In the searing finale to the Bridge Kingdom series, love and war collide in a perilous battle to save Ithicana—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Fate Inked in Blood.
A fugitive on the run, Ahnna has one goal: return to Ithicana with warning of the greatest threat her homeland has ever faced. But as she escapes into the wilderness, it is with the man who broke her heart hunting at her heels—and James wants more than justice. He wants revenge.
Desperate to prove his loyalty to his family, James ventures into dangerous territory to capture his father’s killer. But the longer he follows Ahnna’s trail, the more his certainty of her guilt is tested—and the more the passion they once shared reignites.
As schemes twist tighter and war brews, Ahnna and James discover that the enemy isn’t each other—it is the masterminds manipulating them both in pursuit of power. Yet their greatest obstacle remains, because their loyalties are to opposing sides in the battle to come. As the storms of the Tempest Seas lower their defenses, James and Ahnna must choose where their hearts lie: on the battlefield, or in each other’s arms.
Don’t miss any of Danielle L. Jensen's Bridge Kingdom series: THE BRIDGE KINGDOM • THE TRAITOR QUEEN • THE INADEQUATE HEIR • THE ENDLESS WAR • THE TWISTED THRONE • THE TEMPEST BLADE (April 14, 2026)
Release date:
April 14, 2026
Publisher:
Del Rey
Print pages:
800
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“Three sets of eyes on her at all times,” James growled at his men. “This woman might well be the most dangerous individual you come across in your lifetimes. Keep her gagged. Keep her chained. And for the love of God, keep your f***ing wits about you.”
“Yes, sir,” his lieutenant responded, but then his eyes slid to the prisoner. “How do you wish us to handle requests for privacy? She is a princess, and propriety demands—”
“What do you value more, propriety or keeping your throat intact? Because I assure you, if you turn your back on this woman, you will regret it.” James gestured sharply to Hazel, who stepped forward, her expression frosty—as it had been since the moment the young maid had joined his company. “Hazel will ensure proper conduct, but when I say three sets of eyes on her at all times, I mean at all times. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir!” The men saluted sharply, and Hazel gave a tight nod, but James’s attention was all for the prisoner on her knees before him.
Azure eyes tracked him, cold as ice. James knelt before Princess Bronwyn Veliant and met her stare for stare. “To reiterate, Your Highness, you are being released not because I believe you are innocent but as a courtesy to Queen Sarhina, with whom Harendell has no quarrel.”
We’ll see how long that lasts.
Bronwyn did not so much as blink, yet James resisted the urge to reach for his sword hilt, every instinct screaming danger. This woman had the same training as her sister Lara, which meant she’d spent most of her lifetime under the tutelage of the Magpie and his minions. Bronwyn was a killer to her core, and her dead-eyed stare promised that the moment she got her hands on a blade, it would have his name on it. Except there were many people who felt the same way about him, so she could get in line.
“You will be delivered to Northwatch,” James continued. “You will relay a message to Ithicana’s king that he is to immediately turn over his sister for execution for the murder of King Edward and the attempted murder of Queen Alexandra. Should he comply, and should we discover proof Ahnna acted of her own accord, Harendell will reconsider its plans to retaliate against both Ithicana and its crown. Should Aren refuse, the full might of Harendell’s military will descend upon Ithicana’s shores, and you might remind Aren that we know all the ways in. That is the consequence of Ithicana’s choice to betray its oldest ally.” He pulled out Bronwyn’s gag. “Am I understood?”
Her voice was hoarse as she asked, “And if Ahnna is not in Ithicana?”
“It is my understanding that Lara maintains Ithicana’s spy network. A spy network unrivaled by any other nation. I suggest she put it to good use and find Ahnna before it’s too late.” James smiled, knowing full well it did not reach his eyes. “I’m sure Ithicana’s queen will give no argument. Ahnna is hardly a friend to Lara and has caused her no end of grief. If Ithicana is innocent of the princess’s crimes, then they no doubt wish to be rid of her. See it done, Your Highness—you’ve your own interests to protect.”
The coldness in Bronwyn’s gaze transformed into rage. “If you lay a finger on Taryn, I’ll—”
James shoved the gag back in her mouth, cutting off the inevitable threat. “Taryn will be treated as a lady right up to the point she is recast as a prisoner of war.” He stared Bronwyn down. “Deliver Ahnna to us so that we can punish her for her crimes. It’s in everyone’s best interest.”
Rising, James exited the ship’s brig, the heavy clang of steel bars filling his ears as he headed toward the stairs to the main deck. The moment he was out of sight of Hazel and the guards, he stopped and rested a hand against the wall, searching for equilibrium. Yet every time James blinked, he saw his father’s corpse laid out on a table. Eyes still and glassy, the blood washed away to reveal knife wounds so great in number that they merged. His indomitable father reduced to so much meat.
Forty-seven wounds. The surgeon’s shaken voice filled James’s thoughts. A crime of rage, of that there is no doubt.
Nausea twisted in James’s stomach, and he swallowed hard, unable to escape from the memories that plagued him.
The bloody scene of the murder had been discovered by a servant, who’d immediately called for help. James had been walking back to his own rooms, head thick with his father’s alcohol and mind consumed with how he was going to make things right with Ahnna, when the alarm had sounded. He’d joined the guards, and they’d followed the small smears of blood left by the killer’s boots through the Sky Palace. Not once had it occurred to him that it might be Ahnna’s trail they were following, so when they rounded the corridor, lured by screams, the sight of her before a bleeding Alexandra had shocked him to the core.
Help me, Alexandra’s voice sobbed from his memories. Help me, Jamie.
It had been the first time she’d ever used his childhood nickname without derision, and it echoed over and over in his thoughts. As did the memory of Alexandra reaching for him, eyes filled with agony and terror.
A severe defensive wound to her hand, the surgeon had told him. The queen may never have full use of it again. The wound in her cheek will leave significant scarring, but the stab wound to the abdomen was nearly the death of her. An inch to the left and we would have lost Her Majesty as well.
There had never been any love lost between James and Alexandra, for she had resented both his parentage and his father’s favoritism, but she had set aside their conflict since his father’s death. An attack on one Ashford was an attack on all, and just before James had left Verwyrd, the queen had come to him.
“I fear for our family, James.” Her speech was difficult to understand due to the injury to her face, her eyes heavy with narcotics and pain. “Our enemies will see this as an opportunity. Your brother is bereft and not ready to leave. I . . .” She swayed on her feet, only James catching hold of her hands keeping her from falling. “I haven’t the strength to aid him. Jamie, I know we have long been at odds, but for all my cruel words, I do know that you have ever been your brother’s bulwark against those who would harm him. You are the soldier among us, the warrior, and I am trusting you to keep us safe from those who would take advantage of your father’s death.”
James could see that, even now, the admission cost Alexandra. She did not want to rely upon him. For her to do so spoke to the emotional toll of her brush with death, but also to her certainty that he would always do right by his siblings. “I’ll find her, Your Grace. We will have justice.”
Alexandra gave a tight nod, but then her green eyes welled with unexpected tears. “I went to find Ahnna, because I know better than anyone how your father’s words can cut to the bone.” Her eyelids squeezed shut for a heartbeat, and when they opened, tears spilled down her cheeks. “Could cut.”
Past tense. Because his father would never utter another word again.
Alexandra drew in a shuddering breath. “I’d hoped to temper what Edward had done, but Ahnna was so angry that she would not hear me. There was no reason in her. No logic. Only rage and a knife in her bloody hand.”
A deadly combination.
Alexandra’s fingers closed on his. “Be careful, Jamie. Ahnna Kertell is more dangerous than we realized, and I believe you are the one she truly desires to hurt.”
As if he didn’t know that. As if he didn’t wish that it had been him lying dead on that table, because his father had wanted Ahnna to be queen—to be his successor. Had wanted her to marry James so that they would one day rule together. If James had only gone to Ahnna immediately and explained, rather than wallowing in misery over his father’s ill-thought methods, none of this would have happened.
“James? Jamie, are you all right?”
The sound of his name tore James from his thoughts. He lifted his head to find Georgie coming down the steps toward him. “Fine. Is the ship ready to sail?”
His best friend nodded. Gripping James’s shoulders, he said, “You need to get some sleep. We have every huntsman and dog on her trail, and the civilians are forming militias to guard the coastline. Every ship leaving harbor is being searched top-to-bottom by loyal men and bloodhounds that have been given articles of her clothing. It’s only a matter of time until we track the bitch down and make her pay.”
Hanged, and then drawn and quartered, William’s voice snarled. I’ll send her head to her brother on a spike. Despite himself, James flinched, and he silently cursed himself for shying away from a punishment Ahnna deserved.
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