Inadequate Heir

The Inadequate Heir is the third book in Danielle L. Jensen's Bridge Kingdom series, unfolding in the same timeframe as The Traitor Queen but centered on two new protagonists. Zarrah is heir to the Valcotta empire and a captain in its army, stationed in the border city of Nerastis, driven by two convictions: that the Veliant family murdered her mother, and that her pursuit of vengeance will put every one of them in the ground.

Keris is her counterpart on the other side of the border — heir to the Maridrina throne and reluctant captain of its forces, publicly dismissed as the soft, bookish "inadequate" heir next to more warrior-like relatives. Beneath that reputation is a sharper strategic mind than anyone credits him with.

What begins as an enemies-across-the-border standoff between Zarrah and Keris slides into a slow-burn entanglement that forces Zarrah to reckon with whether her lifelong pursuit of vengeance is justice or simply more violence, inherited and self-perpetuating.