“I’ll protect you, whether you need the protection or not,” he told her. “Now get dressed. Those men likely saw our fire from their post at the eastern bridge, so we cannot be far.”

“Qurrah?”

“Yes, Tessanna?”

She smiled an unseen smile behind the blankets.

“What are the Gods’ Bridges like? I’ve always heard they’re pretty.”

“Come with me,” he told her, once more offering his hand. “And we shall see together.”

He took her hand and pulled her from the blankets. She kissed his cheek before putting on her dress.

“Together,” she said. “I like that.”

When they were ready, Qurrah scattered the last few ashes of their fire and led them west.

The Bridges had been constructed centuries ago by the gods Karak and Ashhur after they had Celestia split the land of Dezrel with the great Rigon River. Just before reaching the ocean, the Rigon River forked in two, creating a large delta. Each god had placed a bridge just south of the fork. Each had hoped this crossing would allow them to claim the fertile delta, and it was their twin claims that led to their war.

Karak had built his bridge across the eastern fork, and it was this bridge that Qurrah and Tessanna first saw.

“Oh, Qurrah,” Tessanna said, smiling. “It is beautiful.”

Twin lions carved of stone flanked the entrance. They were reared back on their hind legs, their front paws raking the air. Their mouths were forever open in a roar of battle. Three arches made of giant stones wedged together formed the bridge’s structure. The first arch began where the ground sloped toward the river, and the third ended atop the bank on the far side. Two giant pillars marked where the arches met above the water. Qurrah had heard that the hand of Karak himself lifted and placed the stones into the water, and seeing its size, he held little doubt to its truth.