“Last we spoke, you spat on the idea of an alliance.” Shea forced herself not to react to his words. It was what he wanted. Until she knew his hidden motivations, she refused to play into his hand. “What’s changed?”
Covath made a scoffing sound, tossing his head. “Nothing. An alliance is a foolish notion.”
“Then why are you here?” Shea snapped, impatience finally getting the best of her.
“To offer you a trade,” he said.
“What kind of a trade?”
“I will get you to him,” he said, lifting a hand and examining his claws. “You will kill him and bring me the item he wears around his neck.”
The first part made sense. Much as she loathed the thought, she saw no way to keep Griffin alive, not after all he’d done. It seemed his time in the Badlands had changed him in unexpected and horrifying ways. Letting him live, even as a prisoner in the deepest parts of the Keep, would be far too dangerous.
It was the second request that gave her pause.
“What’s your interest in this item?” Shea asked.
Covath gave her a glance filled with disdain. “That’s not your concern.”
She disagreed. Anything involving Griffin should be considered dangerous. The last thing she wanted to do was unknowingly hand a weapon to Covath that might later be used against her people, not when he’d already made it clear how much he disliked humans.
“Promise me then, that it’s not a weapon, and it will never be used against us,” Shea bargained. She doubted he’d answer her truthfully about what the item was, but the promise would serve as some protection.
“As if you would trust the word of a beast,” Covath said with a sneer.
Shea lifted her chin, giving him a determined look. “Yours, I would. You treat honorably with me and I’ll do the same to you.”
What she didn’t say, was the first time he betrayed her or went back on his word, she’d resort to all the dirty, underhanded tactics she knew to deal with him.
He hesitated. “Agreed.”
Well, that was something at least.
She gave him the brightest smile she could summon—admittedly that wasn’t saying much. “How do you plan on me catching up to Griffin?”
A hard thump landed just feet away from Shea and Trenton. There was a flash of white in the dark, then a large, equine body shifted closer.
Shea heard a hushed exclamation from Reece. Eva let out a low sound of admiration, taking a step towards the mythological before Buck caught her and drew her to a stop.
The horned horse from her dream gave those gathered a dark look, before ignoring them. Unlike before, he had wings, ones he folded back as he tossed his head, the two horns on his head, menacingly sharp.
“Your ride,” Covath said with a smirk.
“No.” Shea shook her head.
She had enough problems with Trateri horses. She’d become a decent rider during her time with them, but it wasn’t something she actually enjoyed. At least when she fell off them, the ground was only a few feet away. She had a feeling if she fell off this one, she wouldn’t be getting back up.
Covath sounded like he was exercising patience when he responded. “You’ll never catch him by ground. His lead is too great. Orion will take you as far as he can. From there it will be up to you.”
“What about the rest of my group?” she asked, ignoring the future problem in favor of the current one.
He gave a careless shrug. “You were supposed to come alone.”
“I can’t do this alone,” Shea argued. “Griffin has already demonstrated his control of beasts. If I go to the Badlands without someone to watch my back, I’ll die. More importantly, I will fail.”
She met his gaze, trying to impress on him the truth of her words. Even if she hadn’t been honest about her chances, there was no way any of those assembled would let her climb on Orion’s back and fly off without them.
Covath’s sigh was gruff. Shea felt a spark of relief that she’d won.
