Heretic Spellblade 3
K.D. Robertson
Copyright © 2021 by K.D. Robertson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are the product of imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Thanks for reading!
Books by K.D. Robertson
Chapter 1
Nathan sat alone in his office as dawn arrived. The sun crept over the fortress of Gharrick Pass and shined through the narrow window in his office. Noticing that sunlight had lit up the room, Nathan raised his hand and flicked off the far light switch with a flash of magic. A moment later, the lights flickered off, as the magic that powered them vanished.
If Nathan felt generous, he’d describe his office as cozy. It contained his desk, a large table in the center that seated four, and rows of shelves along the walls. Neat stacks of paperwork lined his desk, and he slowly worked through them. A clock ticked in the corner and a map of the region hung on the wall.
“Nathan, you missed breakfast,” a familiar voice whined.
A beautiful cat beastkin appeared in the open doorway carrying two plates of food. She had luscious black hair, tufted black cat ears, and a bushy tail that always seemed to need grooming—especially this morning, as her hair and tail looked to be a complete mess. Her black and silver uniform accentuated her curves, and especially her hefty bust. A sapphire gem glittered in her collarbone.
“I have a meeting with Narime and Seraph this morning, Fei,” Nathan said, turning his attention back to his paperwork. He paused. “Did you at least bring a coffee?”
Fei rolled her eyes, then turned to her side. “Bring Nathan a coffee.”
A pair of guards stood outside Nathan’s office at all hours, and they jumped to attention in response to Fei’s order.
“Yes, Captain!” one of the guards shouted. The hallway filled with the clatter of her boots.
Then Fei stepped inside the office and deposited the food. Nathan noticed that her plate contained a lot more. Enough to feed ten men, in fact. Fei ate enough to bankrupt the average baron in a month, and nobody knew where it all went. Her plate was loaded down with meat, fried eggs, and hashed potatoes. Nathan’s was far tamer.
Nathan blinked as he noticed a purple, metal comb sitting on his desk, next to his cutlery.
“Is this some sort of imported knife?” he joked, preparing to cut into his breakfast sausages with the comb.
Fei shot to her feet with a strangled scream. “Don’t you dare!”
“Relax, Fei.” He laughed. “Finish your food. Then I’ll comb out your hair and tail if you’re well behaved. But only if I get my coffee.”
The catgirl redirected her glare to the doorway, and she wolfed down her food with a glower. Only when the guard returned with a steaming mug of coffee did she cheer up.
After she finished her food, Fei planted herself next to him. Her humming filled the office as she waited patiently for Nathan to begin combing her hair. Black cat ears twitched cutely in his peripheral vision, and he gave in without much struggle.
As he spent the next thirty minutes taking care of his catgirl, Nathan let his thoughts wander.
Over two months had passed since he had invaded the Federation. One month since the Amica Federation had officially become part of the Anfang Empire. Nathan was a Bastion of the Empire, and that made him a military commander with immense power. But reality was more complicated.
A little over twelve months ago, Nathan had lived in a different kingdom, defending a fortress at the edge of the known world. He had lost everything, and then been offered the chance to go back in time to change it all. Or so he had thought.
In truth, he now stood in a different world than the one he had been born in. He had been born Nathan Martel, but had taken over the life and body of Nathan Straub. But most things remained the same, and he had used his knowledge of the future to prevent the end of the world.
That was why he could enjoy this quiet morning with Fei. Over the last year, he had stopped the demonic invasion that happened in his original world, captured the instigator, and then conquered the Federation.
“What’s the meeting about?” Fei asked, her back still turned to him as he focused on her hair.
“We’ll be going over the work to be done while I’ll be away,” Nathan answered.
“Away?” Fei spun around, then yelped as she yanked the comb out of his hand in the process.
Nathan straightened her head, then resumed taming her hair. “I know it’s early, but you do remember that we’re leaving to visit Vera and Anna tomorrow, right?”
“We?” Fei remained silent for several seconds. “Oh. Whoops. I forgot.”
Resisting the urge to bonk his catgirl on the head, Nathan said, “Remind me again who is in charge of my knights? Who is the beastkin that all of my soldiers are beginning to look up to and call captain, and think so highly of? Is it you, who forgot to give them orders while you’ll be away for a week or more?”
“Um, yes?” Fei squeaked out. “I probably told Kara about it, so it should be fine.”
Kara was Fei’s lieutenant who helped her do her job. Or, realistically, did her job for her. If Nathan felt mean, he’d say that Fei’s job was to look pretty while stabbing things. But she was very good at that, so he forgave her.
“Don’t rely on your lieutenant to do everything,” he said. “I gave you, Sunstorm, and Sen promotions before we attacked the Federation because I felt you deserved it. You still need to prove to me that you do.”
Fei grumbled, but remained silent.
Nathan was a Bastion. One of the most powerful and influential individuals in the world. He controlled reality-bending binding stones that dotted the world,
and in turn had some of the strongest warriors in the Empire under his command. Fei was one of those warriors, known as a Champion. The sapphire that gleamed in her collarbone was proof that she was one.
He commanded multiple other Champions. Sunstorm was another—an assassin born in the Kurai Peninsula, but who grew up in the Federation after her homeland was overrun by demons. Another one was Sen, who was a powerful spellblade possessed by the spirit Ifrit. Both Sen and Sunstorm knew about Nathan’s past, but had incomplete memories of it.
“Oh, I didn’t know Fei was invited to this meeting,” a new voice said from the doorway.
Nathan and Fei looked over to see a gorgeous fox woman slink in wearing a figure-hugging blue dress. A pair of sapphires shimmered in her collar, and six massive, fluffy, silver tails flowed behind her body.
This was Narime, another of Nathan’s Champions. She strode over to Nathan and planted a heated kiss on his lips. Fei whined in protest, but remained still due to the comb in her hair.
“No fair,” Fei said.
“Oh, hush. You claim him like this every morning,” Narime said as she pulled away. “Why don’t we hold our meeting outside, Nathan? It’s a glorious spring day and it’s nearly summer. Perfect weather to sit together outside and talk while basking in each other’s company, our hands linked, and my tails wrapped around your body.”
Fei pouted. “But my tail…”
“Goddess, I’ll let him finish grooming you,” the fox said. “Then we’ll go outside.”
Nathan didn’t interrupt the play-fighting between his Champions. He shared his bed with both of these women, if not at the same time. While Fei grew more adventurous toward his other lovers, Narime remained nervous. But Nathan loved them all equally.
Although he made sure that Fei’s jealousy never got out of control. He found her cattiness adorable, but only in small doses.
Nathan finished combing out Fei’s tail, and she made her happiness plain to everybody with the scent she gave off. A moment later, Narime hoisted him from his chair and yanked him away from his desk.
“Oh, and Fei?” Narime called out to the dazed catgirl. “Make sure that everything is ready before you leave. I’ll be very disappointed if I have to chase things up, or if Nathan needs to cover for you.”
Fei squeaked, but her response was lost as Nathan and Narime left.
They quickly found themselves in the rear courtyard. Given the time and weather, the dining area out here was packed with soldiers and knights. Servants rushed about with food and drink, while the soldiers bantered and laughed.
Nathan noted that a lot of his beastkin knights wore a patch on their uniform. It was an altered crest of Nathan’s family—the family that had disowned him years ago.
The normal crest consisted of a stylized helmet on top of a white shield and black background. The altered crest added a pair of black cat ears and a series of different animal tails around the helmet.
He clicked his tongue as he passed the soldiers, but said nothing openly. Narime noticed.
The eyes of his female knights followed him as he passed them. He pretended not to notice the lust in their eyes, or the way their tails wagged when he passed them. A few said hello, or called out to him as he passed, and he made sure to respond. He had grown used to their attention over the last several months.
Narime led him to one of the quieter spots in the rear courtyard of the castle, away from the feasting soldiers.
“How are you settling in?” Nathan asked her.
Narime had only joined Nathan as a Champion when he invaded the Federation. But he had known her for years in his world, which meant he trusted her implicitly. She had centuries of experience under her belt, and he trusted her strategic advice above almost anyone else’s.
Naturally, he had given her overall command of military deployments in his absence. If something happened, he knew she could handle it. Officially, that meant Narime was in charge of Fei.
In practice, things were more complicated.
“It’s difficult,” Narime admitted. “I can settle into the fortress, learn the region, the customs, and everything else within days. That was the easy part. What’s harder is… everything else. I’ve spent years in the Federation. Even though it’s now part of the Empire, that doesn’t mean it magically changes overnight. Even if the Empire abolishes beastkin slavery. People don’t change just because their cities fly new flags.”
“I guess that’s the problem with a peaceful annexation,” Nathan said. “Other than Torneus, all the regents became dukes in the Empire.”
High Lord Torneus had been the instigator behind the war against the Federation. When Nathan toppled him, the Federation had surrendered. In exchange, the Empire had taken no punitive action.
Torneus’s territory had been split up. Most of it had been given to the noblewoman Anna von Clair, who was one of Nathan’s closest allies and his lover. Nathan had become a national hero overnight.
“And Anna became a duchess,” Narime pointed out. “I’m still surprised at that. She convinced herself to only be an Imperial Countess and let you move past her. Then you made her a very happy little noble and she convinced the Emperor to make her a duchess instead. For you.”
“She was always supposed to become duchess,” Nathan said. “Once she knew I supported her, she was offered the position they wanted her to take to begin with.”
“Planning to begin Nathan von Clair anytime soon?” the fox teased.
“I’m pretty sure she’s measured my ring finger while I’ve slept,” Nathan joked. “But I don’t think we’ll be marrying any time soon. Or having children.”
“Good.” Narime leaned over and shrouded him in her tails. “It’s so much easier to share you while you don’t have a wife.”
Nathan changed the topic, before Narime did anything she shouldn’t while in public. “You said that people don’t change, but that’s why I need you to help. The world changes day by day. Once people get used to peace and the new way things are done, they’ll expect the future to remain that way.”
“True,” Narime said. She leaned away. “People can change. I’m changing, because of you.”
A cough interrupted them. Narime narrowed her eyes.
“How did you find us so fast?” the fox said, turning to the new arrival.
“Because I’m not stupid,” Seraph said, amusement laced through her voice. “I asked whether anyone had seen Nathan when I arrived here through the gateway. Do you really think people won’t notice you flirting with him out in the open?”
Nathan looked over at the castle. Dozens of beastkin knights stared at him, their ears and tails pricked up. Fei had joined them, sitting next to her dog beastkin lieutenant.
Given the excellent hearing of most beastkin, he wondered how private his discussion truly was.
A moment later, he cast a magic ward to stop eavesdropping. The beastkin ears lowered.
Nathan sighed. Of course.
“Well, you’re both here. Let’s start the meeting,” he said, gesturing Seraph to sit on the opposite side of the table they sat at.
Seraph held an exotic beauty in comparison to most of his Champions. Like Sunstorm, she hailed from Kurai but she was older. A pair of jade gems sat in her chest. Her red and black cheongsam hugged her figure tightly and her eyes had a dangerous gleam to them.
But she was loyal. Most importantly, Nathan relied on her to run a lot of his administrative matters. She had originally been his enemy, but now served him with without question.
“I’ve noticed that the crests have increased in number,” Seraph said, referring to the patches that the beastkin wore on their shoulders.
“Thank you for raising a topic I wanted to avoid,” Narime replied, her tone acidic.
“It’s wise to tackle our problems head-on.”
“Settle down, ladies,” Nathan said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “The crest is treasonous. I don’t like it. The problem is, discouraging it hasn’t worked. Do we
know why, yet?”
“Anna’s encouraging it,” Seraph said simply. “And the beastkin think it’s a sign of loyalty to you. There are a lot of people upset about the end of beastkin slavery in the Federation, so many of your knights feel defensive.”
Nathan held back a sigh. All of that added up, but he supposed he had only himself to blame. He had chosen to focus on recruiting beastkin knights, given the physical advantages they had over humans.
“I don’t think it’s as big of a problem as you say,” Narime said. “They’re showing loyalty to you. Given how tense things are in the Empire right now, I don’t think that’s a mistake.”
“I’m not a private noble like Anna,” Nathan explained. “I serve Emperor Gorthal and nobody else. If my soldiers show fealty to me rather than their actual liege, it raises questions about my loyalty. History is full of examples of what happens when armies are more loyal to their general than to their nations.”
“Are you planning to overthrow the Emperor?” Seraph asked.
“No.”
“Just checking,” Seraph said.
He rolled his eyes. “But it will look that way. Or it will be a convenient excuse for bad actors who want to paint me in a negative light.”
“The Nationalists will paint you in a bad light anyway. They’re pushing for a civil war and you worry them, Nathan. You’ve become a hero overnight,” Narime insisted. “But if you want to discourage the crests, I’ll continue to push. Fei can help.”
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