4 stars. 
 5 stars for the story. I took one star off for the heroine. Silent blade is a sci-fi short story by Ilona Andrews, one of my favorite authors. As always with them, the narrative delivery is excellent, and I was intrigued by what I was reading. 
 I did not like Meli, the heroine. To be sure, her backstory is rather heartbreaking (view spoiler)[Due to the politics of her time/society, she's basically left to become a spinster when her betrothed decides to break the engagement (hide spoiler)], but I did not feel that her decisions were justified. She chose to use her talents as an armed thug for her family, who I felt were bullies, notwithstanding the politics/culture of their society. So she didn't have any sympathy from me. 
 The hero made some bad decisions in the past (view spoiler)[ re: spurning Meli without stopping to think about the consequences for her (hide spoiler)] and is not the most endearing person in the present, but I did come out with the feeling that he had more honor than Meli. 
 I enjoyed the story very much though, and am waiting with bated breath for the sequel, Silver Shark.