The Endless War summary - Full recap with spoilers, book four

Read a The Endless War summary with spoilers, book #4 in Danielle L. Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom Series. If you are wondering what happened in The Endless War by Danielle L. Jensen, then you are in the right place! Get ready for the next book by reading up on exactly what happened in book three.

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Author
Danielle L. Jensen

Ratings
4.4 stars on Amazon
4.2 stars on Goodreads
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The Bridge Kingdom Series
#1 The Bridge Kingdom (synopsis)
#2 The Traitor Queen (synopsis)
#3 The Inadequate Heir (recap)
#4 The Endless War (this page)
#5 The Twisted Throne (recap)
#6 The Tempest Blade (synopsis)

***** Everything below is a SPOILER *****

What happened in The Endless War?

Your The Endless War summary:

Keris is King of Maridrina. Zarrah is taken away by her cousin, Bermin, and imprisoned on Devil’s Island, where the worst Valcottan prisoners are: rapists, murderers, cannibals, etc. It’s known as an “inescapable” island. It’s made of the same material as the bridge. There is a deep current running through it that leads to a center island with a whirlpool creating the current. The center island is surrounded by high cliffs in concentric rings. The cliffs are connected by rope/wood bridges where guards walk.

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Zarrah is put in a boat and sent down the current to the island. She has to get out or die in the whirlpool. Zarrah lands on a beach and meets Kian. She thinks he is a cannibal and runs over a barrier of rocks. She meets Daria, who captures her. Zarrah learns that there are two factions on this island: Kian, who has a harem of women, and Daria, who is with the Rebellion against the Empress.

Zarrah realizes most of the people on Devil’s Island are normal – not horrible criminals – but spoke against the Empress and were imprisoned here. Daria claims the Rebellion is coming to rescue them, and they just need to hold out.

Meanwhile, Keris sails to Ithicana to beg for Lara and Aren’s help and rescue Zarrah. He leaves Sarhina, Lara’s sister, in charge. Lestara, one of Silas’s younger wives from Cardiff, a nation north of Harendell, wants Keris to stay and marry her. She wants to be Queen of Maridrina. She’s a bit miffed when he leaves.

Keris tells Aren and Lara of his plans for peace with Maridrina and Valcotta, but only if she takes the throne. Petra, Zarrah’s aunt, only wants war. There is a rumor that Zarrah might be the true heir. The former Emperor might have picked Zarrah’s mother as heir over Petra, but Petra was a military leader while Zarrah’s mother was a dreamer.

Keris is surprised Ahnna, Aren’s sister, is not yet in Harendell as part of the Fifteen-Year Treaty. Keris gives Ahnna his royal ring and allows her to bargain with Maridrina for favorable trade terms.

Aren and Lara agree to help because Zarrah helped them, and they want peace. Maridrina is weak after trying to take the Bridge. If Valcotta destroys Maridrina, Petra will come for Ithicana next.

On the island, the prisoners are not given enough food. Kian holds the beach and gets any food floated down the river by the guards. Daria’s gang conducts raids on Kian and otherwise kills and eats what they can find. Zarrah survives off birds and insects.

While on a raid, Zarrah is caught in a trap set by one of the lone criminals. Daria’s group leaves her behind. Kian appears and tells her that Daria’s group is full of cannibals. He cuts her down.

Zarrah finds out that Daria’s team is curing people’s corpses in barrels and then digging them up later and eating them. Daria claims she had no choice and had to hold out for the Commander of the Rebellion. Zarrah defects to Kian’s side. Kian kills the young and the elderly, which is why he has enough food for all.

Keris and Aren jump into the river and are taken to the island by the current. Lara stays behind with the Ithicanians and the ship.

Keris and Aren meet Daria. Keris figures out that some of the guards are on the Rebellion/Daria’s side. There’s a deal going on. Both Kian and Daria want Zarrah safe so they can offer her up as a reward to a mysterious person and get off the Island. Keris realizes it’s all a trap engineered by Bermin. Bermin wants Keris to come to the Island so he can kill the King of Maridrina. The Empress put rebels and Zarrah on the Island to draw out the Commander of the Rebellion and kill him. The Rebellion also believes Zarrah is the true heir, and now that she is fighting the Empress, they want to use her as a figurehead to finally convince the people to rise up and depose the Empress.

Keris realizes they have to escape. Keris creates a distraction and sacrifices himself by letting the guards know he’s there. Bermin and the guards come down to capture/kill Keris.

While the guards are distracted, Daria, Zarrah, and Aren escape with their ropes up onto the cliffs. Lara also appears with Ithicanian forces to help the prisoners/rebels escape. It turns out Lara also met the Commander of the Rebellion, and he has fighters as well. Lara’s forces clash with the guards.

Meanwhile, Bermin is about to kill Keris, but Zarrah turns back and fights Bermin. Keris escapes with her.

Bermin tries to stop everyone from escaping, and he shoots Keris in the shoulder. Lara shoots back and kills Bermin. Zarrah is supposed to leave with the rebels, but she jumps off the ship and swims to the Ithicanian ship to be with Keris instead. The ships have to set sail before the guards go after them.

Keris is still in love with Zarrah. Zarrah tells him she needs to focus on Valcotta, and she can’t serve her country if she is in love with a Maridrinian.

Aren and Lara take Zarrah and Keris by ship to Arakis, a southern city where the rebels are rumored to be. Keris is supposed to be taken by Aren and Lara to Maridrina. Aren needs to return to Ithicana. Keris sneaks off the ship and goes with Zarrah into Arakis.

Keris and Zarrah stay in an inn together and try to ignore their feelings for each other.

Zarrah and Keris try to find the rebels by going to a bathhouse and listening to rumors. Keris sneaks into a bathhouse full of Maridrinian soldiers. When Welran, the Empress’s bodyguard, hears of Bermin’s death, he starts throwing things and kills a fellow soldier. He sees Keris is a Maridrinian and tries to kill him.

Zarrah and Keris enter a pleasure house. Rebel sympathizers persuade them to make love to each other to avoid suspicion. Welran sees them but ignores them. With him gone, Daria appears and takes them to the rebels.

Zarrah rallies the rebels and convinces them to fight the Empress at Pyrinat. The Commander is revealed to be Zarrah’s father. He shows them a written document by the old Emperor proving Zarrah is the heir.

Zarrah and Keris make love on a rooftop. Zarrah realizes she really loves him, but doesn’t know how they can be together and lead their countries.

Keris hears news that he might have been deposed for being a terrible king. All Maridrinian forces were sent south to Nerastis. Vencia, empty of soldiers, has been sacked by the Empress. Now Maridrina is clamoring for an answer. Keris leaves the rebels and travels to Vencia. He finds the harem is okay, but the capital and palace are destroyed. Lestara knew about the attack in the nick of time, and everyone evacuated into the mountains.

Keris realizes Lestara is manipulating them, and she wants to be hailed as a savior. She knew that Zarrah was in love with Keris, and she wanted Keris/the throne for herself. She forged an order sending the soldiers away and told the Empress that Vencia was defenseless.

How did The Endless War end? The The Endless War summary

Keris sentences Lestara to banishment in Harendell. Harendell hates Cardiff, and she is a Cardiffian Princess.

Keris publicly confesses his love for Zarrah and asks the Maridrinans to fight and help him put Zarrah on the throne to achieve peace. He also allows women to fight, which is not a Maridrinian tradition. The Ithicanians join in to take Maridrina south to Petra at Pyrinat.

Zarrah realizes even with the rebels, there’s not enough to take on Petra’s forces. She asks her aunt to come to a handball stadium and talk over surrender there. Handball is an old sport loved by Zarrah’s mother, which was banned after her death.

Petra agrees. Zarrah tells Petra she will surrender and burn the document showing she is the true heir if Petra will publicly declare she killed Zarrah’s mother and took over Valcotta.

Petra declares it. It is revealed the stadium is built to project voices from where Zarrrah and Petra are. Petra’s soldiers turn on her.

Petra activates a trapdoor and disappears underneath the stadium with Zarrah. It lets out into a cave. Keris arrives just in time and jumps down the trapdoor.

Petra ends up falling to her death down a waterfall. Keris saves Zarrah.

With Aren and Lara, Keris and Zarrah return to Pyrinat, declaring Zarrah is the heir. Petra’s soldiers attest as well to those stationed in Pyrinat who did not hear the Empress confess.

Zarrah is crowned. Just before going to rescue Zarrah, Keris wrote a law granting the Maridrinian crown to Silas’s firstborn, regardless of gender. Sarhina is queen of Maridrina now. Keris is free to marry Zarrah and live happily ever after.

There you go! That’s a recap of what happened in The Endless War by Danielle L. Jensen. We hope you enjoyed this The Endless War summary with spoilers.

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