The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)

Lara has kept a low profile since the raiders attacked. She receives a letter from her father, and Lara probes Aren for weaknesses. She picks at old wounds, asking whether he took pleasure in killing the raiders. In return, Aren asks about her worst memory, and she honestly describes being taken from her father’s harem and admits that she never saw her mother again. One of Aren’s guards, Lia, enters and tells him that the season has been declared over, although the meaning of this is not yet clarified.

As Lia and Aren talk, Lara reads her letter and discovers that the Ithicanians did not find Serin’s code. The encoded message states that the goods the Maridrinians have received from Ithicana are all diseased. Lia leaves, and Lara asks about Aren’s parents’ deaths. He will only say that they drowned. She then tries to get information about the bridge, but Aren recognizes her ploy and ends the conversation. He announces that they will visit his grandmother tomorrow. Angered, Lara kicks Aren out of her room.