Kael didn’t sleep well.He drifted between half-states: his eyes shut, his mind alert, and his breath shallow. Every creak of wood or shifting wind across the eaves felt deliberate. The whisper had marked something or opened it.He had moved slowly towards the door albeit cautiously to get a grasp of what was happening to him at that moment. Where the whisper came from, the memories, everything that followed suit.But, his curiosity was far from satisfied. He had found nothing.He hadn’t told anyone. Not Reyna, Kyna, and certainly not Darius. When Jared returned to the room late that night, boots scuffed and gaze unreadable, Kael didn’t ask. The silence between them had become its own kind of code.At first light, Kael dressed and left before the bell. The halls were still dim. A few early risers muttered to each other in passing, but no one stopped him. He found himself walking without direction, feet drawing him past the archive corridor again.The sigil-lock was quiet. Dull. The ru

The hill sloped shallow, dust-covered and choked with dry thistle. Kael crouched behind a broken fence post, scanning the cottage below.“Movement inside. Curtains twitched. Probably watching us already.”Reyna squinted past the scope. “Two heat signatures. One’s pacing.”“Defectors?”“Maybe. Doesn’t change the task.”Kael didn’t reply. They waited in silence, listening to the wind press through the distant pines.A quiet click from Kyna’s comms: ready.Reyna adjusted her grip. “Six-minute breach. We go when you say.”Kael breathed out. “Now.”The breach was clean.Two hostiles. One compliant, the other tried to bolt. Reyna dropped him fast—knee to the ribs, elbow to the neck. Kael secured the target: a small obsidian case, locked by biometrics.“Looks intact,” he murmured, weighing the box.Reyna wiped a speck of blood off her glove. “Vault-marked. They weren’t just collectors.”Kyna radioed in. “All clear.”Jared’s voice crackled behind her. “Convenient. I miss all the fun.”Kael tu

The squad was already halfway through the outer valley before anyone spoke.Boots sank into damp soil, the air thick with a mild drizzle that clung to their skins rather than fell. The ridge to the north blocked the morning light, keeping the path in shadow.Kyna, who had been transferred from her squad to Kael’s for this particular mission, broke the silence first.“You know this isn’t exactly rebel territory, right?”Kael glanced at her. “The orders say neutral village. Our job’s to intercept before the courier leaves.”“Orders can leave things out,” she said.Reyna, walking ahead, didn’t turn. “We’ll deal with whatever’s there. Same as always.”Jared gave a short laugh. “Same as always. Meaning you make the call, and we do the work.”“No,” Reyna said flatly, “meaning you follow the plan, and no one ends up carried back.”They rounded the bend where the path widened into a cart track.Kael kept his voice low. “What’s bothering you, Kyna?”She adjusted the strap across her chest. “Ju

The Academy’s first major exam was never quiet. Even before dawn, the north field buzzed with recruits adjusting straps, checking buckles, testing edges. Instructors including Archon, Ember, and Drax stood in loose lines along the ridge, eyes sharp and arms folded. Kyna was retained in the squad making them four, as opposed to three.Reyna moved to where their squad had gathered. “We stick to the plan,” she said, voice low but firm. “We find the flag, we hold position until we know the terrain, then we move as one.”Jared rolled his shoulders, smirking. “Or we take it before anyone else has the chance to sniff it out.”Kael gave him a steady look. “Or we run into every blade in the field.”“Better that than hiding behind bushes all morning,” Jared said.Kyna adjusted the strap on her vambrace. “It’s called reconnaissance. Not hiding.”Jared scoffed. “Sounds a lot like hiding to me.”“It sounds like surviving,” Kyna shot back.Reyna’s voice cut through them. “Enough. The exam isn’t sco

The practice yard was slick with rain from the night before, mud packed flat where squads had drilled all morning. Blunted swords leaned against the racks, but the weight of steel wasn’t what set Kael on edge. It was Jared, standing across from him with his usual half-smile, rolling his shoulders like the whole thing was a game.Darius stood at the edge of the circle, arms folded. “Pair work today. Kael. Jared. You’re together.”Jared raised an eyebrow. “That supposed to be punishment for him or for me?”“Both,” Darius said. “Blades up.”Kael tightened the strap of his gauntlet and stepped forward. Jared sauntered in, twirling his sword once before gripping it properly.“Don’t hold back,” Darius said. “Either of you. If you can’t learn to fight alongside each other, you won’t last outside these walls.”Jared grinned at Kael. “Hear that? Don’t hold back. Not that you ever really know what you’re holding.”Kael ignored the jab and raised his weapon. “Ready.”The clash came sharp and fas