accident and has been in a coma for the last month, and all you want to do is make jokes.”
“I was in a life-threatening accident?” Drake’s eyes widened, or at least they tried to widen. His eyelids felt heavier than they ever had before. “I’ve been in a coma?”
“Yes, I definitely think your way of telling him went much smoother,” Trev said to Renna with a dose of sarcasm.
Drake shook his head, searching for the last thing he remembered. “There was an explosion and a transporter.”
“Yep.” Trev nodded.
“Then gunshots and…” his expression flattened. “Myka got away.”
Trev and Renna glanced at each other.
“Like got away because you didn’t confess your love to her?” Trev asked, squinting his eyes. “Or got away because she escaped your operative mission?”
How did Trev know Drake loved Myka?
“She escaped,” Drake said. His throat felt dry and sticky. “She was in the transporter.”
Trev looked at the doctor standing behind him. Drake was surprised he hadn’t noticed the man yet. He had a fluffy brown beard and hair like a bear.
“Doctor, is this part of the brain trauma?” Trev asked the man.
The doctor shook his head. “We’ll know more when we run some tests.”
Drake tried to sit up, but a swirl of dizziness spun inside his head, sending him back down against his pillow. “Is what part of the brain trauma?”
Trev flicked his eyes back to him. “Princess Myka wasn’t in the transporter you chased.”
“She wasn’t?”
“No.” Trev shook his head. “She was back at Tolsten House working with Rommel and Arco to destroy the weapons.”
“Saving everyone,” Renna added.
Now Drake’s head really hurt. “Myka saved everyone?”
Renna smiled. “She’s basically a hero.”
“Some might even say a legend.” Trev shrugged.
“Yeah,” Renna agreed. “Her name will be honored throughout all seven kingdoms for years to come.”
“Okay, I get it,” Drake said, rubbing his eyes. “Myka saved the day while I crashed my PT and ended up in a coma.”
“It turns out the most effective operative was the one from Tolsten.” Trev looked at Renna. “I don’t know why we even bothered sending the rest of you. Princess Myka singlehandedly completed the mission.”
Drake moved his fingers to the side of his temples. “You guys are giving me a headache.”
“No, I believe the headache is from your accident.” Trev grinned back at him.
Drake dropped his hand so that Trev could see the exact outline of his glare, but a look like that only made Trev grin wider. He sighed. “If Myka wasn’t in the transporter, then who was I chasing?”
“The report from Tolsten House was that Commander Stoddard, the Tolsten House doctor, a nurse, and an unidentified female were in the transporter,” Trev said.
“An unidentified female?” Renna asked. “What does that mean?”
Trev shrugged. “I don’t know. Just tha
t they didn’t know who she was.”
“What happened to Myka?” Drake asked. He didn’t care about the random woman.
Renna gave him a knowing smile. “She’s still in Tolsten, thinking about you.”
What was Renna’s smile all about?
Drake shook his head. “No, the princess hates me.”
“I don’t think she hates you,” Renna said as her eyes darted to Trev. “I think she’s pretending to hate you in some sort of weird lover’s saga.”
Trev’s eyes went wide. “Oooh, yeah. I definitely got that vibe from her letter.”
Drake had never felt more confused in his entire life. “What letter?”
Trev reached behind him, pulling out an envelope with the Tolsten seal on it. “The letter that arrived two days ago from Tolsten House.” He looked down at the paper. “It was addressed to you, but naturally, I read it.”
Drake raised an eyebrow. “You read my letter?”
“What did you expect me to do? I’m the king!” Trev scoffed.
“And you were in a coma,” Renna added.
Trev pointed to his wife. “Yes, there was that.”
Drake reached his arm up, grabbing the envelope from Trev’s hand. His eyes looked over the top of it as his fingers traced the curves of Myka’s handwriting. Commander Drake Vestry.
“We’ll fill you in on all the details of the mission later.” Trev grabbed Renna’s hand. “Right now, you have to figure out more important things.” His eyes dropped to the envelope. He pulled Renna to the door, waiting as the doctor and the nurse filed out first. “Glad you’re okay. We were really worried.” Trev smiled, then closed the door, leaving Drake alone.
Myka wasn’t the enemy. She had somehow become the hero. She had gotten to the weapons and saved the day. The last time they had spoken, Drake had treated her so badly that he doubted there was any way she could forgive him. He had muddied the lines of trust between them and abandoned her when she probably needed him most. Knowing Myka, this wasn’t going to be a love letter. This was going to be hate mail. He pushed the envelope open and unfolded the paper inside, taking a deep breath before he began reading.
To the commander of the Albion army, whom I hate,
Yep.
Hate mail.
Now that the weapons have been safely taken care of (by me), I was wondering if you could kindly return my pink hair scarf. It is mine, after all. Are you well enough to return it to me? I trust that you are, considering the excellent medical care you received in Tolsten during your stay after your accident. You’re welcome, for that. I hope you are still recovering. I’m sure it is hard without Caressing Cora by your side to tend to your wounds. I will be waiting eagerly for your reply so that I can know how my scarf is doing and when I might be able to receive it.
* * *
Sincerely,
Princess Myka
A flutter stirred inside of Drake, and a slow smile spread across his lips. He read her letter again, dissecting the hidden message behind each sentence. Myka would never pass up a chance to tell Drake that she had done something better than him, hence the first sentence in her note. And, of course, she wanted that stupid hair tie back. Drake didn’t even know if he still had it anymore. He’d have to ask Trev where his bag from Tolsten was. He laughed at the part where she mentioned Caressing Cora. Drake thought Myka had been watching them from the bathroom the day Cora had cleaned his wound. The next part of the letter was his favorite, the part where she said she was anxiously waiting for his reply. Myka was worried about him and wanted to know how he was doing but was too prideful to say that. Instead, she had to put her question in code, like she was really worried about her scarf.
Maybe Drake was reading between the lines too much. Maybe Myka really did want her hair tie back. Just in case, his return letter would be written in code as well. He grunted as he leaned over to his nightstand and pulled the drawer open, looking for a piece of paper and a pencil. Drake laughed. Folded neatly inside of his drawer was Myka’s pink scarf and on top of that, the blue ‘Boardwalk’ Monopoly property card that he’d had in his pocket since the day they had played. He smiled. Trev and Renna must have put it there knowing that it was probably the scarf Myka had referred to in the letter. Drake picked up the scarf and the Monopoly card. He had the perfect response.
To the Princess of Tolsten who says ‘you’re welcome’ even when I didn’t thank her,
* * *
Your concern over the scarf is valid. It made its way back to Albion and is doing well. Unfortunately, the scarf means too much to me to part with it. I can, however, send you Boardwalk instead, as I know how distraught you were not to have it. I wish that I could hand this valuable asset to you in person, but I am afraid my recovery will take a few more weeks.
* * *
Sincerely,
Commander Drake Vestry
Drake folded the Monopoly card inside of his letter and smiled.
36
Myka and Drake
To the commander of the Albion army who won’t give back my scarf,
* * *
I appreciate you surrendering Boardwalk to me. I knew I would eventually attain that asset from you. Your timing is impeccable, as I am currently planning on entering the Tolsten election. As you pointed out, there hasn’t been a woman elected queen in over a hundred years. I’m sure my acquisition of Boardwalk will be impressive to Monopoly fanatics throughout my kingdom...all two of them. And just in case you were wondering, I’m not nervous about the election. You are.
* * *
Sincerely,
Princess Myka
To the princess of Tolsten—soon to be the queen of Tolsten—and current owner of Boardwalk,
* * *
I am happy to hear that you have entered the Tolsten election. It seems convenient since you already know your way around Tolsten House and are currently living there. And because you seem to exhibit qualities and behaviors that would make you an excellent leader. I heard a rumor that the old commander of the Tolsten army has escaped and that you are looking to replace him. I took the liberty of attaching my resume to this letter.
* * *
Sincerely,
Commander Drake Vestry
To the overly confident Commander Drake Vestry, who sends me his resume without me even asking for it,
* * *
Commander, while I appreciate your confidence in your skills, I will not be hiring you for that position should I be elected queen, despite your appraisal of my excellent leadership qualities, which you happen to be correct about. I do, however, have some questions concerning your abilities. During our time together, I was able to shoot you, elbow you in the eye, stab you in the neck…and successfully escape. There is a chance that these events speak more to my level of competence than they do to your level of incompetence; nonetheless, your application has been rejected. Perhaps I can find a different role for you at Tolsten House, assuming you are still recovering well.
* * *
Sincerely,
Princess Myka
To the princess who doesn’t want to hire me,
* * *
How kind of you to assume that I wanted to be the commander of your army. I actually was only sending my resume to you as a reference—a standard for you to judge all your candidates by. However, I am interested in hearing about the different roles you might have for me at Tolsten House. Specifically, I am looking for a position where I can demonstrate that I am trustworthy, as that is something that I haven’t been good at in the past but plan to rectify. And to your assumption about my recovery, you will be happy to know that I was released from the medic hall today.
* * *
Sincerely,
Commander Drake Vestry
To the commander who is finally admitting he wasn’t trustworthy,
* * *
I am pleased to hear that you have been released from the medic hall. I have spent my time traveling throughout Tolsten, campaigning for the election
that is coming up in a few weeks. I have enjoyed seeing my kingdom, and the best part is that I didn’t have to ride on a horse tied to you whilst doing so. I’m glad to hear that you are working on your issues. I bet that you have learned your lesson. I am willing to overlook your major character flaws out of the kindness of my heart.
* * *
Sincerely,
Princess Myka
To the princess who has kindness in her heart,
* * *
I appreciate your willingness to overlook my “major” character flaws. Since you are so generous, I would also like to apologize for leaving you alone that night at the camp. I was wrong, and I’m sorry that you had to deal with Dawsick all by yourself. I hope you can overlook that character flaw as well. I bet, if given the chance, I will never leave you again.
* * *
Yours,
Drake
To Drake, who signs his letters saying “yours,” implying that he is “mine,”
* * *
Your apology for that night at camp has been noted. I heard that the operative from New Hope did not survive, and I would like to assure you killing him was not my goal. I thought you should know in case you thought I made a habit out of killing operatives. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to sleep with one eye open the rest of your life. By the way, how have you been sleeping?
The Stolen Princess: A YA Dystopian Romance (Desolation Book 3) Page 29