The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom, #2)

by Danielle L. Jensen

Abruptly, Aren found himself on his back, a knife pressed against his jugular. “Let me make myself abundantly clear, Your Grace,” Sarhina hissed, the only thing visible in the darkness the whites of her teeth. “You will never speak about my sister in that way or it will be you whose throat is slit. Understood?”

Reaching into his pocket, Aren pulled out the letter. He read the front and then the back, but for the first time since Marylyn had given it to him, the words failed to ignite his anger. He faced the stove, staring at the flames flickering beneath the kettle of water. Lara shifted, lifting her head. “What’s burning?” “Nothing important,” he answered, then continued to watch as the letter turned to ash.

Lara’s chin trembled as she struggled not to sob, then she clamped her teeth down hard. She was a queen. A warrior. But more than that, she was the little cockroach. And she had no intention of dying. —

“Who are you?” Timin’s words were strained. “What sort of demon are you?” “The sort who’s had his fill of backstabbing pricks,” Aren replied before sliding his blade across the man’s throat. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get my wife back.”

Then his lips brushed hers, and it felt like everything fell away. Like there was nothing in all the world but the two of them. She trembled, pulling herself closer against him, until he whispered, “Lara, no matter where you are in the world, if you need me, I’ll come for you. Please know that.”

“I said keep an eye out for soldiers, Aren. Not keep an eye on my ass.” “The ass that’s peeling like a ship’s boy with a sack of potatoes?”

She was everything. Mind, body, and soul, she was everything he wanted. Everything he needed. The queen Ithicana needed.

“I love you, Aren.” Her eyes were gleaming. “But it’s over between us. It has to be, and we both know it. Pretending otherwise is only going to make it worse when I walk away.” She was right, and he knew it. But in his heart, he knew that even if he never saw her again for the rest of his life, it would never be over. She would always be his queen.

“And if I say that Valcotta’s support is contingent on her death?” Lara’s life in exchange for the return of the bridge. Setting aside his own feelings, it seemed the obvious choice. The right choice to ensure his people endured. Except he knew that the empress was not so petty as to make her assistance conditional on the life of one woman. “No.”

“I’m not helping you attack my own people, you Maridrinian prick.” The woman snarled the words, and through the trees, Lara could just make out Aren’s cousin. Taryn wasn’t dead.

His lips a hair’s breadth from hers, he whispered, “Awake or asleep, all I see is your face. All I hear is your voice. All I feel is you in my arms. All I want is you.”

“I just needed to get her out of my system.” Jor handed him back the bottle. “You could bed that woman every night for the rest of your life and never get her out of your system, Aren. That’s the trouble with love.”

He turned away, gesturing to his soldiers. “Kill her.” “I challenge you. Here and now. You choose the weapon.” Her father froze, then he looked her up and down. “You’re hardly fit for a duel, Lara. From where I stand, you’ve already almost bled to death. It would be no fight.” “Then you have no reason to fear accepting.”

And the shock that blossomed on his face as she sank her knife into his chest.

His skin turned to ice. “That’s impossible. We left her on Gamire without even a boat.” “Well, she found a way.” Lia held out a torch, illuminating the water surging into the cave, then retreating with equally violent force. “She challenged her father. Killed him. It’s why they retreated when they did. She saved us, and now we need to save her.”

She shook her head violently, because she didn’t want his forgiveness. She didn’t deserve it. “My father is dead. He’s dead, and he can’t hurt you or Ithicana anymore. Keris will be king, and there will be a chance for Maridrina and Ithicana to be allies in truth. For the first time, Ithicana has a chance at a better future. But it needs you to make it happen. Don’t sacrifice that for me.” “But I need you.” He pulled her tight against the metal, his forehead pressing against hers through the bars. “I love you, and I’ve never stopped. Not once, not even when I should have.”

“Since the day we met, there has never been anyone but you. And there never will be anyone but you. You are my queen, and I need you.”

You are a princess, she told herself. A queen. But above all, she was the little cockroach.

A hot tear trickled down Lara’s face, because she was true to Ithicana. She loved this kingdom and she loved its people, but…“It will take more than myths and legends for the people to grant me their forgiveness, Aren.” “True. But those myths and legends mean they’ll give you the opportunity to earn their forgiveness. If you’re willing to try.”