All Chapters of The King's Guard : Chapter 81
- Chapter 90
127 chapters
Chapter 81
The throne room of Veridale was colder than Kael remembered. Marble pillars reached toward the vaulted ceiling like ribs of a dead giant. King Elric sat on his elevated dais, the morning light catching the silver filigree of his crown.Kael stood several paces back, flanked by Reyna and Ember. Darius was already there: stone-faced, his hands clasped behind his back.The King’s voice cut through the stillness. “You’ve brought a report. Speak.”Darius inclined his head. “We discovered Stormhaven weapons hidden beneath one of our outposts. Sealed crates, all carrying the crest.”The King’s brow furrowed. “Impossible. Our treaties with Stormhaven forbid…”“Treaties don’t stop smugglers,” Archon interrupted, stepping from the side of the dais. His presence filled the room like a shadow drawn long. “I’ve already reviewed the logistics manifest. It’s plausible, an outdated supply run.”Kael’s voice came before he thought to stop it. “Th
Chapter 82
(Flashback)The rain fell heavier that night over the citadel. Lightning rippled behind the palace spires, a pulse that carried across the valley before fading into silence.Inside the royal study, candles fought the draft that slipped through the tall windows. Maps covered the long oak table.A younger Elric, barely twenty, leaned over one of the maps. His hair was shorter, his armour new, untested. Opposite him, Thorian, crown prince of Stormhaven, grinned like someone who had already learned how to win without fighting.“You draw lines like you mean to keep them,” Thorian said, resting a boot on the chair’s rung.Elric looked up. “That’s what borders are for.”“Until someone moves them.”Elric folded the map, annoyed. “You think war’s a game.”“It’s always a game,” Thorian said easily. “You just haven’t learned the rules.”A door opened; a third man entered: Velreth, not yet a High Commander, his uni
Chapter 83
The archives were near silent at dawn. Dust hung in the air like faint fog, each particle lit by the soft flame of a single lamp on Kael’s desk. He’d been awake since before the bell, bent over Darius’s coded notebook, a half-empty mug of bitter draught cooling beside him.The door creaked once. Footsteps.Kyna slipped in, hood still drawn from the morning mist.“You’re early,” Kael said without looking up.“So are you.” She pulled a folded parchment from inside her coat and laid it on the table. “This came through the lower couriers an hour ago. From one of my mother’s contacts.”Kael raised a brow. “The same network that flagged House Varion’s shipments?”“Not exactly.” She slid the parchment closer. “This contact’s higher. Embedded somewhere near the Council ledgers.”“Risky.”Kyna gave a small shrug. “Everything worth knowing usually is.”He unfolded the parchment. The handwriting was neat, deliberate, a
Chapter 84
Rows of cadets sparred under banners bearing the Shadow Corps insignia, their shouts clashing with the clang of steel. But in the centre ring, all noise seemed to fold around one person.Kael.His blade moved like water. Every strike landed with purpose. Every parry looked effortless.From the sidelines, Jared watched, arms crossed, expression unreadable. Except for his eyes, those burned too bright.Reyna leaned beside him. “You could at least look like you’re happy for him.”“I am,” Jared muttered, jaw tight. “He’s getting good.”“Too good?” she asked lightly.Jared’s gaze didn’t move from the ring. “Maybe.”Kael disarmed his opponent with a sharp twist, knocking the cadet’s weapon aside before saluting. The crowd of trainees murmured admiration: whispers of his control, of his Rift precision, of his potential.Jared turned away first.Kyna’s voice came from behind. “You used to train like th
Chapter 85
The arena gates slammed shut with a metallic roar. Dust settled slowly across the training field.Kael adjusted his gauntlets, feeling the low vibration of energy at his wrists. Across from him, Jared rolled his shoulders, smirking as though this were sport and not a career-defining test.Darius’s voice cut through the intercom.“This evaluation is not about winning. It’s about cohesion. Remember that.”“Cohesion,” Jared muttered under his breath. “Right.”Reyna shot him a glare. “Don’t start.”“Start?” Jared grinned. “I’m not the one who almost nuked the training chamber last time.”Kael ignored him, scanning the terrain. “We stick to formation. Kyna, you shadow left. Reyna, cover the high wall. I’ll anchor the Rift output. Jared..m”“...Leads,” Jared interrupted. “We both know I’m faster at taking the initiative.”Kael’s voice cooled. “You mean ignoring orders?”“Orders slow us down.”Reyna stepped between them. “Stop it. We don’t have time for this.”The horn blared, cutting the ar
Chapter 86
The briefing room was filled with silence.Darius stood before the class, arms behind his back.“Your final assessment begins now. Illusion test: a single objective. Identify, infiltrate, and eliminate the marked target. No commands. No guidance. Just instinct.”Kael’s jaw tightened. The word eliminate hung heavier than it should.Reyna whispered beside him. “That doesn’t sound like an exam.”“It isn’t,” Kael muttered.Across the room, Jared leaned back, smirking. “What’s wrong, golden boy? Finally afraid to pull the trigger?”Kael ignored him. Darius’s eyes flicked their way briefly, a warning.“The test begins in sixty seconds,” Darius said. “Simulation field nine.”He turned to leave, then paused at the door.“Remember: illusion or not, every choice leaves a mark.”The simulation chamber activated with a surge of energy.A city unfolded around them: tall spires, wet cobblestones, mist rolling from unseen vents. Lanterns flickered along empty streets.Reyna scanned the rooftops. “Fe
Chapter 87
The first explosion shattered the dawn.The barracks doors blew open, smoke rushing in. Kael jolted awake, rolling off his bunk as shards of glass rained from the ceiling.“Everyone up!” Reyna shouted, already pulling her boots on. “This isn’t a drill!”Another blast rippled through the south wing, then a scream.Kyna burst through the doorway, blade drawn, eyes wide. “They’re inside! Corpsmen…our own! They’re wearing the Shadow Corps insignia!”Kael grabbed his gear. “What do you mean, our own?”“Traitors!” Kyna hissed. “They’re cutting down cadets!”The air outside burned orange. Flames climbed the walls, shadows twisting across the courtyard as figures clashed: familiar uniforms, familiar faces, now painted with blood.Reyna pushed past Kael. “Squad formation! Move!”They hit the courtyard as Drax dragged a wounded cadet behind a wall.He looked up, face streaked with soot. “Rebels? No. Thes
Chapter 88
The smoke hadn’t faded by the next morning. It hung over the horizon like a scar that wouldn’t close.Kael stood at the edge of the burned field, staring at what used to be the Academy gates. The ground still smoldered. Every gust of wind carried ash and memory.Reyna’s voice broke the silence.“He wouldn’t want us standing here like ghosts.”Kael didn’t turn. “He deserved better than a pyre.”“He got fire instead,” Jared muttered, sitting on a rock nearby, cleaning a blade that didn’t need cleaning. His tone was flat and defensive. “That’s what heroes get.”Kyna shot him a glare. “You don’t mean that.”He didn’t look up. “You think I don’t know what I mean? You saw it, the man chose to stay behind. Nobody asked him to.”Kael’s jaw tightened. “He didn’t need to be asked.”“Still died for nothing.”“Another word and I'll make you regret ever knowing me.”Kael moved before he thought: one ste
Chapter 89
Gleaming marble stretched from the gilded doors to the obsidian throne where King Elric sat, straight-backed and distant. The black on silver banners of the Shadow Corps normally used during such grand events hung behind him, each stitched with the insignia of a single blade. The scent of oil and steel lingered in the air, masking the faint trace of blood that time couldn’t wash away.The hall was full. Officers, nobles, foreign delegates, and every other notable person, each murmuring about the “heroism” of Darius’s cadets. But Kael heard the lie beneath every word. The attack hadn’t been heroism. It had been betrayal, plainly put.Archon stood to the King’s right, dressed in ceremonial armour. His expression looked like he was carved from stone, filled with pride without warmth. When his eyes brushed Kael, they were cold and assessing, the look of a man measuring how much longer a blade would stay sharp.“Step forward, the new shadows of Veridale.” Archo
Chapter 90
The rain hadn’t stopped since dawn, and neither had the orders.Kael’s squad stood in the Hall of Seals, armour newly blackened, insignia freshly forged, no longer cadets, but full Shadows of Veridale. Their promotion had lasted less than two days before the next summons came. Archon was wasting no time.He paced before them now, hands clasped behind his back, voice clipped and sharp.“Your first mission as operatives is one of precision and silence,” he said. “You will infiltrate Stormhaven under the guise of trade delegates. Your goal is to retrieve intelligence on border defences and any movements involving House Thorian.”Reyna frowned. “We’re crossing the border so soon? Stormhaven barely tolerated our presence last month. Besides, aren't both sides supposed to be in good terms with each other?”“Precisely why you’ll succeed,” Archon replied. “They won’t expect the same faces twice.”Jared crossed his arms. “And what exactly are