The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)

by Danielle L. Jensen

“I didn’t know,” she said. “Knives, as I recall, are your specialty.” Killing was her specialty.

One kingdom to save. One kingdom to destroy.

His civilians knew better than that, especially in the shoulder season. The moment in the year when the storms ceased to protect Ithicana, and his kingdom was forced to rely on steel, wits, and secrecy. Would that ever change? Could it?

“We are in a cage, a prison of our own making. Why can’t you see that?” “It’s what keeps our people safe,” his father would shout back. “Let down our guard, and Ithicana is done. They will tear us apart in their fight to possess the bridge.” “You don’t know that. It could be different, if we tried to make it so.”

For her troubles, she’d received a dozen lashes, Serin screaming the entire time that she’d put everything at risk. Lara had never entirely understood why he’d been so angry. There’d been no chance of the caravan catching sight of her, and all she’d wanted was to see what goods they carried.

Now she wondered if the variable her father had most wanted to control was her.

There was, Aren thought, nothing the Great Beyond could offer that would be more perfect than her.