Page 37 of The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom 2)

But luck or fate was with them, and the panicked soldiers kept their gaze on the misty gardens and courtyards below, where they assumed Aren to be hiding.

Nearing the guard tower, Lara reached up with a gloved hand to slow her progress. Her feet struck the stone, and she paused to ensure no one had noticed her presence. Then she pulled herself on top of the tower, where she perched, hidden in the shadows.

“Go!” Bronwyn gave him a gentle push between the shoulders and, glancing down to confirm no one was looking up, Aren jumped.

20

Lara

She couldn’t breathe ashe flew over the misty palace, black clothing rendering him almost invisible in the moonless night. More explosions rattled the earth, the air thick with smoke. Outside the wall, the mob had turned to chaos, people screaming, but she spared them no attention.

So far, everything had gone according to her plan, but that could change in a heartbeat. Herbrother—who had, unbeknownst to her, been in on the planning—would be on his way to alert the guards that they were in the tower. Those searching the grounds wouldn’t be able to see through the fog, but those on the inner wall would. And her sisters would be sitting ducks.

But all she could think about was Aren’s eyes when he’d recognized her. When she’d seen them last on Midwatch, they’d been red-rimmed and filled with anger and hurt. But now . . . they were cold. As though she meant nothing to him and never had.

Aren’s boots slapping against the guard tower dragged her back to the moment. She reached down to help him, but he pushed her hand away, pulling himself up in one easy motion.

He crouched next to her in the shadows, and Lara clenched her teeth, her chest aching to have him so close.

And yet so far.

“Don’t think this changes anything,” he whispered between explosions. “I don’t value my own neck enough for your saving it to undo the damage you caused. The second we are away from your father, I want to see the back of you. Understood?”

There was no point arguing, given the plans she had in play, and she was spared having to do so as Athena climbed onto the tower to join them.

Four more to go.

Heart hammering, Lara split her attention between watching her sisters slide down the zip line and the guards milling below. Despite the chaos in the city, none appeared to be readying to leave the palace, their focus entirely on recapturing her and Aren.

Cierra clambered up top with them, followed by Cresta. Brenna was next, her face white as a sheet. “That was bloody awful,” she muttered. “Never again.”

Only Bronwyn was left. But the mist was dissipating on the wind of a coming storm. Lara clenched her teeth, watching her sister's shadowy figure ease on to the line, then start the slide downward. “Come on,” she muttered. “Faster.”

Bronwyn picked up speed, but as she flew over the inner wall, yells echoed out of the sanctum. “They’re in the tower!”

All the guards on the wall looked up in time to see Bronwyn above them. They shouted and turned, lifting their weapons.

“Blow the gate!” Lara ordered, even though it was too soon.

“Already signaled,” Athena replied. “Close your eyes and cover your ears.”

A heartbeat later, the world exploded around them.

21

Aren

Aren instinctively clappedhis hands over his ears and closed his eyes, pressing his face against the parapet.

It did little good as the detonation shattered the air, the fierce glow of the burning chemicals searing through his eyelids, his ears ringing. He felt rather than saw Lara move next to him, and he opened his eyes to find her leaning over the parapet, reaching for Bronwyn who dangled below.

“You bitch,” the tall brunette snarled as Lara dragged her upward. Her eyes were streaming with tears from the brightness of the explosion. “You couldn’t have warned me? And don’t bother arguing—I can’t hear for shit.”

Lara only dragged her around the top of the guard tower. Her other sisters were already climbing down the wall, taking advantage of the few moments the swarms of soldiers would be as deaf and blinded as Bronwyn.

Following suit, Aren watched two more sisters dressed in Maridrinian uniforms exit the interior of the guard tower. One motioned for the group to pull up their hoods and follow as she sprinted down the interior stairs and into the chaos. The air was full of smoke, the gate blown inward by the force of the explosion. Several soldiers were on their knees, clutching their bleeding ears.

But that wasn’t the direction the women led him in. Instead, they entered the stables in the far corner, the horses inside spinning in their stalls in distress. Several of the animals were wearing saddles and bridles, and the women swiftly entered the stalls, then crouched low.

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