# Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice

Author: Evan M. Blackwood
Site: ReadNovelHub
Canonical: https://readnovelhub.com/novel/rustbound-the-gear-marked-apprentice
Genre: Western-Fantasy-Magic

## World
The woman arresting you is your only lifeline—and leaving her could kill you.

## Tropes
- Billionaire Romance
- Dark Romance
- Western Fantasy & Magic
- System & LitRPG
- Urban War Hero & Secret Billionaire
- Western-Fantasy-Magic
- System-LitRPG-LevelUp
- Urban-WarHero-Tycoon

## FAQ
### What is Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice about?
The woman arresting you is your only lifeline—and leaving her could kill you.

### Who is the author of Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice?
Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice is written by Evan M. Blackwood. Read Chapter 1 free on ReadNovelHub.

### Is Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice a Billionaire Romance story?
Yes. Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice is tagged for Billionaire Romance, Dark Romance readers looking for North American romance-fantasy tropes.

### Can I read Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice Chapter 1 for free?
Yes. Chapter 1-5 Free. Chapter 6+ unlocked via Ads or a $0.00 trial. Start Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice on ReadNovelHub.

### What happens at the start of Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice?
"Drop it. Now. Or I put a hole through your shoulder that no amount of rust-salve will fix." I didn't even look up.

## Chapter 1 teaser
### Rustbound: The Gear-Marked Apprentice - Chapter 1: The Dead Star Lights

"Drop it. Now. Or I put a hole through your shoulder that no amount of rust-salve will fix." I didn't even look up. I just kept my fingers locked on the cold, jagged casing of the star-core, feeling the grease smear across my knuckles. My back was pressed against a stack of rusted turbine shells that smelled like a century of failure. "You're not a local enforcer," I said, my voice sounding like I'd been eating gravel. "Locals don't use high-grade pulse rifles. They use clubs and bribes." "Smart kid. Too bad you're still a thief," she snapped. I finally glanced up. She was leaning against the warehouse door, blocking the only exit. She looked like she’d been carved out of ice and military precision. Tight leather gear, a silver crest on her shoulder that screamed *High Council*, and eyes that looked at me like I was a smudge of oil on a clean floor. Elise Vane. I'd seen her face on the wanted posters in the lower wards. The Star-Huntress. "This isn't theft if the owner's been dead for fifty years," I retorted. I shifted my grip, feeling the core vibrate. It was supposed to be dead. Every manual in Cinderport said these old-gen cores were husks—empty batteries. But this one was humming. A low, hungry thrum that made the hair on my arms stand up. "It's forbidden tech, Renner," she said, stepping closer. The click of her boots on the metal floor sounded like a countdown. "Hand it over, and maybe I'll let you walk out of here without a zip-tie around your wrists." "I'm broke, lady. My landlord is currently threatening to throw my bed into the street. This thing is my ticket to not sleeping in a gutter." "It's a ticket to a torture chamber if the Council finds you with it," she countered. She stopped five feet away, the muzzle of the rifle perfectly aligned with my chest. "L

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