All Chapters of The King's Guard : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
65 chapters
Chapter 31
Darius stood at the front of the briefing chamber, the walls bare except for the map projection. His arms folded across his chest as he looked at the squad gathered before him. The silence stretched long enough for Jared to lean back in his chair, boots crossed at the ankles.“This exam,” Darius finally said, “will test more than blades or endurance. It requires precision, subtlety, and restraint.” He tapped the map. “Infiltration. A noble house under watch. You enter, you gather information, and you exit unseen. Failure will not be judged on combat skill. It will be judged on exposure.”Jared leaned forward, smirking. “Which house?”“House Varion,” Darius said.The air shifted immediately. Kael glanced at Reyna, who kept her expression even, though her eyes flicked once toward Jared. Kyna tilted her head, studying the floor as though she already knew where this would lead. Jared, of course, straightened with satisfaction.“Convenient,” J
Chapter 32
The squad should have left already. The scrolls Reyna carried were enough to complete the assignment, more than enough to satisfy Darius and the examiners. But Kael’s eyes kept pulling him back toward the inner wing of the Varion estate.The lamplight in the gallery burned lower than before, a faint ember beneath the portraits. Something about its position struck Kael as off.“We have what we came for,” Reyna said firmly, her boots scuffing against the stone floor. “Let’s not tempt whatever trap this is.”Kael shook his head. “The maps were too obvious. Nobles don’t guard military intel by leaving it on desks. Someone staged it. Which means the real prize is still hidden.”“They were enough,” Jared said, leaning casually against the wall, arms folded. He looked entirely at ease in the Varion estate, as though the house itself bowed to him. “Take the scrolls and enjoy the praise. No one’s handing out medals for paranoia.”Kael’s gaze sharp
Chapter 33
The hall filled with the low murmur of voices, cadets lining the benches, instructors scattered along the edges. At the far end, Archon stood beneath the hanging banners, his hands resting on the rail of the dais. The squad filed in together, the scrolls Reyna had handed to Darius earlier now spread across the polished table before the Archon.“Step forward,” Archon said. His voice carried without effort.Reyna led, the others a step behind. Kael kept his eyes level, not glancing toward Jared even though he felt the faint curl of smugness radiating from him.Archon lifted one of the scrolls. “House Varion’s records. Precise. Timely. Unexpected. You’ve done well.”The room stirred. Praise was not given lightly.Reyna inclined her head. “It was a team effort.”Archon’s eyes shifted, settling on Jared. “And it was you who guided them to the right halls?”Jared stepped forward just enough, his tone smooth. “I knew the estate
Chapter 34
The memorial square stood quiet, its stones still damp from the morning rain. Black iron plates rose in neat rows, each carved with names in tight, precise letters. Cadets gathered in silence, the weight of absence pressing heavier than the grey clouds above.Kael stood among them, cloak hanging loose, hands hidden at his sides.Reyna stepped forward when the bell struck. Her voice was steady as she spoke the words all cadets were expected to know.“We remember those who trained beside us. We honour those who fell before their time. Their names etched here will not fade. Their blades are gone, but their watch continues.”Her tone never wavered. But Kael noticed the way her fingers curled tight around the scroll she read from, knuckles pale.The echo of her words died slowly. Cadets bowed their heads. A few murmured the creed under their breath. Others simply stared.Kael’s eyes scanned the plates. The names blurred until one shar
Chapter 35
The archives smelled of dust and old parchment, the air heavy with the faint tang of oil lamps. Rows of shelves stretched into darkness, scrolls and ledgers packed tight. The only sound was Kael’s boots brushing against the stone floor.Kyna was already there, waiting in a narrow aisle, a lamp set low.“You came,” she said.“You asked,” Kael replied.She tilted her head, watching him step closer. “That simple for you?”“What do you mean?”“You never hesitate. People usually want reasons. They want promises, or at least reassurances. You don’t ask for any of that.”Kael’s jaw tightened. “I don’t waste words. If you wanted me here, you had a reason. That’s enough.”Her lips curved faintly, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “You don’t ask many questions, do you?”“I ask enough.”“Enough to keep yourself alive, you mean?”“That, and enough to know when someone’s hiding something.” His gaze
Chapter 36
The training halls were empty, echoing only with Kael’s boots. Torches flickered along the stone walls, their smoke curling into high arches. He had chosen this time carefully between rotations, and before dawn. No one was meant to see what he was about to try. He stepped into the centre of the floor, laid his palm flat, and closed his eyes. The Rift stirred. At first it was nothing more than a vibration beneath his ribs, a slow hum that matched his heartbeat. Then it deepened, pulling against the rhythm, dragging time’s fabric like water against a current. Kael exhaled. “Steady.” The air thickened. Dust hung mid-fall. One torch flame bent sideways, then froze entirely. A bird wheeled across the rafters and locked in place, wings suspended. Kael’s jaw clenched. “I can hold it. Just… hold.” The floor rippled. Not stone anymore, but waves of glass, bending with each
Chapter 37
Darius’s chambers were dim, the lamps half-filled, their glow stretching across the walls in narrow bands. Kael hesitated at the doorway, hand resting against the frame. The halls outside were still, but he couldn’t shake the weight of what he carried with him.Darius sat at the table, cloak folded over the chair. His sword leaned against the wall, out of easy reach. He didn’t look up when Kael entered.“You came,” he said.“You told me to.”“I told you what would happen if you didn’t.” Darius gestured to the other chair. “Sit.”Kael lowered himself carefully, eyes scanning the room. Parchments covered the table’s surface: maps, reports, diagrams of formations. But tucked in the corner, half-shadowed, was something else: a shard of stone, dark and pulsing faintly.Kael nodded toward it. “That… Rift residue?”Darius shifted it out of sight with a single motion. “A reminder.”Kael leaned forward. “Of what?”“Of what happens when control slips.”Kael frowned. “Control always slips. I fel
Chapter 38
The summons came early. Kael woke to the sound of the bell and the steady footsteps of Darius in the corridor. He dressed quickly, fastening his belt with hands that moved more from habit than awareness. When he stepped out, the others were already gathered. Reyna standing with her bow strapped across her back, Jared smirking like he’d been waiting all morning, and Kyna adjusting the folds of her cloak.Darius gave them the details in the most straightforward way possible. “Escort duty. Stormhaven noble through the Arknell pass. Limited guard presence. You’re to keep him safe until he reaches the far end.”Jared tilted his head. “A noble? That’s it? Not exactly thrilling.”Reyna’s tone was sharp. “Thrilling isn’t the point. You want to pass exams, you learn to keep people alive.”Kael kept his silence, though he noted the way Jared’s eyes gleamed, not with respect for the assignment, but with the excitement of being seen in public beside a nobleman.The march to Arknell took most of t
Chapter 39
The medic’s wing was quieter than Kael expected. A row of oil lamps burned low against the walls, their flames steady but dim, filling the air with the faint smell of ash and dried herbs. He sat on the narrow bed closest to the wall, tunic half torn where a blade had cut across his side. Reyna was there before the medic had even finished checking him, rolling her sleeves back as if she’d done this a hundred times.“Sit still,” she said, dipping a cloth into a shallow basin.“I am.”“You’re fidgeting.”“That’s breathing,” Kael replied.She gave him a look, one eyebrow arched, and pressed the damp cloth to the wound. The sting forced a sharp breath through his teeth.“Not so tough now,” she murmured.Kael didn’t answer at once. The cool water mixed with the warmth of her hand, and though her touch was steady, he could feel how close she was leaning in. His mind was still scattered from the fight at the pass, the chaos of blades and shouting, but now all he could hear was the quiet rhyth
Chapter 40
(Flashback)The halls of House Varion did not echo. They absorbed sound, swallowing every step into silence. The stone floors were polished black, the walls lined with banners older than the city itself. At ten years old, Jared already knew that silence meant one thing: his father, Lord Eryndor was waiting.The training yard behind the estate was stripped bare of ornament. No flowers, no colour, only sand and stone. A rack of blunted blades stood beside the wall, each gleaming from constant oiling. His father stood in the middle of the yard, arms folded behind his back, a figure cut from the same sharp lines as the house itself.“You’re late,” his father said.Jared bowed his head. “Yes, Father.”“Say it properly.”“I was late, my lord.”His father gave a single nod. “Pick up a blade.”Jared did as told. The wooden practice sword was heavier than it looked, but he didn’t let the strain show. His father’s eyes were sharp, always searching for weakness.“Ready yourself.”Jared raised th