Chapter 168
"Good to see you back and you are without Rose which means she found her family. Daughter of a lord," Finn said, surprised to know they were travelling with someone so important. "What is her family like? Are they good people?"
"I wouldn’t have left her alone with bad people," Zayne answered. "Explain more of what you heard."
"Thanks to what you asked from the king, the town guards have been out in numbers along with all the soldiers. The town guard’s place has been turning away common folk and only seeing those with status. He’s trying to paint a turd as good as he can and present it to us as a diamond," said Finn.
"I am not fond of this kingdom. He will try to make use of our numbers and make us join in his wars. This kingdom is not worth fighting over in this state," Liam said, approaching the large map they had spread out. Their ships waiting were marked out. "It has potential but not with the current king."
"We were given orders to attack if we thought the truce would not work. We are only waiting on you," Finn looked at Zayne. "We’ve given them more than enough time."
"Send word to the ships to be ready to sail in. After our next visit to the palace, I will give them the order for when to approach. I only need to think of who would be best to place on the throne. Rose’s father mentioned the king’s cousin. Look into him," Zayne tasked Liam.
"Would he be a new king or just a puppet until someone from our kingdom comes? We need someone we can trust to be our ally and not later try to start a war with us," said Finn. He did not want to come here again.
"I am aware. Right now, I do not trust any of the royals unless we were to see one of the king’s other children. After having to live in the shadows watching some of their siblings die, they might accept the offer," Zayne thought out loud.
"I need to get my good sword sharpened," Finn said, stretching his arms. "I’ve been a little too bored doing nothing. Are we taking the princes and princess as hostages or killing them on the spot along with the king and queen? Will you at least keep the princess alive-"