Kings of Chaos Series by Jocelynn Drake – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Kings of Chaos Series by Jocelynn Drake – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com Sun, 02 Mar 2025 13:35:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.ilovenovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Kings of Chaos Series by Jocelynn Drake – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com 32 32 Two Thousand Promises (Kings of Chaos #5) Read Online Jocelynn Drake http://www.ilovenovels.com/two-thousand-promises-kings-of-chaos-5-read-online-jocelynn-drake Sun, 02 Mar 2025 13:35:15 +0000 http://www.ilovenovels.com/two-thousand-promises-kings-of-chaos-5-read-online-jocelynn-drake Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, M-M Romance, Paranormal, Vampires Authors: Jocelynn Drake Series: Kings of Chaos Series by Jocelynn Drake
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Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)

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He promised me forever…But she came to take my soul.
Huli had dedicated his entire existence to making himself into something worthy of Xiao Dan.

But as he stood on the brink of claiming the vampire’s heart, an evil deal he’d made centuries ago was coming due.

Min wanted Xiao Dan’s soul.

Would he lose Xiao Dan when he confessed his ugly promise? And could he stop Min before it was too late?

Two Thousand Promises is the fifth and final novel in the Kings of Chaos series. This book contains a reluctant vampire who is finally giving in to the thousand-year seduction of a sly fox spirit determined to claim his mate, a nosy family who wants all the spilled tea, snark, angst, magic, found family, brotherly bickering, chaos, cuddles, secrets, and an endless love.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

ZHANG XIAO DAN

913 CE

Luoyang, near the Zhang manor

Adry, brittle branch snapped under Xiao Dan’s foot as he strolled through the forest. The early morning air was brisk with a bite to it, as if a late winter chill had tried to rear its head during the night and now didn’t want to leave. Birds were stirring, singing the first greeting of the day.

There was no sense of urgency in his steps. He knew exactly where he was going and how long it would take him to get there. He’d picked out this spot many years ago on one of his ambles through the woods.

A breeze rose and pushed against his chest before lifting to caress his cheek and then moving on. A damp, earthy scent clung to the air with a hint of something green. Spring was still newborn. The plum blossoms hadn’t finished falling from the trees yet, and the cherry blossoms had yet to bloom. Winter had loosened its grip on the world, and spring was restoring green to the forest.

After walking for close to half an hour, he reached a spot on the side of a hill where there was a wide break in the trees, giving him a clear view of the eastern sky. A tree had even fallen here some years ago, as if a forest spirit had prepared a bench for him to sit and watch the sun rise one last time.

Xiao Dan stepped over the old log half-covered in new growth, moss, and dead leaves, and took a seat. A long, slow breath pushed out of his lungs, draining all the air from his body. With it, centuries of turmoil, pain, fear, and doubt poured out. It felt as if the giant ball of knots that lived within him untangled one at a time.

He lifted his eyes to stare at the distant horizon. The sky had begun to shift from a deep slate gray to that very first touch of pale blue and dark orange.

There was nothing special about this day. It wasn’t an anniversary of Shifu’s⁠1 death or the anniversary of his own death and rebirth as a vampire. It wasn’t even the anniversary of Jiang Chong’s demise. Just a Tuesday on the threshold of spring, and he’d realized that he’d run out of energy to wake to see another starlit sky.

His clan was as secure as it was going to be. They had no more need for him or his fumbling, useless guidance.

And maybe he was ready to end his lonely torture. He’d had enough of the dead haunting his dreams and casting doubts at his every action. He’d done the best he could to protect his clan. If that wasn’t enough, he was prepared to spend another thousand years being peeled and boiled in oil as punishment. So long as he took a step forward to reincarnation and the Naihe Bridge.⁠2 As much as he loved his clan mates, he was ready to forget this world and this life.

A rustling in the bush to his left tore his gaze from the distant horizon. It looked to be a knot of old branches and dead leaves. Had he chosen his place of final repose next to some poor animal’s den?

He continued to watch, wondering if it would be a squirrel or a rabbit that broke free of the cover. No, it had to be something bigger. A pheasant, maybe.

The thought had no sooner formed in his mind when a flash of orange burst from the bush and leaped into the clearing a few meters in front of him.

A fox!

It ran a short distance away and just as Xiao Dan was sure it would disappear completely, the fox turned. It stood with its legs spread, its head low, and its ears flat as if challenging him, but that fluffy tail flicked from side to side in what seemed to be excitement. Or maybe even playfulness.

For a moment, Xiao Dan could only blink at the creature. He’d not expected to find himself faced with a red fox—and a young one at that. It looked to be still a pup with some of its baby fluff sticking out, making him appear even more cuddly.

“What are you doing by yourself?” he inquired in a gentle voice. He turned his gaze from the fox to search the immediate area for its mother. It wasn’t old enough to be on its own, but there was no additional flash of orange or rustling in the brush. Not even a warning bark to get away from her child.

Had he been abandoned?

Or was his mother killed while out searching for food?

“Where is your mama?”

The fox answered with an equally adorable bark that left Xiao Dan biting his bottom lip. He was obviously trying to be fierce, but it made him even cuter.

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Two Thousand Shadows (Kings of Chaos #4) Read Online Jocelynn Drake http://www.ilovenovels.com/two-thousand-shadows-kings-of-chaos-4-read-online-jocelynn-drake Thu, 19 Dec 2024 11:50:20 +0000 http://www.ilovenovels.com/two-thousand-shadows-kings-of-chaos-4-read-online-jocelynn-drake Genre: Erotic, Fantasy/Sci-fi, M-M Romance, Paranormal, Vampires Authors: Jocelynn Drake Series: Kings of Chaos Series by Jocelynn Drake
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Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105815 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)

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That cat is a liar!

The “stray cat” Junjie has been feeding and cuddling for months is actually an extremely rare cat shifter.

Of course, Leo would have preferred to continue their arrangement of Junjie feeding him choice bits of fish and rubbing his belly, but he needs Junjie’s help and that means revealing his secret.

An orphaned kitten needs a home after the fae killed his parents, and Leo is the most irresponsible, feckless, lazy creature in existence.

In short, he’s a terrible choice for raising a two-year-old cat shifter.

No. The WORST choice.

Yet, even after the little boy is settled with Junjie and the rest of the Zhang clan, Leo can’t walk away.

There’s just something about that sweet, bashful vampire with the too-soft heart and sexy eyes. And that kid is stealing chunks of his heart, too.

The war with the fae is about to tear the world apart and an old dark shadow has fallen over the Zhang clan, threatening to destroy them all.

Leo must stay to protect his new family. Even if it means giving up all his secrets to the vampire who is steadily stealing away his heart.

Two Thousand Shadows is the fourth novel in the Kings of Chaos series. This book contains a gentle, shy vampire who will stop at nothing to protect those he loves, a shifter with a secret, a nosy family who wants all the spilled tea, other non-human surprises, snark, angst, magic, found family, brotherly bickering, chaos, cuddles, secrets, and an endless love.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

ZHANG JUNJIE

18 BCE

Luoyang, Zhang clan home

Asummer breeze swept through the plum orchard, stirring the dense covering of leaves. Junjie tensed, waiting for another sharp burn of pain as the fading sunlight shot through a fresh break in the foliage. Sunset was still more than an hour away, but his torture wouldn’t stop just because the sun had disappeared below the horizon.

“Attack now!” Jiang Chong ordered, his voice as sharp and cutting as a blade.

Across from Junjie, Xiang stared at him with an expression of frustration and pain. As a daywalker, the sun offered Xiang no torment, so Jiang Chong liked to use him as a training weapon for the rest of the clan. He expected them to fight and defeat Xiang despite being constantly burned by the sun.

“Attack now, while he’s weak!” Jiang Chong bellowed from his haven in a thick bank of shadows.

“Junjie is not my enemy,” Xiang gritted out between clenched teeth. “He’s suffered enough. The wind is picking up. There’s no way he can avoid the sun.”

“Then he must learn to fight through the pain,” Jiang Chong snapped. His hard, lean features twisted into a sneer. “This entire sect is soft and weak. Your last shifu⁠1 coddled you, allowing endless excuses to stunt your ultimate potential. Even after all my tireless dedication to your training, it’s clear that not one of you will ever be more than a mediocre fighter.”

Junjie tightened his hold on the hilt of his sword to stop the trembling in his hand. Shifu Zhang Shi Lei had been both a brilliant teacher and a loving uncle. He couldn’t stomach another harsh word against him.

Before he could take a step toward Jiang Chong, he caught a tiny movement out of the corner of his eye. He peeked at another shaded spot where Xiao Dan stood under a tree, ever so slightly shaking his head. His dark eyes were full of fear and warning.

“Now attack him, Xiang! I am your creator, and you will obey me!” Jiang Chong’s fierce words rang through the orchard.

But it was Xiang’s low, icy words that struck them all. “No. I’d much rather kill you.”

No one had a chance to react, let alone stop him. Xiang lunged at Jiang Chong, aiming to slice the vampire’s head clean off his body. A surprised cry broke from Jiang Chong as he leaped back and raised his sword in time to block Xiang’s blow.

Junjie hesitated for a heartbeat of indecision. To attack Jiang Chong and fail to kill him meant putting the entire clan in danger. Retribution in Jiang Chong’s eyes was whatever inflicted the most pain. And most of the time that was harming the innocent.

But doing nothing meant abandoning Xiang. It also meant staying trapped under Jiang Chong’s control for another night, and none of them wanted that.

This might be their one chance.

Junjie shot forward as Jiang Chong forced Xiang to retreat. He moved too close to a dancing shaft of golden sunlight, and searing pain cut across his cheek, but he ignored it. He fought Jiang Chong, driving him out of his pocket of shadows, but it didn’t last long. The vampire was older and faster.

Yet, before his blade could touch Junjie, another stopped it. Junjie gazed up to find that Xiao Dan had stepped in to save him.

“Leave now or we will destroy you,” Xiao Dan said evenly to Jiang Chong.

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Two Thousand Blades (Kings of Chaos #3) Read Online Jocelynn Drake http://www.ilovenovels.com/two-thousand-blades-kings-of-chaos-3-read-online-jocelynn-drake Thu, 13 Jun 2024 07:54:07 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/two-thousand-blades-kings-of-chaos-3-read-online-jocelynn-drake Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, M-M Romance, Magic, Paranormal Authors: Jocelynn Drake Series: Kings of Chaos Series by Jocelynn Drake
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Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)

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There’s no escape from a dragon’s hoard.Xiang thought his biggest problem was going to be defeating the fae.

Nope.

Right now, it's escaping this dragon's hoard.

The dragon, who tried to eat his clanmate, grabbed Xiang instead, and now Xiang is trapped.

And he’s not the only one who needs to escape the dragon’s lair.

Kai is serving as the dragon’s assistant and helping to keep Xiang from going crazy with boredom.

Xiang is sure there’s more to this sexy man beyond his sad eyes and stuffy personality, but learning all of Kai’s secrets is going to take time.

First, Xiang needs to steal Kai from the hoard, and hopefully win his heart in the process.

But will they be able to escape the reach of a very possessive dragon?

Two Thousand Blades is the third novel in the Kings of Chaos series. This book contains a stubborn vampire falling in love with someone who isn't quite who he claims to be, shifters, vampires, a nosy family who wants all the spilled tea, other non-human surprises, snark, angst, magic, treasure, found family, brotherly bickering, chaos, pouting, cuddles, one very possessive dragon, and an endless love that crosses lines drawn by war.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

LI XIANG

Winter, 88 BCE

Outside Chang’An, The Imperial Capitol

The bitter wind howled, rattling bare tree branches and stirring up the snow that had blanketed the world during the day. Most poor creatures huddled in their homes, hiding from the things that lurked in the thick shadows of night, clinging to the flickering candles and dying flames that guttered in the hearth. The pathetic few who were stuck on guard duty around the protective outer walls of the manor house had no choice but to brave the icy cold. The armor did nothing to block the wind. It only bit at the flesh and carried the crunch of snow under their feet to those who watched them.

Cloaked all in black with a cloth across the lower half of his face, Li Xiang crouched on a tree branch, studying the patrol from overhead as they moved sluggishly in the same pattern. The quiet and the cold had made the guards lazy and vulnerable. He glanced to his right where Zhang Junjie balanced on a nearby tree limb, all but his eyes hidden, and they were filled with equal parts apprehension and determination.

In a few short years, Jiang Chong had further culled Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect numbers to fewer than two dozen, but they’d also come into their powers, making them a near-unstoppable force in the service of Emperor Wu.

Tonight, the Emperor had dispatched them to put down another den of conspirators plotting against the Dragon Throne.

There was no audible signal. Just a blur of black that left the guards on patrol dead. Xiang took the lead, leaping over the wall with Junjie a step behind him. The layout of the large estate was like others they’d infiltrated over the past several months. Buildings linked through a series of swept paths and small curved bridges over water features that now held a thin layer of ice. Torches flickered here and there to push back the gathering darkness, but there were still plenty of shadows for them to linger in as they took out one guard after another.

Their orders were simple: everyone had to die. Every man, woman, and child, from the head of the house to the lowest servant. A pestilence such as betrayal could only be eradicated by pulling it out from the roots.

Xiang didn’t allow his conscience to give even the slightest protest. Their actions were protecting the nation and were the will of the emperor.

The wind howled, masking their light footfalls as more of his martial brothers reached the interior courtyard and moved to dispatch any living creature. No one had the chance to raise an alarm. Tonight, most would be killed in their beds, never knowing how death had stalked these halls. But they still had to locate the conspirators who were meeting in secret.

With Junjie at his heels, Xiang cut to the right and started working his way through the building. They checked each room, killing everyone with a stab to the heart or a slash to the throat. He didn’t allow himself to see faces.

There were very few people here despite the overwhelming size of the estate. So far, he’d encountered almost all guards and three old servants. This couldn’t be right. For a home this size, the lord would require dozens of servants to keep up with the buildings and grounds. The number of guards was high, but Jiang Chong had hinted that the conspirators who were meeting tonight were of the nobility.

After they finished checking the last of the rooms, Xiang paused and looked over at his companion. So far, no one had raised an alarm. Silence blanketed the sprawling estate while blood painted the white snow red. Another team was taking the buildings to the left, while a third team was wiping out anyone in the rear buildings. Their next task was to attack the central building, where the conspirators were supposed to be meeting.

“Something feels off,” Junjie whispered as he looked around, glancing over his shoulder as if expecting to see a specter watching them. Not the newly dead, but their master, Jiang Chong. He had left the attack to the sect, but they all knew he was watching from some dark, secret corner, making sure they were following his orders.

“Too easy?” Xiang inquired, trying to smile at Junjie, but his expression remained hidden behind his mask.

“No. Too empty. There should have been more servants. Everyone knows Luo Jia Wei has a large family, along with several concubines, but there has been no sign of them.”

Xiang grunted and turned his gaze toward the central building. “He must have left them at his estate inside of Chang’An. They’ll be taken care of after tonight.” What he didn’t say was that he was still hoping that the task would not fall to their sect, but to some of the emperor’s other private guards. While he understood that conspiring against the emperor was a death sentence, he didn’t care to be the blade swinging at the necks of children and women who knew nothing of the plans of their lord.

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Two Thousand Tears (Kings of Chaos #2) Read Online Jocelynn Drake http://www.ilovenovels.com/two-thousand-tears-kings-of-chaos-2-read-online-jocelynn-drake Sat, 30 Mar 2024 18:33:27 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/two-thousand-tears-kings-of-chaos-2-read-online-jocelynn-drake Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, M-M Romance, Magic, Paranormal, Vampires Authors: Jocelynn Drake Series: Kings of Chaos Series by Jocelynn Drake
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Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 117167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)

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He was supposed to be my enemy. Not my lover.

Yichen is free at last…sort of.

He has escaped his imprisonment, but he’s still blood bound to the crown prince of the fae.

Oh gods, how is he going to explain that to his clan?

Finding a way to break the bond might not be too hard. Killing the king of the fae even seems possible.

But there’s no way he can let go of the elf who protected him, risked everything for him for a hundred years?

Rei is the breath in his lungs, the blood in his veins, and the beat of his heart. Somehow, he has to find a way to keep him.

An elf can fall in love with a vampire, right?

Two Thousand Tears is the second novel in the Kings of Chaos series, which is a spin-off from the Lords of Discord series. This book contains a somewhat broken vampire falling in love with an elf who should be his enemy but is actually his everything, shifters, meddling witches, other non-human surprises, snark, angst, car surfing, found family, brotherly bickering, magic, chaos, pouting, vampire cuddles, and an endless love that crosses lines drawn by war.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

WU YICHEN

91 BCE

Luoyang, Zhang clan home

Why were they returning at night?

Wu Yichen marched down the path to the gate, stones crunching under his feet. As he neared the front wall that surrounded the Zhang clan property, he launched himself upward, the toe of his left boot catching on a stone lantern to push him toward the right, where his other foot caught and pushed off the wall. He bounced back and forth, each time climbing higher, until he was standing atop the wall, staring at the well-worn road before him.

Servants had gone out hours ago and lit the neat row of stone lamps leading to the clan manor, beckoning their new master home.

He frowned and glanced over his shoulder, his gaze skimming the white bunting and meters of white silk draped everywhere. The same stark white wrapped his waist as a sash while another length of white cloth served as a headband. All of the clan was in mourning.

Shifu1 Zhang Shi Lei was dead.

It had been two weeks since the news had reached them, and the thought still tightened his throat and reddened his eyes.

How? How is this even possible?

No, he understood how.

Maybe it was more that he needed to know why. Why did Shifu have to die? He had been a strong, kind-hearted man full of wisdom and patience. Because of him, Yichen had never felt as if he were being held prisoner. This had become his home. A warm, loving place of belonging—something he’d never found in Guangling.

Shifu should have lived for another twenty, thirty years. He should have become a creaking, hunched man with hair as white as snow and a thin beard that dragged the ground as he walked.

Instead, he died stopping Crown Prince Ju’s revolt against the emperor. Shifu, along with many other elders of the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect, would never walk through the clan gates again.

What was to become of their sect now? Their home?

Everyone was looking to Zhang Xiao Dan to lead them through this tragedy and plot their course forward. If anyone could do it, Shixiong2 could. Everyone teased Xiao Dan that he was a little shifu, following so perfectly in Zhang Shi Lei’s footsteps. He was as compassionate and wise as Shifu, with a warm smile and endless patience.

But no one was going to feel secure in their future until he and Chen Bo Cheng were home safe from Chang’An. The Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect helped to quell the revolt, but nothing good came from lingering too long under the emperor’s gaze. Shifu had worked hard to keep the sect away from the imperial capital.

Especially Yichen.

A chill trickled along his spine, and he tamped down a shiver that tried to grip his body. Hiding from the emperor was going to be even more difficult without Shifu there to shield him.

Or should he use this opportunity to return home to Guangling and his family?

The idea didn’t fill him with excitement. Of course, King Wu Shen had always been a bit of a tyrant, exerting tight control over his ministers as if to make up for the fact that he still had to answer to the emperor. Any sadness Yichen had felt about leaving Guangling had been about a loss of the familiar rather than the loss of a “loving” family.

King Wu had beaten into his head that he was a prisoner, and everyone in the Zhang clan would treat him as such. He should consider himself no better than a slave. Not that his father had even lifted a finger to keep him in Guangling. No, that might have required him to put his own limited power at risk.

Yichen had arrived in Luoyang fearing the worst, only to be welcomed and loved like any other disciple. To them, he wasn’t some captive prince but another student.

He’d forgotten that he was a prince.

But Shifu’s death brought his tenuous situation into sharp clarity.

What would happen to him?

A soft scrabbling noise rose from the gravel, and Yichen turned in time to see another student take the same path he’d used to reach the top of the wall. Cao Zimo wavered as he came to stand beside Yichen, losing his balance on the rounded tiles. Yichen reached out a hand, catching Zimo’s elbow to steady him.

“Thanks.” Zimo breathed a sigh of relief and flashed Yichen a bright smile. “I figured I’d find you here.”

Yichen grunted and turned his gaze to the dark, empty road. Cao Zimo was two months older than Yichen and loved to lord those precious months over him, although he’d joined the sect two full years after Yichen.

There was also the matter of Cao Zimo’s martial arts skills not being as strong or developed as Yichen’s.

He wasn’t all bad. Just annoying and too chatty when all Yichen wanted was silence. Especially now.

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Two Thousand Dreams (Kings of Chaos #1) Read Online Jocelynn Drake http://www.ilovenovels.com/two-thousand-dreams-kings-of-chaos-1-read-online-jocelynn-drake Sun, 12 Nov 2023 07:04:58 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/two-thousand-dreams-kings-of-chaos-1-read-online-jocelynn-drake Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, M-M Romance, Magic, Paranormal, Vampires Authors: Jocelynn Drake Series: Kings of Chaos Series by Jocelynn Drake
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Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 123477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)

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The Blood Witch Has Changed Everything.

Chen traveled to the US with his clan, hoping to rescue his kidnapped brother from the fae.

They just need a witch to find the exact location of where the door between the human world and the fae world will open.

The one thing Moon can’t do.

Chen grabbed the wrong type of witch.

That’s not stopping Moon from clinging to Chen as he guides them through a new territory, introducing them to the witches, shifters, and vampires who can help them.

The longer Moon remains at Chen’s side, the more he hopes the witch might consider staying with him always.

Except that the king of the fae might have other deadly plans for Chen.

Two Thousand Dreams is the first novel in the Kings of Chaos series, which is a spin-off from the Lords of Discord series. This book contains one very grumpy vampire falling in love with a very perky blood witch, shifters, overprotective witches, other non-human surprises, snark, angst, found family, brotherly bickering, magic, chaos, vampire cuddles, and an endless love that grows stronger with each kiss.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

CHEN BO CHENG

91 BCE

Chang’An, The Imperial Capital

His knees ached.

The hard stone floor of the emperor’s private audience chamber was cold, sending a chill deep into his bones. Chen only noticed the pain after he shifted his position. His body pointed out that he’d been kneeling for at least twenty minutes now. Muscles burned and threatened to tremble through his arms as he continued to hold them out in front of his body, left hand cupped over right fist. His head remained bowed, waiting.

He blinked open his eyes, and his first sight was the stark white sash wrapped around his waist. It trailed down to the floor over the pool of black robes.

White for mourning.

White to honor his lost shifu.1

White to honor the lost masters of his clan who’d died in the five days of fighting that had gripped the capital.

White for the brothers who would never return home.

Why had this mess happened in the first place? Chen clenched his teeth, grinding them together to hold in the curses he wanted to level upon the heads of Crown Prince Ju and his mother, Empress Wei. Yes, he struggled to believe the accusations of witchcraft that tainted both of them, but how had things gotten so out of hand? Why was revolting against the emperor the only way?

And why did it have to happen at the very moment that Shifu and the other masters were in Chang’An, awaiting the return of the emperor?

“Your Majesty,” Zhang Xiao Dan, on Chen’s left, began. “It pains us that you have suffered these past several days. The remaining warriors of the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect are your faithful servants, awaiting your commands.”

“What?”

Chen peeked at the throne. The emperor jerked his head up from where it had been resting in his hand. His bleary eyes swept the opulent room filled with cinnabar red and glittering gold to settle on those kneeling in front of him. It was as if the man had only now noticed the people he’d summoned.

His shifu had always described Emperor Wu as a stout, vigorous man with midnight-black hair and sharp eyes that saw everything. Emperor Wu was an astute scholar and crafty strategist who’d maneuvered through countless plots to steal his throne and shrink his nation.

That was not the man who sat before him now. Withered and broken, this man possessed a sallow face and eyes almost cloudy in the dim light of the private chamber.

The emperor would turn fifty this year. It was supposed to be an auspicious time for the kingdom, celebrations and special offerings to the heavens to welcome in a new era of prosperity and happiness.

But rumors had plagued the empire over the past few years. The emperor had ordered entire clans executed under the excuse of witchcraft and treason.

It had made Shifu even more determined to keep all of the sect safe within the clan’s walls in Luoyang. Let the emperor forget about the Zhang clan and the Sword of the Heavenly Garden Sect.

At least until the dark clouds blew away from Chang’An and the imperial palace.

“You’re Zhang Xiao Dan. Where’s Zhang Shi Lei? We sent for…” Emperor Wu’s harsh voice faded into nothing as it trailed off and his head dropped to his hand.

Zhang Shi Lei was dead. Along with eight other brothers from their sect.

With a sigh, Emperor Wu lifted his left hand toward them, motioning for Chen and Zhang to rise. They regained their feet, though Chen’s knees attempted to protest. It had been a few years since Shifu had last punished him with kneeling for hours on end. Even then, Shifu had taken pity on him and cut his punishment short. Shifu had known Li Xiang had been the one to instigate the fight.

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