The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)

Lara Veliant is one of two protagonists and one of the novel’s primary point-of-view characters. Initially Aren’s enemy, she grows to love him in earnest. As the daughter of King Silas of Maridrina and an unknown woman from the king’s harem, Lara is one of 12 princesses chosen to undergo a cruel training program in an isolated compound in the middle of the Red Desert. She is nicknamed “little cockroach” by her master of arms, Erik, whom she saw as a surrogate father. Of all the aptitudes taught during her training, Lara only demonstrates proficiency in killing others, unlike her sister Marylyn, who is deemed the best candidate. When Lara learns that her father intends to kill her and her sisters after Marylyn is chosen to become Ithicana’s queen, she drugs her sisters with a narcotic that will make them appear dead. Once Lara is declared the de facto candidate, she embarks on her journey to Ithicana, knowing that she has at least secured her sisters’ freedom while committing herself to a life of treachery and danger.

A brilliant fighter, Lara has great beauty despite her many scars. From Aren’s perspective, however, “even bedraggled by the rain, she’d been stunning, her form curved, her exquisite face framed by hair the color of honey” (33).