Page 172 of The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom 3)

Her pulse hammered and she pivoted, forgoing the spyglass in her belt in favor of a larger one the Ithicanians had mounted in the tower. But all she saw was oceans and islands and mist.

No ships other than her own.

No soldiers other than her own.

Then a familiar voice said, “This isn’t your fight, Zarrah.”

84

KERIS

It had been madness to remain at Southwatch, given he’d known what was coming. Yet as his father had sailed away in the dark of night with a fleet of ships loaded with Maridrinian soldiers, leaving the unwitting decoys behind to die, Keris had found himself unable to depart. Unable to get on the ship that would deliver him back to the safety of Vencia while dozens upon dozens of his people died as part ofhisstrategy.Hisplan.

Hiswar.

So instead he’d left a letter in his stateroom with orders that they return for him after the battle was over, knowing full well that all that they might find was a corpse, then sneaked off the ship. He’d spent the days since sleeping on the tops of the warehouses and buildings of the Southwatch market, stealing food, his eyes always on the sea. Watching. Waiting.

Because he’d known she would come.

So when the ship bearing a Maridrinian flag had drifted toward port, the sailors all wearing hoods pulled up against the rain, he’d seen what the soldiers on the pier had not. That this was no vessel full of their countrymen, but a ship full of their enemy.

But what he’d seen washer.

Even in a cloak and hood, he’d somehow known the figure standing next to the captain was Zarrah. Something about the way she’d stood, the way she’dmoved,triggering his instincts. The same instincts that had demanded he stop this. That he race down onto the pier and put himself between Zarrah and his countrymen to plead for their lives.

Except that would have put her in the position of having to explain why she was willing to negotiate with a Veliant. With all he’d done to try to save her, Keris wasn’t about to damn her for the sake of his conscience.

So instead, he’d watched as the Valcottans had swarmed the pier. Watched as the woman he loved more than life slaughtered his countrymen with brutal efficiency. Watched as she realized the situation on Southwatch was not as expected, that something was wrong. Watched her realize thatnoneof this was the behavior of Silas Veliant.

And saw the moment she realized whom she’d really gone to war with.

“This isn’t your fight, Zarrah.”

She jerked at the sound of his voice, her eyes snapping down from the lookout tower to fix on his. “Where are they attacking?”

Not,Why are you here, Keris?Not,What is going on, Keris?

Because sheknew.He could see it in her eyes.“It doesn’t matter where they are. This isn’t your fight. Get your people back on those ships and sail south before that storm hits.” He swallowed the thickness in his throat, simultaneously struck by how beautiful she was and by the certainty that she’d hate him for what he’d done.

But it was worth it. He had to believe it was worth it.

“Where are they attacking, Keris?” She turned on her heel, and he listened to the sound of her racing down the steps, appearing at the base of the tower. “What have you done?”

“It doesn’t matter where they are, because even if you board your ship right now, it’s too late,” he answered, bracing himself as her hands balled into fists. “It will be a fight between Maridrina and Ithicana, as it should be. Valcotta and Harendell need to stay out of it.”

“What about Amarid?” she demanded. “Are they staying out of it? Or is it only Ithicana who truly stands alone?”

He lifted a shoulder because the alternative was to wince at the accuracy of her statement. “I expect they’ll stay out of the thick of it.”

“Where. Is. The. Attack?” Her eyes were bright with panic. “Tell me!”

The attack was already underway, and too far for her ships to make it in time. “My father and his fleet are attacking Eranahl.”

Zarrah blanched, her eyes filling with horror. “Eranahl is full of innocents. How could you?”

It was a plan simple in its beauty even as it was ugly in its cruelty. Leave decoy soldiers at key points along the bridge to lure Aren and his army to attack, then move on the heart of Ithicana—the island fortress of Eranahl. Once the ruse was discovered, Aren and his army would move to defend the city and be forced to fight his father’s fleet on the open water, where Ithicana was at a severe disadvantage. The war that had lasted a year would be over in a night. “People were always going to die, Zarrah. There was always going to be a battle. I just changed the grounds it was fought on.”

She doubled over, a ragged sob tearing from her lips, and Keris’s stomach twisted with guilt. With grief.It’s worth it,he silently chanted to himself.It has to be worth it.

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