The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)

by Danielle L. Jensen

“I will be the next queen of Ithicana. And I will bring the Bridge Kingdom to its knees.”

“Do you, Aren Kertell, king of Ithicana, swear to fight by this woman’s side, to defend her to your dying breath, to cherish her body and none other, and to be loyal to her as long as you both live?”

“But our duty is to protect our people. To keep Eranahl a secret. To keep it safe.”

Ithicana needed a queen who was a warrior. A woman who’d fight to the death for her people. A woman who was cunning and ruthless, not because she wanted to be but because her country needed her to be. A woman who’d challenge him every day for the rest of his life. A woman Ithicana would respect. And there was one thing he was certain of: Lara Veliant was not that woman.

“That said, if you are inclined to do the same, you are welcome to go first. Given you haven’t seen a wash in three days, you probably need it more than I do.”

This man might be a hunter. But he was mistaken if he believed she was prey.

“And lest your dream turn into our nightmare, do us all a favor, Your Grace, and keep that woman locked up.”

“I wanted to see the bit of architecture that was worth the rights to my body. My loyalty. My life.”

He recoiled as though she’d slapped him. “The rights to those things are yours to give, not your father’s.”

“Do you have any coin to bet, or am I risking my money on both sides of every wager?”

Still hearing the adamancy in his voice that she’d never be hurt in Ithicana, a promise so entirely at odds with everything she knew about him and his kingdom.

“Quit plotting and help Taryn with the dishes, you lazy tit.”

“Evacuations are complete, so that means your lovely wife and children are safely ensconced in Eranahl, leaving you with all the time in the world to screw your mistress in the house I know you had built for her just west of here.”

“Respectfully, Commander, a hell of a lot more of us would be dead if our queen hadn’t come.”

“You’re beautiful.” He tangled his fingers in her hair. “I’ve thought so since the moment I saw you, but I don’t think I’ve ever said it.”

“And what impact have your so-called concessions made? Maridrina is starving, caught between Ithicana and the Red Desert, and I’ve yet to see you show the slightest bit of empathy.” “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” “No? I heard you the day I was brought here. Heard you say that the concessions you gave to my father were not what you wanted, and that Maridrina would starve before it ever saw the benefit of this treaty!”

“War costs money, believe me, I know. But your father doesn’t have the bridge, so he pays for it with heavy taxes that have crippled Maridrina’s economy. So even when its merchants dock at Southwatch’s open market, they are unable to bid competitively. And so they set sail with what no one else will buy.”

“She has a temper like wildfire and a sharp tongue to go along with it.”

Maridrina will starve before it ever sees the benefit of this treaty. Aren’s words echoed through Lara’s skull. How right he’d been.

Lara and her sisters hadn’t been isolated in the desert compound for their safety. They hadn’t even been kept there to conceal her father’s plans from Ithicana, not really. It had been to keep Lara and her sisters from the truth.

Promises and threats and bribes were paltry motivators compared to the fanaticism that had been burned into her and her sisters’ souls. But for Lara, that fanaticism burned no longer.

He’d known. Standing in the water with her next to Snake Island, he’d known. All the little peculiarities about his Maridrinian wife, the little things that had struck him as odd, had accumulated until there was no denying it. Lara was a spy.

The woman he’d goddamned fallen in love with was a spy.

The bowstring dug into his fingers as he slowly began to straighten them, knowing that despite having no choice, he’d never forgive himself for killing her.

“Since the moment I set eyes on you in Southwatch, there’s been no one but you. Even if I’m a goddamned fool for it, there will never be anyone but you.”

then you turned around and came back. Back to me.”

“I took my wife to her homeland for reasons that are none of your goddamned business.”

Aren extracted the letter he’d started to Silas those months ago. Staring at the polite greeting and appropriate honorifics, he shoved the page aside, reaching for a clean sheet.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Do you want to leave Ithicana? Because if that’s what it takes for you to be happy, I’ll set you on any shore you wish with everything you need to make a life for yourself.”

Ithicana—and its king—bent to nothing and no one. But he bent for her.

“Not everything will be on your terms, love,” he growled into her ear. “I will not be rushed.”

“I love you,” he said, his lips grazing against hers. “And I will love you, no matter what the future brings. No matter how hard I need to fight. I will always love you.”

She would fight for him. She would bleed for him. She would die for him.

Because he was her king, and even if it meant assassins hunting her for the rest of her days, she would damned well be Ithicana’s queen.

“There is a substantial difference between cruel words exchanged between siblings and threats uttered by a king to the commander of his armies.”

“It’s yours,” he murmured into her ear. “Ithicana. Everything that I have is yours. To protect. To make better.”

“Lara is my wife. She is queen. I trust her, and she is my second.” Lara held her breath as Aren’s gaze roved around the room. “Anyone who has a problem with that can get the fuck out now.”

“This better be good,” Aren said through his teeth as he carried her down the corridor. “Because I sure as shit don’t believe you fainted.”

Now Aren saw both sides, and he believed he was a better man for it.

But Aren almost fell over in surprise when Mara lifted her hand. Seeing his shock, the commander of Northwatch said, “Just because I question you doesn’t mean I don’t believe in you, boy.”

“I swore long ago to fight by your side, no matter the odds. Now is no different. Count Southwatch in.”

“I loved you. I trusted you. With myself. With my kingdom.” Loved. Past tense. Because she’d never deserved his love, and now she’d lost it for good.

“I used to wonder why you never said it. Now I know.” His grip on her face tightened, then he jerked his hands away. “You say it now only because you’re trying to save your own skin.”

“Go. Run. I’ve no doubt that you’ll make it off this island.” His jaw tightened. “It’s in your nature to survive.”

“Go!” He shouted the word at her, leveling the arrow at her forehead even as tears poured down his cheeks. “I never want to see your face. I never want to hear your name. If there were a way to scour you from my life, I’d do it. But until I find the strength to put you in a goddamned grave, this is all I have. Now run!”

Aren had been captured. Aren was a prisoner. Aren was her father’s hostage.