"So, the Pierce Brothers." Elias Vance studied the four men and the tactical longblades they'd drawn, genuine surprise flickering across his otherwise impassive face before it hardened back into cold disdain. "You left military service for this? To play attack dogs for a piece of trash like him?"
The four brothers froze at his words. Something shifted behind their eyes, a visible c***k in their composure, as though the accusation had struck a nerve buried deep beneath years of bitter compromise.
It was the eldest, Kaelen Pierce, who recovered first. He leveled his blade and spoke in a steady voice. "You know who we are, and yet you won't surrender?" His grip tightened on the hilt, knuckles whitening. "If you die under our blades today, you'll have no one to blame but yourself for the ugl
