Chapter 17
Margaret jumped up, her voice cutting through the air. “Hold it right there!”
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She turned to General Yardley, softening a bit. “General Yardley, we screwed up, and we’re sorry. Let us go, please–I’ll hand over the Henderson family heirloom. It’s all yours!”
Raven quirked an eyebrow, throwing up a hand to freeze everyone in place.
She hadn’t even started hunting for it, and now Margaret was just tossing it her way like a gift.
Well, that saved her a whole lot of hassle.
The Henderson family members stood there, stunned, their eyes popping out at Margaret’s offer.
A few of them yelled at once, “Margaret, don’t do it!”
One guy stepped up, his voice shaky with panic. “That’s the heart of our family! We can’t just give it up!”
Another jumped in, his face red and worked up. “Grandpa said before he passed–if one of us can tame that thing, we could get the whole Vyrdenia under control! Margaret, I’d rather sit in a cell than watch that dream die for good!”
Margaret’s face tightened, her voice dropping.
“You all know what Bastion Prison’s like,” she said, “These old bones aren’t walking out of there. What? You want me dead?”
She kept going, steady and sure. “Anyway, that thing’s been collecting dust with us for years, and nobody’s cracked it. Maybe General Yardley can actually put it to use!”
Before anyone could argue back, Margaret leaned toward Jonah.
She picked her words carefully. “General Yardley, can my son go get it?”
Jonah’s eyes flicked to Raven.
Raven gave Malcolm a quick look, her tone calm. “Go ahead.”
The guy holding Malcolm let him loose.
Malcolm took off toward the Henderson family’s safe room, finally free.
Five minutes later, he was back.
He held a small, gleaming white platinum box–about two fingers wide–like it was something holy.
He stopped in front of General Yardley, staring at the box with a pang of regret.
“This thing’s been ours forever, but nobody’s ever gotten it under control. If people knew about it, it’d just bring trouble,” he said, his voice shaky.
His voice dropped low, almost to himself. “I hope Mom’s right–that General Yardley can make it mean something.”
Jonah didn’t say a word, just glanced at Raven.
Raven stepped up to Malcolm.
She checked out the platinum box, then flipped it open with a quick flick.
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Chapter 17
A gasp shot through the crowd.
The second the box opened up, every soldier sucked in a breath.
In no time, their breathing got heavy–Jonah too.
Their eyes lit up, full of greed and amazement.
Inside the platinum box was a red crystal card, sitting still as a rock.
Fancy, old–school designs curled around its edges, with a sharp, blazing flame symbol smack in the middle.
In Vyrdenia, you had warriors who pushed their bodies to the max.
Then there were the Starbornes–rare powerhouses who fought with Starcards and outshined everybody.
Across all of Vyrdenia, maybe ten Starborne existed, if that.
Each one was a force of nature, a living legend.
And any family that raised a Starborne? Vyrdenia piled on the perks, setting them up to dominate.
That’s why the old Mr. Henderson swore–if someone could handle this Starcard, the family would climb to the top of Vyrdenia’s big shots.
Raven stood firm, her eyes glued to the prize she’d rushed back from the frontlines to snag.
Her breathing picked up a little, but her face stayed stone–cold calm while everyone else freaked out.
She wasn’t just any Starborne–she already had four Starcards in her pocket: gold, wood, water, and earth.
This fire card was the final piece of the Universal Five, the game–changer Vyrdenia needed to turn the war around.
Raven swallowed the thrill buzzing in her chest and grabbed the Starcard from the platinum box.
The instant it touched her hand, her eyebrow twitched.
Her gaze flicked to the bottom right corner of the card, zeroing in on an old, gnarled “lock” rune.
Raven stared at that “lock” for a beat or two.
Then she let out a quiet sigh, muttering under her breath.
She had seen it coming–collecting the Universal Five wasn’t going to be a cakewalk.
No shock there—if this Starcard didn’t have some catch, the Hendersons wouldn’t be in such a mess.
She turned to the Henderson bunch, her voice even.
“This Starcard’s got a seal on it. Did the ancestors ever say anything about how to break it?” she asked.
Malcolm frowned, looking puzzled. “What seal?”
Raven caught his question and got the picture right away.
Her eyes drifted over the other Hendersons standing around.
In the end, she had to give it to them—grudgingly—that they had no idea the Starcard was sealed, much less how to pop it
open.
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Chapter 17
Ap
Margaret gave Raven a ding look gripping the tard like it belonged to her, by d bud er wowth pot ob
there
Then she sidled up to josh, her tone.refl
“General Yardley, the begged, “the Strande our family’s to you. Can you speak Y
Jonah just kept his eyes on Raven, not risking wond
Margaret’s stomach twisted as Raven spoke up
She was cool as ever. “You should thank your lucky eters–and your ancestors. If it weren’t for this thing, every one of you Hendersons would be rotting in a cell
She didn’t wait for a comeback, snapping orders at the soldier,
Then she gave them an order, “Margaret, Loretta, and Miranda insulted a Vyrdenia general. Deal with them by the dest
“The rest of the Hendersons are on house arrest, she tacked on. “Keep them out of my way until I’m done at Yestion?
Margaret’s jaw hit the floor, her voice breaking, “What?”
The words slammed into Margaret and the Hendersons like a gut punch, leaving them reeling,
By Vyrdenia law, insulting a general was like trashing the whole country–straight to life in prison, no detours.
As for locking down the rest of the family, the giant Henderson Group relied on them to stay afloat. Cut them off, and the whole operation could crash and burn–bankruptcy looming, right around the corner.
Margaret’s face twisted with rage, her yell bouncing off the walls. “That’s bull! You’re setting us up, you brat!”
Furious and missing her tooth, she was basically slurring
She whipped around to Jonah.
Margret pleaded hard, “General Yardley, have I ever said one mean thing to you?”
Jonah met her gaze, a flicker of pity in his eyes.
Margaret and the Hendersons saw that look, and their hearts jumped into their throats.
Then next moment…
Jonah tilted his head, giving the family a calm, steady once–over.
“Mrs. Henderson, you must’ve missed the memo,” he said, dragging it out. “That one you just kicked out of your family? She’s Vyrdenia’s youngest general”
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