The King's Guard

Chapter 100

Jared’s face was pale, tense, and slick with sweat. His wrists were bound with rune-thread, the faint blue glow cutting into his skin.

Kael stood opposite him, hands folded, eyes calm but unyielding. Reyna and Kyna flanked the door silently.

Lady Elara, seated at the table, turned a page in her spellbook with deliberate patience. Her voice, when she finally spoke, was quiet but sharp enough to cut through the room.

“Speak, boy. The runes will compel truth. Lies will burn.”

Jared’s jaw flexed. “You think binding me like a criminal will make me talk?”

Kyna leaned forward slightly. “It’s not a question of if you’ll talk. Just when.”

Kael’s gaze didn’t waver. “We know you planted those files. The forged ledgers, the reports. You framed me and Reyna. Why?”

Jared’s smirk faltered. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” Kael said, voice low.

The glow on Jared’s wrists pulsed once. Elara closed the spellbook. “The runes don’t wait for permission. Tell the truth, or let them drag it out.”

Silence stretched. Then Jared finally spoke. “My father.”

Reyna stepped forward. “Lord Eryndor?”

Jared nodded once, the name falling from his lips like ash. “He… he ordered it. Said it was necessary. Said you were a threat, that Archon was watching you, and if I didn’t act, he’d…”

The runes flared again, forcing the words from him. “...he’d destroy me, but not without destroying House Varion. My brothers. My mother.”

Kael’s expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes darkened. “So you betrayed your squad to save your house.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Jared snapped. “You think loyalty’s easy when your father holds everything over you? I did what I had to!”

Reyna crossed her arms. “You nearly got us executed.”

Jared looked at her. “You think I don’t know that?”

Elara’s tone softened slightly. “When you planted the forgeries, what did he promise you?”

Jared exhaled, shaking his head. “That Archon would protect me. That once Kael was gone, I’d lead the squad. That I’d finally matter.”

Kael let out a slow breath. “And now?”

“Now I wish I’d walked away.”

Elara began tracing runes into the air — small silver lines forming a floating sigil above Jared’s head. “This confession will be sealed and recorded. Once complete, it will carry your voice and truth to the royal court.”

Jared’s eyes widened. “You’re… you’re going to show the King?”

Kael nodded. “Someone needs to know what Archon and your father have done.”

“You’ll get yourselves killed.”

Kyna tilted her head. “You should’ve thought of that when you nearly got us killed.”

Jared swallowed hard. “If you send that message, my family…”

“Will face justice,” Reyna cut in.

Elara’s voice was almost kind now. “You’ll live, Jared. That’s more than most get when politics turns to blood.”

Jared looked up at Kael, something like shame crossing his features.

“You still don’t get it,” he whispered. “You think you’re fighting a war for honour. You’re fighting men who’ve already buried theirs.”

Kael didn’t answer. He simply turned to Elara. “End the seal.”

She nodded once. The runes brightened, then folded in on themselves, the confession captured in a single flickering sphere of light. Elara held it for a moment before extinguishing it into a small crystal vessel.

“It’s done,” she said softly. “The truth has a voice now.”

Reyna’s hand brushed Kael’s arm. “And a risk.”

Elara placed the vessel into a locked case on the table. “Risk means little when silence serves the corrupt. This will go to King Elric. He’ll listen… he has to.”

Kyna exhaled slowly. “And if he doesn’t?”

“Then Veridale burns from the inside, and we’ll be ready when it does.”

Kael looked at Jared. “You’ll stay here until we decide your next move.”

Jared gave a short bitter laugh. “My next move? You’ve already written it for me.”

Kael leaned closer, voice low. “Then you’d better make it count.”

•×•×•×•×•×

Outside the cabin, the night stretched quiet. Reyna followed Kael into the clearing, her breath visible in the chill.

“You believe him?” she asked.

Kael nodded once. “Every word.”

Reyna frowned. “Then Archon and Eryndor are both in this. That means the chain of command’s compromised.”

Kael stared out at the dark forest. “It means the corps is no longer ours to trust.”

Reyna’s voice softened. “What about Jared?”

“He made his choice,” Kael said, then hesitated. “But maybe he can still make another one.”

Reyna watched him. “You’re too forgiving sometimes.”

“Maybe,” he said quietly. “But if we start believing everyone’s beyond saving, what are we even fighting for?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she reached up, brushing dirt from his shoulder, her touch lingering longer than it needed to.

Kyna appeared from behind them, holding a lantern. “Elara says we move at dawn. She’s sending the recording through her messenger network. If it reaches the capital, Archon won’t be able to bury this easily.”

Kael gave a faint nod. “Then we make sure it gets there.”

Reyna’s eyes flickered toward the cabin. “And Jared?”

Kyna’s expression hardened. “He’s alive. That’s generous enough.”

Kael spoke. “No one else dies because of Archon’s lies. Not if I can stop it.”

Elara’s voice carried softly from the doorway. “Then you’d best learn how deep lies can go, Kael Estaran. You’ll find they have longer roots than truth ever did.”