The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1)(57)

Sitting at the table, Lara loaded two plates full of food and then gestured at the other woman to join her, both of them drinking deeply from their steaming coffees. They’d grown increasingly familiar in their time together, Taryn easy to be around in a way that reminded Lara of her sisters. “Has Amarid attacked?”

“Not yet. They know they no longer have the element of surprise, so they’ll look for points of weakness.”

“Is Aren . . .”

“He’ll be on the water, making sure we have no points of weakness. Why?” Taryn smirked. “Miss him?”

Lara gave a snort of amusement that could be taken either way, but the wheels were turning in her head. Aren gone meant there was no one on Midwatch to tell her no. “I wanted to ask him something . . .”

“Oh?”

“I want to get used to being on the water.”

Taryn paused in her chewing of a mouthful of ham, then swallowed. “War Tides isn’t exactly the ideal time for sailing aimlessly about, Lara.”

Lara gave her a gentle kick under the table. “I know that. I was thinking I could sit in a boat in the cove. Then perhaps by the end of War Tides, I’ll have adjusted to the water enough that I might venture further without subjecting everyone to my vomiting.”

Taryn took another bite of meat, her brow furrowed. “There’s a lot of comings and goings right now . . .”

“Is there another location that would work better? I don’t want to be in the way.” And if there was another landing point on the island—perhaps one with fewer defenses —it might mitigate her need to find another entrance to the bridge.

“Nowhere with a proper beach.”

Lara exhaled in disappointment. “It’s only that I feel so trapped. I want to see more of Ithicana, but with my seasickness and my . . . fear, it seems impossible.”

Trapped the way Taryn felt trapped. Limited in where she might go and what she might do by circumstance and necessity. Lara watched her words strike home, the other woman setting down her fork, eyes distant as she thought. “I suppose we could try it for an hour and see if anyone takes issue.”

Lara grinned. “Let me wash the rest of this mud off my face, and then we can go.”

Three hours later, the two of them sat in a bobbing canoe, Lara trying to keep track of the goings-on in the cove while periodically leaning over the side to empty her guts.

Taryn had taken her to another building not far from the barracks, which was filled with a variety of vessels that weren’t currently in use. She’d selected a small canoe that wouldn’t fit more than the two of them, so old it barely appeared seaworthy. No one would miss this particular vessel. As they carried it down to the beach, Lara silently considered how she might secret it away for her eventual escape.

She rested her forearms on the edge of the canoe and watched the chain guarding the mouth to the cove rise so that vessels could ferry goods from the pier to the shore. Crates of food, supplies, and weapons, all hailing from Harendell. There were cages of clucking chickens, three live pigs, and a dozen sides of beef, the Ithicanians’ movements concealed by heavy mist.

The signal horns never seemed to cease their blowing. Ripples of sound that conveyed countless different messages, judging from the various reactions they incited, and not something that could be mimicked by an untrained Maridrinian soldier. Lara suspected her father would need to enlist musicians should he wish to turn the form of communication to his advantage. Taking a sip from a canteen of water, Lara rubbed her throbbing temple as she listened to the notes, attempting to memorize patterns and responses, though it would take days, probably weeks of listening and watching for her to make any sense of them.

The canoe had swung around so she was facing away from the cliffs guarding the cove from the sea, but the rattle of the chain caught her attention and she turned to watch a series of vessels enter, her eyes immediately finding Aren in one of them.

And his finding her.

She watched him exchange words with Jor, then the vessel altered its course from the beach to Lara’s little canoe. Standing, he held onto the mast as the two boats came alongside. “I suppose there’s an interesting explanation for this?”

Taryn rose, the canoe rocking, and Lara’s stomach rocked along with it. “Her Grace is of the opinion that exposure will cure her seasickness.”

“How’s that working out?”

Taryn gestured at the school of tiny fishes circling the boat, and Lara felt her cheeks warm as they both laughed at her expense. Then Aren said, “Go get some rest, Taryn. I’ll take over for a bit.”

Lara’s heart skipped as Aren settled on the seat facing Lara. He waited until the other boat was nearly to the beach before asking, “Why exactly have you volunteered yourself for this particular misery?”

Lara stared at the bottom of the canoe, which was taking on a bit of water through a tiny crack that she’d need patch. “Because. If I don’t learn to master the sea, I’ll never be able to go anywhere with you.”

“Master?” He leaned forward, and her eyes, of their own accord, fixed on his lips, heat rising to her cheeks as she remembered the feel of them against her own.

“Perhaps tolerate is a better word,” she murmured, noticing a nasty scrape on the inside of his forearm. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing. I had an altercation with a rock, and the rock came out better in the exchange.”