{"product_id":"the-traitor-queen-deluxe-edition-isbn-9780593975237","title":"The Traitor Queen (Deluxe Edition)","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe second novel of the bestselling Bridge Kingdom series, now in a stunning deluxe hardcover edition, featuring: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Designed sprayed edges \u003cbr\u003e• A deluxe jacket with new cover art \u003cbr\u003e• A full-color illustrated book case with new character art \u003cbr\u003e• An interior black-and-white map (included in previous volumes) \u003cbr\u003e• Designed endpapers \u003cbr\u003e• A spine design that will stretch across future deluxe hardcover editions in the series \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this sweeping, sizzling fantasy romance, one woman fights to win back her throne, her people, and the love of the man she’s betrayed—from the #1\u003ci\u003e New York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eA Fate Inked in Blood.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA queen now in exile as a traitor, Lara has watched as Ithicana is conquered by her own father, helpless to do anything to stop the destruction. But when she learns her husband, Aren, has been captured in battle, Lara knows there is only one reason her father is keeping him alive: as bait for his traitorous daughter. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd it is bait she fully intends to take. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRisking her life on the Tempest Seas, Lara returns to Ithicana with a plan not only to free its king but to liberate the Bridge Kingdom from her father’s clutches, using his own weapons: the sisters whose lives she spared. Yet not only is the palace inescapable, there are more players in the game than Lara ever realized: enemies and allies switching sides in the fight for crowns, kingdoms, and bridges. But her greatest adversary of all might be the man she’s trying to free—the husband she betrayed. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith everything she loves in jeopardy, Lara must decide who—and what—she is fighting for: her kingdom, her husband, or herself. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIncludes a bonus chapter from Sarhina’s point of view, also in the paperback reissue \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDon’t miss any of Danielle L. Jensen's Bridge Kingdom series: \u003cbr\u003eTHE BRIDGE KINGDOM • THE TRAITOR QUEEN • THE INADEQUATE HEIR • THE ENDLESS WAR • THE TWISTED THRONE \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eDanielle L. Jensen\u003c\/b\u003e is the #1\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eA Fate Inked in Blood\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e A Curse Carved in Bone,\u003c\/i\u003e and the Bridge Kingdom, Dark Shores, and Malediction series. Her novels are published internationally in twenty-two languages. She lives in Calgary, Alberta, with her family and guinea pigs.\u003cb\u003e1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aren\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He’d been blindfolded for thirteen days.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Shackled, too, and occasionally gagged, but despite the persistent burn of the ropes sloughing the skin of his wrists and the foul taste of the fabric shoved in his mouth, it was the endless shadow of the blindfold that was driving Aren, the former king of Ithicana, to the brink of madness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For while pain was an old friend, and discomfort almost a way of life, to be confined to what sights his own mind could conjure was the worst sort of torture. Because despite his most fervent wish it were otherwise, all his mind wanted to show him were visions of \u003ci\u003eher.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lara.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e His wife.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Traitor Queen of Ithicana.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aren had more pressing matters to consider, the foremost how the \u003ci\u003ebloody hell\u003c\/i\u003e he was going to escape the Maridrinians. Yet the practicalities of that need faded as he examined every moment with \u003ci\u003eher,\u003c\/i\u003e trying and failing to decipher truth from lie, reality from the act—­though to what end he could not say. What did knowing if any of it had been real \u003ci\u003ematter\u003c\/i\u003e when the bridge was lost, his people were dead and dying, his kingdom was on the brink of defeat, and all of it the result of him trusting in—­\u003ci\u003eloving\u003c\/i\u003e—­his enemy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eI love you.\u003c\/i\u003e Her voice and face filled his thoughts, honey hair tangled, her azure eyes bright with tears that carved their way through the mud smearing her cheeks.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eTruth or lie?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aren wasn’t sure which answer would be a balm to the wound and which would tear it wide open again. A wise man would leave it alone, but God knew he had no claim to that particular attribute, so around he circled, her face, her voice, her touch consuming him as the Maridrinians dragged him, kicking and fighting, from his fallen kingdom. Only once he was off the seas and beneath the heat of the Maridrinian skies did he get his wish: the blindfold removed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Wishes were the dreams of fools.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e2\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lara\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lara hadn’t known Eranahl had a dungeon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But there was no other word for the dark cell built into caverns beneath the island city, the stone walls slick with mildew and the air stagnant. The steel bars were devoid of even a hint of rust, because this was Ithicana, and even the things that were barely used were well maintained.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lara lay on her back on the narrow cot, the thin blanket she’d been given doing little to ward off the damp chill, her stomach tight with hunger because she was subjected to the same rations as everyone else on the island.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This wasn’t how she’d hoped things would go.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Rather than convincing Ahnna of her plan to rescue Aren from her father’s clutches, all her display of martial skill in the council chamber had done was see her slapped in irons, dragged through the city streets, and tossed in this cell. Those who brought her food and fresh water refused to speak to her, ignoring her pleas to see Ahnna.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And every day that passed was another day that Aren remained a prisoner in Maridrina, subjected to God knew what sort of treatment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If he was even still alive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The thought made her want to curl in on herself. Made her want to scream with frustration. Made her want to break free of this place and try to free Aren herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Except she knew that would be folly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She \u003ci\u003eneeded\u003c\/i\u003e Ithicana.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If only she could make them realize that they needed her, too.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e3\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aren\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Good morning, Your Majesty,” a voice said as the blindfold was removed from Aren’s face.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aren blinked rapidly, tears streaming down his cheeks as the sun seared into his eyes, blinding him as surely as the sweat-­stained fabric ever had. Gradually, the burning white receded to reveal a manicured rose garden. A table. And a man with silvered hair, sun-­darkened skin, and eyes the color of the Tempest Seas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The king of Maridrina.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Lara’s father.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e His enemy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aren lunged across the table, not caring that he was unarmed or that his wrists were bound. Knowing only that he needed to hurt this man who had destroyed everything he held dear.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e His fingers inches from their mark, Aren found himself snapped back against his chair, a chain belted to his waist holding him in place like a dog to a post.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Now, now. Let’s not be uncivilized.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “F***. You.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Maridrinian king’s upper lip curled with disdain, as though Aren had barked rather than spoken. “You are as your kingdom was, Your Majesty. Feral.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eWas.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The sneer turned into a smile. “Yes, Your Majesty. \u003ci\u003eWas.\u003c\/i\u003e For I’m afraid Ithicana is no longer, and your title now a courtesy you will have to do without.” He leaned back in his chair. “What shall we call you? Master Kertell? Or perhaps, given we are family of sorts, a certain amount of familiarity is appropriate, \u003ci\u003eAren.\u003c\/i\u003e”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I don’t give a shit what you call me, \u003ci\u003eSilas.\u003c\/i\u003e As to your other point, the bridge is not Ithicana. \u003ci\u003eI\u003c\/i\u003e am not Ithicana. My—­”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “—­people are Ithicana,” Silas finished, his gaze gleaming with amusement. “Pretty words, boy. And perhaps there is truth to them. Ithicana stands . . . for as long as Eranahl does.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aren’s stomach twisted, the name of his city on his enemy’s lips both unfamiliar and unwelcome.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Such a secret to keep.” King Silas Veliant shook his head. “Yet a secret no longer.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “If you mean to use me to negotiate Eranahl’s surrender, you’re wasting your time.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I don’t waste my time. And I don’t negotiate.” Silas rubbed his chin. “Nearly all your people gathered on one island, cut off from supplies, and with no hope of salvation. How long will they last? How long until Eranahl is not a fortress, but a tomb? No, Aren, I don’t need \u003ci\u003eyou\u003c\/i\u003e to see the destruction of Ithicana through to completion.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It wouldn’t come to that. Whoever was in command of Eranahl would begin smuggling civilians out of Ithicana under the cover of the storms. North and south. Scattered to the winds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But alive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And as long as they were alive . . . “If I’m so useless, why am I here?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Silas steepled his fingers together, silent. Aren’s heart sped, thundering against his chest, each beat more violent than the last.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Where is Lara?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e An unexpected question, given that Aren had expected her to be \u003ci\u003ehere.\u003c\/i\u003e Back in Maridrina. Back at her father’s side. That she wasn’t . . . That her father didn’t know where she was . . . \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eI love you.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aren shook his head sharply, a bead of sweat running down his cheek. She’d stabbed him in the back, lied to him from the beginning. \u003ci\u003eNothing\u003c\/i\u003e she’d said mattered now. “I have no idea.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Is she alive?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Unease prickled across his skin, Lara’s voice echoing through his thoughts: \u003ci\u003eI thought I’d destroyed all the copies. This is . . . this is a mistake.\u003c\/i\u003e The tears in her eyes had glinted like jewels. “Your guess is as good as mine.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Did you let her go? Or did she escape?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ePlease don’t do this. I can fight. I can help you. I can—­\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Allowing a traitor to go free seems an ill-­advised choice.” Yet it had been the one he’d made. Why? Why hadn’t he killed her when he’d had the chance?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The other man’s head cocked. Then he reached into the pocket of his gleaming white coat and extracted a ragged and stained piece of paper, the gilt long worn off its edges. “This was found on your person when you were searched. Such an interesting document.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Silas laid it flat on the table. Aren’s writing was barely visible through the watermarks and bloodstains. “On one side, she betrays me. On the other”—­he flipped it over—­“she betrays you. A puzzle. I must say, we were uncertain what to make of it, especially in conjunction with your visit to my fair city. Tell me, where do you believe Lara’s loyalties lie?”#1 New York Times bestselling author","brand":"Del Rey","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233756852453,"sku":"NP9780593975237","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593975237.jpg?v=1767741892","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-traitor-queen-deluxe-edition-isbn-9780593975237","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}