The King's Guard

Chapter 24

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 turned to find him stepping through the threshold, looking as if he'd just returned from a morning stroll.

“You were stationed west ridge,” Reyna said flatly.

“Was I? Slipped my mind.” Jared smirked. “Still, nice work. I’ll handle the extraction.”

Kael handed off the case without looking at him. “Be gentle. It’s volatile.”

Jared gave a small mock bow. “Always.”

Back at the Academy, grey dusk blanketed the towers. The courtyard echoed with distant training shouts. Kael and Reyna headed for the east wing to debrief.

They didn’t make it.

Jared appeared ahead of them, leaning against the stair railing, Vault case tucked under one arm.

“Commander Darius isn’t available,” he said smoothly.

Kael slowed. “We’ll wait.”

“No need.” Jared straightened, started up the steps. “Archon will see me. I’ll pass along the highlights.”

“You weren’t even—” Reyna started, but Kael touched her arm.

“Let him.”

Reyna shot him a look. “Kael.”

“It’ll circle back.”

Jared grinned. “Always the diplomat, aren't you?.”

“Tsk… Just get lost.” Kael fired back irritatedly.

“In your head…” Jared responded with a wink which caught Kael off guard.

They watched him vanish through the upper doors. Reyna folded her arms, biting down the words.

“He’s done this twice now.”

Kael nodded once. “He’s building something. Let him stack the bricks.”

Later that night, Kael was alone in his dorm, bootlaces half-undone, when the door creaked open.

No knock.

Jared.

Kael didn’t move. “You and always coming in late.”

Jared closed the door gently. “You should’ve said something earlier. About the case. About the mission. About me walking off with your work.”

Kael shrugged. “You seemed eager.”

“You didn’t speak up,” Jared said, stepping closer. “Why?”

Kael glanced at him, then away. “You enjoy the stage. I don’t.”

Jared tilted his head. “But you watch. All the time. You don’t just observe, Kael. You tally.”

Silence stretched.

“I wonder what you’re adding up.”

Kael rose slowly. “If you’ve come to provoke me, I’m tired.”

“I’ve come to see what’s underneath,” Jared replied. He took one step too close. “You’re a pretty boy without directions. But I think you’re playing a longer game.”

He raised a hand and touched Kael’s face lightly, just enough for tension to spike in the air.

Kael’s gaze didn’t shift. “Don’t you dare touch me ever again, Jared. I do mean it.”

Jared’s fingers dropped, and he smiled.

“I think I liked you more when you were quiet,” he said. “Sleep well.”

He left without closing the door fully behind him.

Kael stood still, hands at his sides. His pulse steady. Thoughts quicker.

What was wrong with Jared?!

The next morning’s drills were subdued. Darius walked the line of recruits, inspecting gear without comment.

“Vault mission,” he said to the squad. “Wasn’t complex. But you delivered. Minimal collateral. Timely return. Good.”

Reyna stared straight ahead, jaw clenched.

Jared stood loosely at the end, hands behind his back, expression unreadable. Kael didn’t speak.

Darius’s gaze swept across them. “No fatalities. No complaints. But keep this pace. You’re being watched.”

He moved on.

Kael caught the brief glance Kyna sent him. The way the twins avoided his eyes. The fracture wasn’t visible yet, but he felt it.

Lunch was quiet. The mess hall buzzed with the usual noise, but their table sat stiff with silence.

Reyna stabbed a fork through her meal comprising stir fry spaghetti and meatballs. “He submitted our report with edits.”

“What kind of edits?” Kyna asked.

“Removed our names from half the strategy section,” Reyna replied. “Highlighted his ‘recon contributions.’”

Kael sipped water. “Standard play.”

“You don’t care?”

“I do,” Kael said. “But not enough to shout in the mess about it.”

One of the twins leaned forward. “You think he’s doing it solo?”

“No,” Kael said. “I think someone’s watching his progress. And he’s tailoring a version of himself.”

Kyna frowned. “To who?”

Kael didn’t answer.

Reyna found him hours later near the old combat ring. She’d stripped down to training gear, sweat soaking through her collar.

“He touched your face,” she said.

Kael didn’t respond.

“What does he want, Kael?”

Kael tied the leather wrap tighter around his knuckles. “To see if I’ll flinch.”

“And?”

He turned to face her. “I don’t.”

She shook her head. “You let too much slide. He’s pushing you.”

“I know.”

“Then push back.”

Kael stared out toward the training post. “Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s still watching for weakness. And if I respond now, he’ll find it.”

That night, Kael added two new entries in his journal:

> Jared: mimics interest for leverage. Possibly testing orders or approval chain.

Vault artifact: not logged in master registry. Location scrubbed from standard intel.

He paused, and then wrote:

> I don’t think Archon asked for that mission.

He shut the journal.

Outside, the hall was silent.

Inside, his room stayed lit long past lights-out.