Page 185 of The Dragon Queen Complete Series Collection
Chapter 184
“He doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Ged said, shooting me a meaningful look as he sat down beside me.
“I’m willing to teach ‘im,” the gambler said, and I fought the urge to recoil as his yellow teeth were bared at me. “I could teach ‘im a whole lot if you like, pretty thing like that.”
“This ‘pretty thing’ belongs to me.” Flynn sat down at my other side and then tilted my head his way.
“Fair enough.” The man threw up one hand, then thrust it forward. “I’m Gally. So what’s your pleasure, gentlemen?” He noted the others drawing up chairs to sit down. “So many gentlemen. I hope you’ve got deep pockets, because luck is on my side today.”
“They do.” Ged jerked a thumb at the rest of us. “I don’t. Me and Gareth here.” He nodded to Soren. “Our job’s to make sure these lot have a good time. Word is you’re a tough man to beat at cards, Gally.”
“Cards, dice, we can bet on which fly lands on that lump of shit first if you like.” Gally pointed at something in the corner, but I refused to look. “So what’ll it be, gents?”
“Cards.” Draven collected up the deck, shuffling them slowly as he stared at the other man. “Less likely to be weighted unfairly.”
“Why you—” the gambler spluttered.
“The cards are already marked.” Draven held up one as evidence. Each card looked dogeared and worn, but when he held up another, I saw there was a system to it. The royal cards each had notches in the edges, making clear which card they were even when face down. “So you’ll forgive me if I am unconvinced by your protests of innocence.”
“I’ve got a pack of my own.” Ged fished them out of his pocket and laid them down on the table. “Unmarked. You can check them if you like.” He pushed them closer.
“And if I am a cheat as you say, why would I use your deck?” the man asked.
“Gold.” Brom produced his own coin pouch, loosening the draw strings and letting the coins spill across the tabletop.
“Bloody hell!” Gally moved quickly, shoving the coins back in the pouch with a sidelong look at the crowd, then plucked one and chomped on it. “What the hell are you doing bringing a king’s fortune into a place like this?”
“That’s a fortune?” Flynn was every inch the spoiled nobleman. He chortled as he turned to me. “Gods, I’d spend more on wine in one day.”
“Would you, indeed?” Gally took the cards, checking them over, then nodding, giving them a quick shuffle. “So what’re we playing, gentlemen? Hearts? Chase The Dragon? Go Fish?”
“How about King of the Mountain?” Draven suggested.
“So you are from Harlston. Thought you were a fellow countrymen.” Gally doled out cards fast as lightning, but Flynn stopped him when he came to me.
“Not for him,” he insisted, pulling me into his lap. “The lad is for playing with, not gambling.”
“Suit yourself,” Gally said with a shrug, “but I’ve gotta say, you’re a brave one coming in here.”
“Because he likes the lads?” Ged asked.
“No, because that accent of his makes clear he’s from Skane.” I felt Flynn go perfectly still. “Not many of them coming across the border since the king declared war. Not much of anything going anywhere but to the ducal seat.”
“Is that why there’s no boats on the water?” Flynn sounded perfectly petulant. “I was promised a day at sea, but when we arrived, we couldn’t rent one for love nor money.”
“Some of the lads with the little skiffs might’ve taken you out.” Gally inspected his cards and then smiled slowly. “But I’m thinking a boat that stinks of fish guts and needs to be bailed out constantly wasn’t what you had in mind.”
“So where are the pleasure crafts?” Draven asked. “I’ve always brought my friends down to the bay in the summer. The weather is almost pleasant at this time of the year.”
“Pleasure crafts?” Gally snorted, tossing a card in the pile, then picking up another. I was glad Flynn had kept me out of the game, because I had no idea what they were doing. He looked at his cards, rearranging them and then tossing down two when it came to his turn. “None of them left, and you’re not the first nobles to come here whining about it.” He sucked down a mouthful of his beer. “Every ship of decent size is sailing up to the duke’s seat, much to the earl’s disgust.”
He glanced up at the rest of us.
“Not sure if you’re aware, but we’re supposed to be at war.” He shook his head slowly. “Though I’m not sure if the duke expected that. The king’s his own kin. Reckon he assumed His Majesty would stay loyal to the family.”
The noise, the stink of the pub all faded away then as I stared at Gally. Cards were tossed on the pile, others picked up, but I barely noticed it. Just him as he thumbed his nose, then looked up and over our heads with a smile.
“Though if you want to pump me for more information, can I suggest talking to the earl himself? Morning, gents.”
Hands slapped down on our shoulders and we looked up to see the two guards from the gate.
“Thought you looked familiar,” the taciturn one said. “I’m going to need you to come with us, Majesty.”
Gally was lightning quick, snatching up Brom’s coin purse but missing Ged’s. The rider wrapped his hand around it too fast for the other man.
“Meet with His Lordship?” Draven said as he rose to his feet. “Why, I’d love to.”
“Your Majesty.” A big, bluff man stumped forward as we were escorted into a far grander room within the earl’s residence. It had floor-to-ceiling windows along one side, providing a panoramic view of the now empty bay.
“Draven, please, Carl,” my king said as he held out his hand.
“Never one to stand on ceremony, were you?” Carl seemed to approve of that, nodding for us to sit around his table. “So, you’ve brought war to our shores, and now you’re snooping around in the stews by the docks?” He nodded to Brom. “You’ve come a long way from the lad who scampered along the moorings with this one in tow. Should I be offended that you didn’t come to me directly for information?”
“I’m not sure. Should you?” Draven accepted the wine that was poured for him, waiting until everyone had one before he lifted his glass. “The last time I was here, you were firm friends with my uncle.”
“Is anyone friends with the duke?” Carl sipped his wine meditatively. “I’m not sure the bastard is capable of such fine feelings. He was my duke. It made good sense to court his favour.”
“Was?” Brom asked mildly.
“Well, no liege lord who wanted my support would strip every single ship from my bay. He wouldn’t cut off trade routes and all money flowing into Holdfast, then press gang the best and strongest young men into service, hauling them on board to do gods knows what.” The glass was set down firmly. “That’s what your uncle has done. What I want to know, Your Majesty, is what you intend to do.”
“Why would he fall back to his ducal seat?” It felt like Draven was asking the universe that, not the earl. “Does he have the support of any of the lords of Harlston?”
“Father would never have been seduced by this nonsense,” Brom replied gruffly.
“When you make hostages of your own womenfolk, I would assume you would have little local support,” Soren added.
“Taking ships, sailors, women…” Draven’s fingers traced the delicate embroidery of the tablecloth. “What on earth is he playing at? I know he thought I would be his little puppet, but was he really so stupid he didn’t prepare for any other eventualities?”
“Perhaps he banked on having time to sort things in his favour,” Flynn said. “He certainly created chaos with his little coup. If the rest of Nevermere was in uproar or worse, being led by other dukes who were in Harlston’s pocket, he’d have time…”
“For the dragon eggs to hatch.” My hand was shoved into my pocket, closing around one of the crystal eggs. “Time to build himself a rider army.”
“He’s preparing for a siege.” Draven shoved himself away from the table. “My lord, I trust I will cause no offence by withdrawing?”
“Not if you’re going to hand that bastard his arse,” the earl growled. “That uncle of yours, he’s a bad one, not content to be the duke of one of the largest duchies in the country, with a nephew on the throne. He wants it all for himself…”
“Or no one will have anything.”
I barely whispered that, able to see the future then without my dragon’s help. War, destruction, chaos.
Death.
Dragons and humans would have to find a way to live together in peace, I had been told, or Nevermere would go forth with only humans or only dragons. Right now I couldn’t be sure which would succeed. We were all too busy fighting each other to work out a way to peacefully resolve things.
The earl’s men saw us out of the town, backing up as soon as they caught sight of the dragons. Draven barely noticed, pacing back and forth as he stared at the ground.
“So we’ll head for the duke’s castle?” Soren ventured. “If His Grace wants to hole up in that castle of his?—”
“We’ll blast him out of it.” There was none of Ged’s customary lightness in him now. The muscle ticked in his jaw as he looked at each one of us. “This needs to end. Two male dragons fighting for dominance?” He glanced at our beasts, still reclining on the ground, enjoying the early afternoon sun. “They fight it out, get their issues sorted, and then move on. They don’t drag everyone else into that fight, using them as pawns or worse to give them an advantage.”
“No, they don’t.” Draven dragged his hand through his hair. “On this we agree, the situation must end. All the other assassins have faced justice, and now it’s my uncle’s turn. We’ll return to Castle Fast. Our land troops should be arriving about now. They can follow us to the ducal seat, ensure that the rest of Harlston is protected as we resolve this conflict.” He gloves slapped against his thigh. “I will bring my uncle down one way or the other and bring this bloody moment of Nevermere’s history to an end.”
“So we’ll throw everything we’ve got at Blackreach,” the general said with a fierce smile, tracing the shape of the peninsula at Harlston’s eastern most point with his finger. This was where all of the dukes of Harlston had made their homes.
“Our dragons outnumber theirs three to one,” a rider said, the excitement clear in his voice. “Even without dragonfire, he hasn’t got a chance in hell in keeping those eggs until the hatchlings are grown.”
“It’s time to bring this conflict to an end.” Draven rose to his feet, the red light of the fire reflected in the dark depths of his hair. “We came to Harlston expecting to fight a war, but what we’ve found is a people being held hostage by a greedy and murderous leader. We will fight to free the good people of Harlston as well as to rid ourselves of this insidious threat.”
“To victory!” someone shouted, and that got everyone jumping to their feet.
I should’ve done the same. He was my king, my partner, so I should’ve cheered as well, my eyes bright in the firelight with fantasies of sweeping in and righting all the wrongs. So why did my eyes find the one other person around the fire unmoved by Draven’s speech, following him with my eyes as he slipped away?
I went after Brom, something that wasn’t wise, but I couldn’t seem to stay still. They all saw how glorious war could be, whereas I… I was reminded of how horrific it had been in the past. I stumbled out in the darkness, the cool night air a welcome change from the overheated atmosphere of the tent. A bird fluttered, drawing my attention as I swooped across the ruins, following him into the shadows.
“Brom…?”
He turned then, brows pulled down into a deep scowl, his eyes just as dark as the night sky.
“Pippin, what’re you doing out here?”