Page 5 of The Calm Before the Storm (The Bridge Kingdom 3.50)

Nana stared her down. “Drowning clearly stripped you of some of your intelligence, girl. Iamsupporting Aren as a grandmother should—by protecting him from himself.” She gave a sharp shake of her head. “As a king, he already suffers from people telling him what he wants to hear rather than what will help him, but I refuse to do that. He’s behaving like a husband, not a ruler. If that’s how he wants to live, he needs to abdicate to Ahnna and leave.”

Lara’s jaw tightened, and she looked away. Such was the life of a monarch, she knew that, but couldn’t Aren have a goddamned moment of respite? Hadn’t he earned it?

As though hearing her thoughts, Nana said, “This isn’t the moment to breathe, the moment to rest, Lara. This is the moment to leverage what you and Aren accomplished. To leverage the support of fanatics like Aster who see the behavior of overgrown fish as a reason to follow you, even though we know that the creatures steered clear of you because your blood was fouled with stimulants.”

Thathad been the reason?

Lara’s stomach dropped, the world spinning around her, for not once had it occurred to her that there’d been something in her blood that had driven the sharks away.

“Too that end, perhaps it is time your convalescence ends,” Nana said. “Let’s have a look at you.”

Lara dutifully moved to sit on the edge of the bed, though her mind drifted as Nana pressed an ear to her chest, listening to her heart.Hadit been the stimulants in her blood that kept the sharks from attacking her? She’d ingested as much of the herb as she could to push through the blood loss and pain of the injury to her leg, so it was possible her blood had tasted…off-puttingto the creatures. And there had been plenty of other people to choose from in the water. She bit the insides of her cheeks, her hands cold.

Why do you even care,she snapped at herself.It’s not as though you put any stock in superstitions and myths.

Except…she’d drawn some strength from that moment. From having the defenders of Ithicana allow her to pass to the gates, giving her a chance to live. From their belief in her.

Idiot.Lara squeezed her eyes shut.

“Heart and lungs are good,” Nana said, then ran a prodding finger over the red line across Lara’s ribs. Where her father had sliced her open with his sword before she’d stabbed him. Before she’d killed him. “This is healing very well.”

Lara gave a tight nod, knowing that none of those things were the demon that haunted her.

Groaning, Nana lowered herself to the floor, knees cracking, and then began unravelling the bandage wrapped around Lara’s thigh.

It was hard not to hold her breath, because her memory still drew up visions of the wound when it had turned foul. Red and rotten and seeping things she wished never to witness again. Though she knew the wound was now clear of infection, it was still a relief when the bandage pulled away to reveal the forming scar, the redness to either side faded to pink.

Nana held a lamp up to the injury, sniffed at it, then set to poking and prodding. “Any longer idle and you’ll limp for the rest of your life,” she finally said. “Time to get off your back and on your feet, though you’ll need to take it slowly at first.”

Lara lifted one eyebrow. “Seems your invasion of my bedroom was unnecessary.”

A snort was the only response she got, the old woman never one to apologize for anything. Nana rose to her feet, gathering her supplies back into her bag. Then she met Lara’s gaze. “There’re no herbs for contraceptive tonics. Eranahl is stripped to the bones of everything, as there are women here besides you who wish to avoid pregnancy. I’ve requested that obtaining more be a priority, but until the storms subside enough to retrieve supplies…” She shrugged. “Though I suppose there is a chance that you don’t need them.”

Lara hesitated, for this was not something she’d put much thought to.

“That’s what I thought.”

Goddamn it, the woman was a queen of manipulation. Not that Lara didn’t believe the information was true, but— “Thank you for keeping me apprised.”

Without another word, Aren’s grandmother took her things and left the room, Lia stepping inside as she left. Because God forbid Lara have a moment alone. “I’m going to clean up,” she informed the bodyguard, “and then…”

She had no idea what she’d do.

Lia only said, “As you wish, Your Grace. We’ll escort you wherever you wish to go.”

The formality ground on Lara’s nerves, for once upon a time, she’d drunk and laughed with this woman. Yet Lia, like Aster, had taken her swim through shark-infested waters as a sign and now treated Lara with nothing short of reverence.

Eyes on the bath, Lara slowly made her way across the room, her leg protesting each step. Her heart was pounding by the time she made it to the edge of the pool, but feeling Lia’s eyes on her, Lara didn’t pause before climbing into the bath. Her breath came in rapid pants, which Lara did her best to hide from the other woman by sinking low in the water, where she finally felt alone.

Her eyes burned, half from pain and half from anger at her weakness. And then all for her own stupidity because she’d forgotten her knife under her pillow on the bed, and she couldn’t summon the energy to go retrieve it.

Fuck.Lara balled her hands into fists, bubbling fury rising in her chest, the emotion making her question everything. As always, one question shouted the loudest.

Is staying a mistake?

She’d planned to leave when she’d woken in the days after the battle. Had only remained because against every odd, Aren had wanted her to stay. In the time before she’d relapsed, Lara had felt hope that there was a future for her in Ithicana. That despite everything, this was the place she was meant to be.

Those hopes now felt like delusions.

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