Chapter 5
A re you sure this is a good idea?”
Bink cast a disgusted smirk toward the human he was beginning to wish he’d never met. “You’re supposed to be a dragon slayer, Fort. Act like you have a set of balls between your legs.”
Instead, the whiny, shriveled human rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. Just under average height for a male, he had a bloated face and boorish features more akin to an ogre than human. Bink had known the moment Fort had shown up with a dragon’s head that he hadn’t won it by honest means.
His first thought had been that Fort had stolen it from some drunken knight who’d put it outside his room while he was whoring or taken it from the dragon catacombs. That had made the most sense, especially given the fact that Fort was a thief.
Besides, no one in their right mind would ever believe Fort was capable of taking a dragon’s head in a fight.
Then Fort had explained he’d done it while the dragon had been drugged and was sleeping in its bed. After a few cups of ale, he’d then confessed that he hadn’t even been there when it happened. That another dragon had killed it and then given the head to Fort so that it’d look like a dragon slayer had slain the beast.
Hadn’t even been there...
Coward.
Bink had no respect for such repellent creatures, but he did have uses for them, and Fort had been an above average flunkey, most days. Especially after he’d introduced him to the dragon who’d given him the skull.
Right now, they were here to see a centaur rebel prince to negotiate for another conspirator of Bink’s.
He curled his lip at the human. “Stop arguing, Fort, and do what you’re told.” After all, thinking wasn’t Fort’s forte. That was where Bink came in.
Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to flee here in the middle of the night as they’d been forced to do after Fort had stolen a knight’s sword two months ago.
Or after Fort had accepted the dragon’s skull. They’d barely made it out of Indara with their lives. Not an experience he wanted to relive anytime soon.
Patting the top of his head to make sure all his spindles were down, Bink then smoothed his jacket. They were meeting a prince, after all. No need in looking like the street trash they were.
“How do I look?”
Fort shrugged. “Like an imp?”
Troglodyte. Why did he bother? He needed to find a better class of accomplices.
Which was why they were here. He wanted to hobnob with the rich and noble. To be with the class he should have been born to, not run around with the wannabe riffraff.
Grimacing at the oaf he could barely stand, Bink turned about and snapped his fingers for Fort to follow after him, like the dutiful dog he was.
The majordomo opened the heavy wooden door that led into a posh office where the centaur prince sat on a brocade cushion behind a low to the floor, ornate, gilded desk. Royalty bled from every pore of the prince’s body. He moved with grace and dignity that Bink envied. Wealth clung to him like a second skin. It wasn’t just evident in his mannerisms, but in the stylish cut of his navy blue jacket and the gold thread and trim.
Yet it was the desk and gold gryphon quills that held his attention the most.
Bink could just imagine how much he could sell those for in a market, then caught himself. He wasn’t here to steal. He was here to strike a deal.
Make a bargain to end all bargains.
Forcing himself to bow, he hoped it looked like he was posh, too, and not a groveling beggar from the street. “Your Highness.”
Bink glanced under his arm to see that Fort continued to stand behind him, looking around the paneled room like an unsophisticated goon. Clearing his throat, he used his eyes to convey to the moron that he needed to bow as well.
“Oh.” Fort finally caught on and duplicated Bink’s actions.
Oh dear God...
He prayed he didn’t look like that . Fear that he did so made him straighten up immediately and tug at his coat again. “May we approach, Highness?”
With dark hair and beady eyes, Prince Lorens cast a speculative look at him, then to Fort. “Depends. Do you have what you promised?”
“Why else would we be here?”
That caused a weaselly smile to curve his lips as the greedy centaur rubbed his hands together in glee. “Then show me my army.”
Bink pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket and approached the desk slowly. He set it down in front of the prince who looked it over and then scowled.
“What’s this?”
Was Lorens illiterate? It was obvious. “It’s a wanted poster.”
The prince shoved it back toward him. “This isn’t what I wanted. I wanted a unicorn alliance with soldiers!”
“This is better.”
Lorens looked at him as if he were daft. “How so?”
“This is a bigger alliance. One that will help you to overthrow your sister with the backing of six other kingdoms.”
“Why would they help me overthrow my sister?”
“To rid themselves of the High King they hate so much.”
Tapping his finger on the desk, Lorens considered the matter for several minutes.
Too long actually. It became rather tedious and uncomfortable as that finger tapping became like a second, drumming heartbeat. Had he broken the prince with his new plan?
Carefully, Bink cleared his throat to get the prince’s attention. “Highness?”
“Are you sure about this alliance?” Lorens asked. “They’ll send me the forces I need when I need them?”
Sort of. Those kingdoms hated Dash and had said they’d pay anything to be rid of him. He was relatively sure they’d reward him for helping them get rid of their nuisance, and with that money they could hire an army. But he knew better than to let his uncertainty show. “Yes, Highness.”
He nodded slowly. “Get me those backers. I have a revolt to lead. I need soldiers and coin!”
Bink bowed low and walked backwards from the room, making sure to grab Fort on his way out and haul him with him.
He didn’t dare speak again until they were outside the manor hall. “Collect your skull, Fort.”
“Are we going to auction it off now, like you said?”
Bink shook his head. “We have to cover our tracks.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think I might have miscalculated.” He needed to get back to his partner, Keryna, in Licordia, and find out just how entrenched she was with Lorens and his rebellion. He knew those two had been plotting together for months now. And that Keryna had been using her influence with Renata to make promises with the centaur rebels to back them with Dash’s army.
What he didn’t know was exactly everything Keryna had promised the rebels. But he was grateful Keryna had put one thing in his hands...
He opened his pouch to touch the golden horn he’d sliced off the princess’s head. Stupid, trusting bitch. The princess had thought Bink was going to take her to rendezvous with Lorens so they could negotiate for her to provide unicorn soldiers for his rebellion.
That would have been all kinds of stupid. The last thing Bink had wanted was to fight in a war of any kind. Better to let the lot of them tear each other down.
Last creature standing would be the one to wear the crown. Rule of survival.
Everyone hated the High King. He would be easy to remove, given all his enemies. Lorens would take care of Queen Meara. The dragons would take care of themselves.
With his wiles, he’d be able to stir dissension and mistrust among the other kingdoms so that they’d never turn their eyes toward Licordia. They would be too busy fighting amongst themselves to mount a war with him.
All he had to do was take care of Keryna.
Simple.
She’d already delivered Princess Renata to him. Only one more task, and Bink would have what he wanted.
While he wasn’t a unicorn, he had the magick to control the unicorn race. To rule over their kingdom and unleash his homeless brethren who were currently enslaved to the Sagarians.
It hadn’t been that long ago that the unicorns had been on the brink of extinction. With a little whispering here and there, they would tear each other apart again.
Then, he would be king, and they would all bow down to him. Licordia would no longer be the homeland of the unicorns. It would belong to the imps. And then all the other kingdoms would bow down before them .