The King's Guard

Chapter 103

The morning fog clung to the hills, muting the world beyond Reyna’s father’s cabin. Oak trees swayed in the damp wind, their leaves whispering secrets only the forest knew. Inside, the hearth in the central hall was alive with firelight, throwing warm hues over Elara’s lined face and the young warriors gathered before her.

Kael leaned against the edge of the rune-table, arms crossed, jaw tight. Reyna sat opposite him, head resting on one hand, eyes narrowed in thought. Kyna stood near the door, silent as ever, but her gaze swept the room with a predator’s precision.

Elara’s fingers traced a series of sigils along the table’s edge, each pulse of magic faint but deliberate. “The court’s reaction is… predictable,” she said. “Velreth moves like a shadow inside sunlight. He knows every weakness, every opportunity. And Archon? Archon never misses a single one.”

Kael’s eyes darkened. “So they’ve spun Jared’s confession into a story that paints us as accomplices. If the King hesitates, that story becomes the law of perception.”

“And if the King believes it outright…” Reyna muttered. “Then we’re alone.”

Elara lifted her eyes from the table. “You are not alone, Reyna. You are never alone. But Veridale is a chessboard, and every piece moves without permission. Even the King is bound by threads you cannot see.”

Kyna’s lips twisted. “Bound by threads? You mean corruption runs above him too?”

Elara nodded slowly. “Even crowns are stitched into webs of obligation. Sometimes the crown obeys out of fear, sometimes out of honour, but the effect is the same. The throne does not always rule. It is ruled.”

Kael let out a low breath. “And we’re standing outside the web.”

“Yes,” Elara said quietly, “and that is both your danger and your advantage.” She paused, letting the weight of her words settle. “Archon has made his moves. Velreth has positioned the King where he cannot act without appearing compromised. And yet, the truth is in your hands.”

Reyna shifted in her seat, eyes flicking to Kael. “Then we make noise. Controlled chaos, like you said yesterday. But… we can’t do it recklessly.”

Elara’s gaze softened, lingering on Reyna. “Rhea once warned me that the world bends most cruelly to the unprepared. Impulse is a luxury the righteous rarely afford.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “I’ve learned restraint. Or at least, I try.” He allowed a flicker of a smile toward Reyna. “Mostly I try.”

Reyna’s lips curved faintly. “Mostly counts.”

Kyna cleared her throat. “Speaking of restraint… Archon will not wait for us to be ready. Our scouts confirm movement along the northern ridge. Heavy cavalry, unusual for this time of year.”

Kael frowned, stepping closer to the map. “Northern ridge… that’s where the supply lines converge before the border. What are they carrying?”

“Or whom,” Reyna muttered. Her gaze sharpened as she traced a glowing line toward a ridge overlooking a narrow pass. “If this is not a shipment of arms, then it is a prisoner or an envoy… someone important.”

Elara leaned forward, eyes shadowed in firelight. “Or someone they wish disappeared. Take note, it is always easier to vanish a witness than a whole army.”

Kael’s hand brushed the edge of the table. “Then we follow, quietly. If they move, we move. If they hide, we find.”

Reyna’s voice softened. “And the Queen? Do we continue with whispers and shadows, or… do we risk direct contact?”

Elara’s fingers stilled. She inhaled deeply. “The Queen is alive. Somewhere hidden. Stormhaven’s hands reach far, but even they cannot touch her. Yet her time is not now. Patience is as vital as any blade in your hands.”

Kyna’s dark eyes narrowed. “So she waits, we act, and the King… watches?”

“Not watches,” Elara corrected. “Bound. Elric wishes to do right, but he cannot act without peril. That is why the truth is in your hands, not his.”

Kael exhaled slowly. “Then we carry it.” His eyes found Reyna’s. “All of it. Lies, proofs, everything.”

Reyna reached for his hand across the table, a brief touch that anchored them both. “Together,” she said.

Elara’s lips curved faintly. “Together. That is the oath that matters more than any sworn to crown or sword.”

The afternoon passed. Kyna sent messengers along hidden paths, each rune-bound to prevent interception. Reyna and Kael practiced discreet duels, testing coordination and timing, their movements silent but precise. Elara observed, murmuring minor corrections, her voice calm yet sharp enough to make even Kael pause mid-strike.

When the dusk deepened, a horn echoed faintly from the ridges. Scouts reported multiple encampments forming along the northern pass. The glow of torches twinkled like fallen stars in the early night, a reminder that Archon’s forces were already in motion.

Kael’s eyes narrowed. “They move faster than expected.”

Reyna’s jaw tightened. “Not faster than us. Just faster than we hoped.”

Elara’s hands hovered over the rune-table. “Speed is nothing if direction is blind. Let them advance into your plan, not you into theirs.” She traced new lines across the map, each pulse of light indicating a potential path of observation. “Here. Here. And here. You can see them without being seen.”

Kael leaned over her shoulder. “We split?”

“Temporarily,” Elara said. “Kael, you shadow the ridge with Reyna. Kyna will monitor troop movements from the valley. I will maintain the rune network. Every flicker, every misstep, will be reported instantly.”

Reyna tilted her head. “And the message to the King?”

Elara’s silver eyes glimmered in the firelight. “Another will go tonight. Not through the palace. The King must learn the threads exist before he can understand the net that binds him.”

Kyna frowned. “He may never see it as truth.”

Elara’s hand rested on the table, palm flat. “Perhaps. But when Archon strikes, he will know he is not untouchable. And that is the moment we will choose.”

Night fully fell, bringing with it a biting chill. Kael and Reyna stood atop a ridge, cloaked in shadows, eyes fixed on the distant encampments. The torches flickered, but the soldiers’ forms remained indistinct in the gloom.

Reyna whispered, “They know we’re here.”

Kael shook his head. “No. They feel movement. But not direction. That’s our edge.”

She exhaled, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly. “I hate waiting.”

Kael’s gaze didn’t leave the ridge. “I’ve learned waiting is survival. Acting recklessly is death. Every move counts.”

Reyna’s lips curved faintly. “You sound like Elara.”

He allowed a ghost of a smile. “She taught me well.”

A sudden movement caught Kyna’s attention from the valley below. A small cloaked figure moved through the forest, weaving between patrols.

“Grandmother?” Kael muttered.

Kyna shook her head. “No. Someone else. Possibly a scout or messenger. But see how they move? That's not from the Shadow Corps.”

Reyna leaned closer. “Then a potential ally… or a trap.”

Hours passed. Cold settled into their bones, but vigilance never faltered. Finally, the small figure returned along the same path, carrying a sealed scroll. Kyna’s magic revealed the runes glimmering faintly along its edge, protective wards of truth, unmistakably forged by Elara.

Kael snatched it up, breaking the seal carefully. The message read:

“The threads tighten. Archon moves. Velreth manipulates the King. Evidence spreads in shadows. The Queen remains hidden, but the tide approaches. Trust only your skill, your mind, and each other. Do not falter.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Then the tide is upon us.”

Reyna’s hand found his again. “Then we meet it, together.”

Elara’s voice echoed softly through the valley, carried on the wind. “The storm gathers, children. Stand firm. For the truth, for the kingdom, for Darius, for the Queen. The world waits for no one. Move swiftly, or be swept aside.”

“And if we fall?” Reyna asked softly.

Kael looked at her, eyes steady, unwavering. “Then we fall knowing we fought the storm rather than hid from it.”