The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)(56)

She knew that what her father and Serin had told her about the King of Ithicana had been a lie—though she understood why. It was easier to stab a demon in the back. A much harder thing to betray a man whose actions and choices were driven by a desire to do right by his people. But she also knew that her homeland and Ithicana were at odds, and what would save one would damn the other. The welfare of her people was her priority, her mission to give them the one thing that would ensure their future. And for that reason, Aren could never be anything to her but the enemy.

Aren stepped closer to the training soldiers to say something to the woman leading the exercises, and Lara leaned forward to catch what it was. When she did, a piece of debris slipped off the roof of the barracks, landing with a soft thud on the ground.

Aren turned on his heel, one hand going to the weapon belted at his waist, the other shoving back his hood.

Lara froze. Dressed in black clothes, she was hidden in the darkness atop the roof. Unless someone held up a lantern to investigate a noise.

With the toe of his boot, Aren nudged the fallen bit of branch and leaves. Lara silently willed him to look away. It’s nothing. Just foliage knocked loose by the wind. Happens a hundred times a day. But even as she did, she could relate to the sixth sense that was telling him something wasn’t right.

“Someone bring a lantern over here. And a ladder. I think we’ve got snakes on the roof again.”

Pulse roaring in her ears, Lara eased backward, her fingers clutching the slimy stone of her perch. He’d hear even the slightest noise, but if she didn’t move fast . . .

A horn sounded in the distance, and the Ithicanians—Aren included—stopped what they were doing and turned in the direction of the water. Another horn sounded, this one closer, and Aren gave a sharp nod. “Amaridians are on the move.” He started shouting out orders, but Lara couldn’t afford to stay to listen. Dawn was approaching, and she needed the cover of night to get back into the house undetected. And she needed to be inside by the time the sun was up, or her absence would be noted.

Easing around the back of the barracks, she jumped, catching hold of a tree branch that really needed to be cut back. From tree to tree, she climbed, then dropped into the shelter of the jungle. Using the route she’d established on her first night, she cut over to the path leading up to the house, moving as fast as she dared on the muddy earth.

Gorrick and Lia were guarding the exterior, and she silently circled until she found a place out of sight of both of them, then scaled the wall, crawled over the roof, and dropped into the courtyard. Easing inside through her cracked window, she swiftly scrubbed the mud from her boots and clothes, putting everything back in the wardrobe where it could dry undetected.

A knock sounded at the door, the lock rattling. “Your Grace? It’s dawn.”

Taryn. The woman was like damned clockwork. Since her perceived failure to watch Lara while they were staying at Nana’s house, Taryn was intent on redeeming herself by monitoring Lara like a hawk. She slept in the hall outside Lara’s door—would’ve slept right next to her bed if Lara hadn’t gently noted that Taryn’s snoring rivaled the thunderstorms for volume.

If she didn’t answer, Taryn would likely break down the door. “Coming!”

Throwing on a robe and wrapping a towel around her hair, Lara trotted across the floor and opened the door. “Is something wrong? I heard horns?”

“Amarid,” Taryn replied vaguely, then her eyes narrowed. “Why is there mud on your face?”

“I was just washing it off. Certain muds are good for the skin. They cleanse the pores.”

“Mud?” Taryn gave her a dubious frown, then shook her head, passing a weary hand over her eyes before stepping into the room, giving it a once-over. “I’ve told you not to leave your window open. You’re asking to wake up with a snake under the covers with you.”

“I only opened it just now,” Lara lied. “It was stuffy in here.”

Taryn checked under the bed. “The storm’s blown over, so you can go outside if you want fresh air.” Then she flipped back the cover and swore, stepping back several paces. “What did I tell you?”

A small snake, black with yellow bands, was coiled in the center of the bed, hissing angrily at them. Muttering under her breath, Taryn stepped in the hallway and shouted for Eli, who appeared moments later, a long stick with a loop of rope at one end. He deftly caught the creature, the loop tightening around its neck, then departed as quickly as he’d come, snake in tow.

Apparently, Lara needed to add check room for snakes to her routine when returning from a reconnaissance mission.

Though there wasn’t much more to be gained from the roof of the barracks. Or from Midwatch, for that matter. It was a nearly impossible nut to crack unless her father could get someone on the inside. Ideally, that would be her, but she fully intended to be long gone before Maridrina invaded, her life as much in danger from her father’s soldiers as it would be from the Ithicanians once they realized she’d betrayed them. Which meant she needed to find an entry point other than Midwatch for her father to exploit.

“I’m going to nail your window shut.” Taryn stepped aside so that Eli’s aunt could enter with the breakfast tray, which was deposited on the small table. “Or else start locking Vitex in here with you at night.”

The thought of sleeping with the enormous cat watching gave Lara the shivers. “I’ll keep it shut. I promise.”