Dangerous Heroes (Star Blade Book 4) by J.N. Chaney & Scott Moon

Author:J.N. Chaney & Scott Moon [Chaney, J.N. & Moon, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2025-05-24T16:00:00+00:00

20

The Duvosian High Consuls weren’t just laughing at us now. They were cackling with glee. Listening to them hurt my ears. I would do almost anything to make the noise stop.

“Free us, outlander,” Umdor said to Vilak. “These bonds are too tight.”

“You will remain our prisoners,” Vilak said coldly.

“No we will not! Our sons will bring their legions and their beasts to free us. The four of you will die. None of you will be spared because you served your purpose and are irrelevant to our conquest of this galaxy!” Umdor shouted.

Lorayn Kin-za shrieked as she attacked. I flinched away as Vogethmon sliced all three of the conspirators in half. One sweeping arc of the blade turned Three Terrors into six pieces. She finished the stroke, flicked blood from the blade, and sheathed the weapon smoothly.

“That was dishonorable,” Vilak snapped. “These men were our prisoners.”

“Keep them if you like, but I have no use for the dead.”

“That’s interesting since you make so many of them,” I said without thinking.

She flashed her teeth at me.

Vilak raised one hand to stall her. “Jake has done all that we asked. Perhaps it is time for us to work more closely with him.”

I was suspicious but also saw a change in the man’s red eyes. Gone was the passive-aggressive violence from our early encounters. Did he trust me to rebuild the order? I wasn’t sure, but something was happening here. He was choosing sides at last. All we needed was to convert Lorayn Kin-za from a liability to an asset, and the Order of the Star Blade had a real chance of returning to its former glory.

“You can’t have everything,” Zental sneered at Vilak’s back. “How can we trust you not to vanish when we need your help?”

Vilak spun to face the Ulniiri sword master. Rage accentuated the move, and I could imagine his double irises piercing Zental with lasers. Time skipped forward, and I was too late to stop what happened next.

Zental’s blade had already been moving when Vilak started to turn. The Trenteen Star Blade raised Oson in the blink of an eye, but Zental’s weapon was already thrusting into the scars from Kilian Drake’s attack over 3,000 years ago. I moved too slowly to stop the treacherous assault.

Zental was a step ahead of me. Blade jumping was easier now that the Sacid Gate had unfolded. He used his weapon to get clear of Vilak’s feeble counter, then jumped halfway across the valley and dashed into the woods. “It’s time for new leadership, Jake. You should have seized the power of the Sacid Gate when you had the chance. I see the way now, and it does not involve serving my rivals.”

I was barely listening to the blade channel but wondered if my apprentices were listening, and if so, how long it would take them to rally. For now, I had Vilak to worry about.

Loryan Kin-za crossed her arms and watched me catch him. “Do you want me to slaughter the Ulniiri traitor?”

“Can we have five seconds that don’t involve backstabbing?” I snapped.

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