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

by Kortney Keisel

  “You took a long time opening the door,” he said, smiling at her as he chewed.

  She rolled her shoulders back. “I meant to. I thought it would be a nice touch.”

  “It was,” he said as he threw another pine nut into his mouth. “Great build up, excellent anticipation.”

  “How did you get in?” she asked, leaning her hip against the counter.

  “Someone showed me where the key was.” He shrugged. “Under the second stone.”

  “You should be more careful. I might have mistaken you for a thief. I could have shot you.”

  He smiled. “But my letter said, don’t shoot so…”

  “So that was the hint?”

  “Yes.”

  Myka walked toward him, stopping right in front of him. She eyed him as her hand reached inside the bag of pine nuts. “What brings you to Tolsten?” she asked, throwing a nut in her mouth. She didn’t even like pine nuts, but she thought the action made her seem relaxed.

  Drake seemed relaxed. He could be getting the world’s best back massage, he was so relaxed. The palm of his hand rested against the table, and his brown eyes danced with absolute pleasure.

  “My king sent me,” he said.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Are you the only man in Albion who is fit to travel to Tolsten, because you are the only one the king ever seems to send?”

  He smiled again. He really needed to stop doing that—stop being so dang charming.

  “I had a vested interest in coming.”

  “Really?” She raised her eyebrows. “Vested Drake Vestry.”

  His lips twitched. “Is that a new nickname?”

  “Possibly. I’m trying it out.”

  “I think I like it better than Mr. Grabby Hands,” he said.

  “I guess it depends on the situation.” Myka smiled. “But you don’t get to decide.”

  He set the bag of pine nuts down and hopped off the table, standing right in front of her, and everything inside of her toppled out of control. He closed the gap between them like his body couldn’t stand being apart from hers.

  “So you’re a queen now?”

  She lifted her chin. “That’s right.”

  “Queen Mykaleen,” he said, dragging out the leen part. “I like how that rolls off the tongue.”

  Of course, he would.

  “It’s actually Queen Myka. Only Albion royalty like rhyming names.”

  His lips jerked. “I see.”

  “And you’re still the commander of the Albion army?”

  “Maybe.” Drake took another step forward, torturing her with his proximity. “It kind of depends on how the next couple of minutes go.”

  She bit back her smile. “How would you like the next couple of minutes to go?”

  Drake tilted his head down to hers. “Do you want me to tell you or show you?” His voice was deep and husky, reverberating off of her, and Myka held her breath so she could hear every nuance of it.

  She lifted her eyes to him. “I’m kind of a visual person, so maybe you’d better show me.”

  Slowly, Drake reached out, slipping his hand behind her back. A shaky breath escaped from her lips as his warm touch pressed against the small of her back.

  “What I would like to do is to pull you closer,” Drake said as the palm of his hand pulled her body toward his. An intense feeling soaked up her heart as the space between them closed. His free hand swept across the side of her face, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Her breath turned sharp as his head bent down and he whispered in her ear. “Then I would want to tell you how beautiful you are.” Hot breaths tickled every nerve in her body as he spoke. “The queen version in a dress and the version right now in pants and t-shirt. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  Myka’s breath was hung-up somewhere inside of her chest as she listened to each word. Drake had never said anything like that to her before. He’d kissed her, so obviously he was somewhat attracted to her, but to hear that he thought she was beautiful sent a thrill through her body. Ever since the day they had met, Drake had stolen her breath. It was only fair that he felt the same way about her. There needed to be some equality in the relationship.

  “This is all good stuff,” she said. Slowly she placed her arms around his neck. “Would it be okay if my arms wrapped around you. Or would that ruin your vision of how this was supposed to go?”

  “I could live with that,” he said, nodding.

  “Then what?” she asked.

  “Well, next I’d probably dive right into my big speech.”

  “Have you practiced it in front of a mirror?” she asked.

  His lips turned upward into one of his cocky smiles. “Nah, I got this.”

  “Okay,” Myka nodded. “I’m ready for it.”

  Drake smiled. “You’re a handful, Mykaleen Adler, but I kind of like that about you. I like how at any given moment of the day, I don’t know what you’ll do or say next. You’re funny, and sometimes you don’t even try—it’s just natural. You don’t pretend to be something you’re not. You’re unapologetically yourself in the best way. I like that you’re brave and bold and daring. And,” he paused, “I like how you don’t need me to rescue you, but you’ll let me anyway.” He shook his head. “I know you’re way out of my league and that you deserve someone better than me, but I can’t help it. I love you. I love your craziness, and your goodness, and your strength.” His hands moved to her cheeks. “I’ve missed you so much. I haven’t been myself since we’ve been apart. It’s like I can’t live without you, and I don’t want to live without you. You’re worth every price I’ll have to pay, everything I’ll have to give up, every plan that is now wrecked. It’s worth it. You’re worth it.”

  Myka leaned her forehead against his, smiling bigger than she ever had in her whole life. “That was a good speech,” she said. “Like, really good. Are you sure you didn’t practice it in the mirror?”

  Drake pulled back so she could see his glimmering eyes. “That was from the heart.”

  “Well, anything I say now will just sound stupid.”

  “I know.” He shrugged. “Compared to that, your ‘I love you’ speech will be mediocre at best.”

  “Who says I love you?” she asked, raising her brows.

  His lips curled into a smile. “I bet you do.”

  She tilted her head. “You’re good at bets.”

  “I’ve had some practice.”

  “Okay, you win,” she smiled. “I love you.”

  He laughed. “That’s it? That’s the speech? You’re not even going to try to say something romantic like I did?”

  She shook her head. “Your ego is already so big.”

  He laughed again. “You really know how to bring a man to his knees, don’t you?”

  “If you must know,” she said, “I think you are the most incredible man I’ve ever met. I love how confident you are. How you fight for everything that is good. You hold yourself to a high standard. It’s impressive. You’re a great listener and friend. I feel like I can tell you anything, and you’ll be there for me in whatever way I need. You’re kind…even to prisoners.” Drake grimaced, making Myka smile. “You’re a gentleman even when I don’t want you to be, you’re an excellent kisser, and you are extremely handsome, like next level stuff.”

  Drake’s smile widened.

  “Was that romantic enough for you?” she asked.

  He nodded, slowly pulling her closer. Desire was written across his face, and Myka hoped it never went away. She hoped Drake looked at her like that for the rest of her life—that this fire between them burned hot enough to last. He glanced at her mouth and she tilted her head up, expecting his lips on hers, but instead they hovered close, torturing her with anticipation.

  What was this control he possessed?

  His lips brushed against hers, skimming the smooth curves of her mouth before they took them completely. The kiss was slow and satisfying. Meaningful and charged with endearment. Every sensati
on inside of her body met together for the softest and most exquisite explosion of her life. Her hands trembled against his chest and she felt his heartbeat transfer from his body to hers, beating all the way down to her toes.

  Happiness, love, desire, and passion swirled inside of her as his lips continued to move with hers. The feelings were strong like she hadn’t had access to their full potential before this moment. Her fingers glided through his hair at his neck, pulling him closer, intensifying the kiss between them. His hands pulled her to him, kissing her like he never intended to let her go.

  But he did let go.

  “Myka Adler, where did you learn to kiss like that?” he asked through rough breaths.

  She smiled. “Old ’n Slow Winslow.”

  Drake pulled apart from her, laughing. “Thank you for that visual. That was the bucket of ice-cold water I needed.”

  Her arms reached out, tugging him back to her. “I was kidding!”

  His hands brushed her hair back from her face, and his nose scrunched. “You’re kind of strange.”

  The corner of her mouth lifted. “In a good way or a bad way?”

  Drake pressed his lips to her forehead. “In a way that I completely adore.”

  She shrugged against him. “Well, you did say you love me.”

  “And I meant it. I’m never going to let you go again.”

  “Are you still trying to get the job as commander of my army? Because that position has been filled.”

  Drake smiled, shaking his head. “No, my sights are set a little higher than commander.”

  “Oh, you want to be king, do ya?” she teased.

  “No, you’re the queen. You don’t need someone ruling beside you. I just want to be the man in the shadows, witnessing every single thing you do.”

  “I did look over your resume, and it’s impressive. You are way too valuable to be in the shadows.” She sighed. “I don’t want to rule alone. So I was thinking—”

  Drake quickly lifted his fingers to her mouth. “Stop talking!”

  Her brows creased together and she tried to mumble against his fingers.

  “Mykaleen Adler, I’ve known since the day I met you that you were in charge, and I’m fine with that, but there are some things that I want to be in charge of. I want to be the one who proposes to you. Can you at least let me have that?”

  She nodded and his fingers dropped.

  She stared up at him, expectantly.

  Drake’s expression dropped. “Oh, did you think I was going to propose now?”

  Real smooth, Myka.

  “Uh…no!”

  Bring it back.

  “Of course, not!” she laughed, the psycho laugh she wasn’t proud of.

  She cleared her throat, dropping her eyes to her pants like they suddenly needed some kind of smoothing out.

  “Myka?”

  “Yes,” she said, flipping her head back up.

  Drake held out a gold ring with a large ruby in the center of it.

  She smiled.

  “I was going to wait,” he said. “It seemed like we had a lot to unpack between us—”

  “Like clothes?”

  “No!” he groaned. “Like emotionally, but apparently neither one of us cares about that right now. So—”

  “I mean, I care about that. I’ll probably hang that bet over your head for the rest of your life.”

  Drake nodded. “I could see you doing that.”

  “Every time you do something wrong I’ll—”

  “Myka! Would you let me finish?”

  She rolled her hand out in front of her for him to carry on.

  “Like I was saying,” he laughed. “I’m not going to wait. I don’t want to spend another moment not being yours.” He shrugged. “Because I’m yours, Myka. If you’ll have me.” Drake got down on one knee, holding the ring out in front of her. “Mykaleen Adler, the best version of myself is when I’m with you. Please say that you’ll marry me.”

  She stood there, frozen, staring back at this handsome man who loved her. She had no one else, but she didn’t need anyone else as long as she had Drake Vestry.

  His chin slowly dipped down and his brown eyes peered up at her. “Myka, if you have to take this long to answer, maybe I should’ve waited to ask you.”

  “Oh...No! I mean yes! You told me not to interrupt so I was waiting for you to finish.”

  “Usually, when the man says, will you marry me, that’s the end.”

  “Well, you didn’t phrase it like that.”

  “Myka! Will. You. Marry. Me?”

  She lifted her chin. “Geez, if you’re going to beg like that, I guess I have to.”

  Drake shook his head, sucking in through his nose. “You’re going to drive me crazy for the rest of my life, aren’t you?”

  She smiled. “You’ll love it.”

  “I’ll love you.” He stood up and slipped the ring down the length of her finger. “I’ll love every part of you.”

  Then he pulled her in for another mind-blowing kiss.

  Epilogue

  Commander Stoddard

  The Kingdom of Cristole

  Winter 2060

  Stoddard paced back and forth across the rented room at the Cristole City Inn. His eyes darted to the patient. Her body was sprawled out across the smaller mattress. An empty tube went from her arm to the IV pole next to her bed. The clear bag that hung on the pole was also empty, taunting him. Every once in a while, the girl would toss and turn her body like she was having some sort of bad dream.

  “If Nurse Edmay doesn’t get here soon, she’s going to wake up,” Doctor Von said. His back was pressed against the wall, next to the patient’s bed.

  “She’ll make it back,” Stoddard snapped.

  “We ran out of the pentobarbital thirty minutes ago. If we don’t add more medicine to her IV soon, she’ll wake up.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Stoddard yelled. He wiped the sweat gathering on his brow. How had his plan gone so wrong? How had incompetent Princess Mykaleen beaten him? No, not Princess Mykaleen. Queen Mykaleen, now. He let out a deep breath, looking over at the girl. This wasn’t over. He still had the most valuable weapon in his possession. He could use her and come back even stronger. As long as she didn’t wake up right now.

  “I can’t believe this happened!” Doctor Von said, fidgeting with the side of his half-moon glasses. “Our entire plan is ruined. Compromised!” He folded his arms, looking down at the girl. “All my work of the last year will be destroyed.”

  “Settle down,” Stoddard barked.

  “I can’t settle down.” The doctor glared at him. “If Adler had been alive, none of this would’ve happened. The plan would have gone on as usual. I never should have trusted you.”

  Stoddard rolled his eyes. “Who else were you going to trust, if not me?”

  Doctor Von shook his head, looking away.

  The patient groaned beside him, lifting her hand to her head. “Dad?”

  The doctor straightened, and his eyes went wide. “Commander, what are we going to do?” There was a sense of panic to his voice that had rubbed off on Stoddard. “If she wakes up, she’ll remember everything.”

  Stoddard slammed the palm of his hand up against the wall. “Where is that nurse?” he yelled. “We sent her to Cristole Castle over an hour ago for more medicine. She should be back by now!”

  “Dad?” the girl groaned again. “Are we back in New Hope?”

  Both men froze, not knowing what to do.

  The door to the room opened and Nurse Edmay rushed in with another bag of pentobarbital in her hands.

  Had she gotten here too late?

  The girl lifted her eyelids, rolling her head around. “Is the wedding over?”

  “Nurse Edmay, help me!” The doctor said, grabbing the medicine from her and stringing it onto the IV pole.

  “I don’t want to marry Ezra,” the girl whimpered, closing her eyes again. “Don’t make me marry him, Daddy.”

&nbs
p; Stoddard sat stunned with eyes wide.

  Was his entire plan going to be ruined again—this time by a different princess?

  The End

  I hope you enjoyed Drake and Myka’s story. I love hearing what readers liked most about a story, so don’t forget to leave a review and tell me.

  If you’d like to learn about future books and read sneak peeks, sign up for my newsletter. Stay connected with me at www.kortneykeisel.com, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest

  Also by Kortney Keisel

  Book 1

  The king hired her to find him a wife. She fell for him instead.

  * * *

  Marriage is the only thing that can save King Davin’s most-hated reputation. And to make things worse, Davin hired the one girl he’s most attracted to, but her social class makes her an impossible choice for his future.

  * * *

  Emree Dutson has one goal: raise the king’s approval ratings so she can get a permanent job at the castle. Falling in love with the king wasn’t part of the job description. Now her feelings for him are ruining everything.

  * * *

  Will Davin risk his crown for love?

  Book 2

  He’s promised to another. She’s promised to forget him.

  * * *

  Eighteen-year-old Renna Degray is hopeful about love and her future after a chance encounter with a handsome stranger. Until she discovers who the mysterious man is—the Prince of Albion, betrothed to Renna’s stepsister. Now Renna must try to keep her feelings for the prince in check. But he’s not making it easy. The prince is charming, funny, and impossible not to fall for.