Page 161 of The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom 3)

“That is problematic.” Keris rubbed at his temples, his head foggy. His dreams had been plagued with nightmares about Zarrah, and exhaustion weighed upon him. “We risk losing Nerastis.”

Faces darkened, and he dropped his hands, fixing the men with a cool stare. “Am I wrong? Is one of you actually going to sit there and argue that we are capable of repelling the Valcottans should they choose to cross the Anriot?”

They shifted uncomfortably, and Philo finally said, “You aren’t wrong, Your Highness. With such low numbers, if the Valcottans made a move, we’d be forced to retreat.”

“Retreat how far?” Keris asked, despite knowing the answer.

Philo opened his mouth, hesitated, then said, “Unless we received reinforcements, as far as they wished to push us.”

What madness consumed his father that he was willing to take such a loss?Keris wanted to shout, but strategy demanded otherwise. He needed the criticism of his father to come fromthesemen, not from him. “You’re telling me that by sending these resources to my father to use in his fight against Ithicana, we risk losing Nerastis and miles of the best farmland in Maridrina?”

Yes.He could see the answer in their eyes. Yet also that their fear of his father still kept them silent.Capitalize upon this,a voice whispered in his head.Turn them against him.“The Empress is notoriously opportunistic,” he said. “How long can we keep our weakness hidden from them?”

Not long at all was the answer, but he waited for them to discuss it among themselves, Philo finally sighing. “A day, perhaps.”

Keris said nothing, allowing the weight of that fact to sink in.

“The Valcottans haven’t raided in months despite us being undermanned,” one of the other men argued.

“Because we had the Empress’s niece as our prisoner.” Rising to his feet, Keris paced the length of the room. “But Serin’s own creation got the better of him, and we lost that asset.” It made him ill to speak of Zarrah that way, but it was a necessary evil.

“What would you have us do, Highness?” Philo asked. “The order comes from the king himself. We cannot refuse.”

“No, we can’t.” Keris stopped pacing, toying with the pommel of his sword. “And yet ifwelose Nerastis for lack of men, it will bewewho are held accountable.”

Turning, he pretended to stare at the map on the wall, waiting. As he’d predicted, Philo said, “His Majesty puts us in a position where we are destined to face his ill will regardless of what action we take.”

The other men growled their agreement, and Keris felt their anger growing. Not new anger, for this wouldn’t be the first time his father had put them in such a position, but anger they were only now speaking aloud. He smiled at the map, allowing them to mutter for a moment before turning. “What choice has he? For more than sixteen years, my father schemed to take the bridge, and now he has it. Would you have him give it up for the sake of a city of rubble?”

Eyes darkened at the wordschemed. Not at his use of it, but that their king had used lies and subterfuge and hisown daughterto win his prize.

“It’s not Nerastis that has value, Highness, but the land north of it. The best land in Maridrina,” Philo answered, not seeming to realize he was parroting Keris’s words back at him. “Already Vencia goes hungry. If we were to lose those farms…”

Keris gave a slow nod. “I expect my father anticipates making up the shortfall through imports via the bridge.”

Imports that would cost a fortune only a landed nobleman could afford, which none of these men were. They were career soldiers, and every last one of them had a family in Vencia that would go hungry if all of this came to pass.

Philo was on his feet in a flash. “Imports that no one can afford! This is madness driven by an excess of pride, Keris. The bridge has been nothing but a curse. Hundreds of lives lost trying to hold it, and for what? The bridge of untold riches has been rendered profitless by the politics between nations and the squabbling of kings and empresses, but it is the common people who starve.” He gave Keris a pleading look. “You understand, don’t you, Highness? You were against the taking of the bridge—that is well known. And it is said you listen to the concerns of the people. Even that you espouse the virtues of peace.”

A flicker of an emotion Keris couldn’t name filled his chest, for, once, these very things had earned him these men’s scorn. “What I think or don’t think matters little—I am as beholden to the will of the king as any of you, and just as subject to the consequences of crossing him.”

Silence filled the room, the tension rising.

Then Philo said, “That hasn’t stopped you in the past.”

Keris returned to his seat, resting his elbows on the table. “You’re suggesting I ignore orders from my father? From the king?”

“It would save lives, Highness. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Maridrinian lives. And the cost…” Philo glanced sideways at his comrades, whose eyes were full of agreement. “If your father loses the bridge, well… maybe that’s for the best.”

Elation filled Keris’s stomach, his pulse hammering and his skin hot, but he kept all of it from his face. “Then let us be united in our defiance.” He leaned forward, finally allowing a smile to form on his face. “But know this, my friends: this step is only the beginning.”

78

ZARRAH

They had a matter of days to create a plan to take back the bridge from Silas in one blow.

As Zarrah’s ship sped them north toward Nerastis, she spent nearly every waking hour closeted in the captain’s quarters with Aren Kertell and another Ithicanian, an older man by the name of Jor who had a penchant for filthy jokes and was doing a damned fine job of eating and drinking through the ship’s supplies.

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