The King's Guard

Chapter 27

Reyna’s head turned at the movement, but Kael was already moving. His blade came up from low, catching the courier’s wrist before the weapon cleared.

The man hissed, twisting free. Mud sprayed under their boots.

“Drop it!” Reyna barked.

The courier slashed sideways. Kael stepped in, catching the arm and forcing it down. The motion was quick, but not clean.

The courier wrenched his other hand toward the satchel strap. Reyna lunged to block him—too close to the blade.

Kael didn’t think. The edge of his sword cut across the courier’s throat.

It was a short sound—half a breath—and then nothing.

The satchel slipped from his grip.

Jared’s boots hit the mud beside them. “Well. That was—”

“Don’t,” Reyna snapped, not even looking at him.

Jared raised his hands. “I was going to say ‘efficient.’”

“Not the time,” she said, already crouching. “Kael—”

Kael still held the hilt tight, the blade angled down. He didn’t move.

“Kael,” Reyna repeated, firmer now. “Step back.”

His eyes stayed fixed on the body. “He would’ve gone for you.”

“I know. Step back.”

He stepped back once.

The courier’s body sank into the mud, dark water pooling beneath.

Kyna bent over the satchel, frowning. “Seal’s damaged. He must’ve cut it when you—”

She didn’t finish. She tipped the satchel over. A roll of parchment slid out, wet and smeared. The ink was bleeding into the fibres.

“It’s gone,” she said.

Reyna stared down at the ruined page. “Then we’ve failed the mission.”

Jared whistled low. “All that for nothing.”

Kael’s eyes stayed on the courier’s face. He’d stopped seeing the man as an enemy the moment the blood ran, but the image didn’t leave.

Reyna’s tone sharpened. “Get moving. We’ll report in.”

The path back to camp was narrow and wet.

No one spoke for the first stretch. Jared broke the silence.

“First kill, huh?”

Kael didn’t answer.

“Guess it’s harder than it looks in training,” Jared went on. “No targets painted on their chests. No instructor shouting when to swing.”

“Enough,” Reyna said without turning.

“I’m just saying—some people freeze. Some people overdo it. And some—”

Kael stopped walking. “You have something you want to say to me?”

Jared smirked. “Already did.”

Kael’s tone dropped lower. “Then say it again. Louder.”

“Why? So you can cut me too?” Jared asked, still walking.

Kael took a step toward him. “You think this is a joke?”

“I think,” Jared said, glancing over his shoulder, “that if you can’t handle it, you should say so before someone else pays for it.”

Kyna cut in before Kael could reply. “Both of you, shut up. This isn’t the place.”

Kael held Jared’s gaze a second longer before letting it drop.

Kyna walked past them both, eyes on the ground. “We still don’t know why a Stormhaven seal was on that satchel.”

Reyna kept moving. “We’ll discuss it when we’re back. For now, this conversation’s over.”

Darius was waiting when they reached the edge of camp.

He took one look at their faces. “Report.”

Reyna handed him the satchel. “Courier intercepted. He drew on me. Kael engaged. Target down. Message destroyed.”

Darius looked at the wet parchment inside. “Destroyed how?”

“Water and mud,” Reyna said.

His eyes shifted to Kael. “You cut him?”

Kael met his gaze. “Yes.”

“Was it necessary?”

“He was moving for you,” Reyna said quickly. “He had a blade in his hand.”

“I wasn’t asking you,” Darius replied, still watching Kael.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Yes. It was necessary.”

Darius didn’t look away. “Clean strike?”

Kael’s voice was even. “Clean enough to end it before he reached her.”

Reyna folded her arms. “It ended because it had to, not because—”

Darius raised a hand to silence her, eyes never leaving Kael. “You’ll write the account yourself. Every detail.”

Kael gave a short nod.

Darius closed the satchel. “Debrief at the Academy. Go clean yourselves up.”

The ride back was long. Kael didn’t speak. Reyna kept glancing at him, but didn’t try to start a conversation.

When they reached the Academy gates, Darius dismissed the squad. “Reyna, report to my office in an hour. Kael, stay out of sight until then.”

Jared’s voice drifted over Kael’s shoulder as they walked toward the barracks, low and cutting. “Bet the instructors will love hearing how you threw away the intel. Maybe they’ll even thank you for wasting everyone’s time.”

Kael kept walking.

Jared stepped closer, his tone turning sharper. “Or maybe they’ll just start wondering how many missions you’ll ruin before someone decides you’re not worth the risk.”

Kael’s grip tightened on his gloves, but he didn’t turn.

“Keep quiet all you like,” Jared added, voice almost a whisper. “It’ll be louder when the whole Academy’s talking, pretty boy. Watch and see..”

Kael didn’t respond.

Inside the barracks, Kael sat on the lower bunk with his boots still on. The sword leaned against the wall.

Reyna entered quietly. “You didn’t freeze. That’s something.”

“I didn’t think,” Kael said.

“That’s what instinct is.”

He looked at her. “You think that’s good?”

She sat opposite him. “It kept me breathing.”

He gave a short, humourless laugh. “So the trade is your life for the mission? Seems like a bad bargain.”

“It’s not a bargain,” she replied. “It’s survival.”

He glanced away. “It also destroyed the mission.”

“That wasn’t on you,” she said. “The seal was already cut.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I can,” she said simply. “Because I was there. And I saw his hand on the satchel before you moved.”

His eyes flicked to her, searching for doubt. “Or maybe you just want me to believe that.”

“If I wanted to lie to you, Kael,” she said evenly, “I’d make it something worth believing.”

He didn’t answer.

Later, Darius called him in.

“You’re quiet,” Darius said.

Kael stood in front of his desk. “I don’t have much to say.”

“You killed a man today.”

Kael didn’t respond.

Darius leaned back. “The first one’s not easy. But if you’re in this line of work, it happens.”

“That supposed to make me feel better?”

“No. It’s supposed to remind you it won’t be the last.”

Kael met his eyes. “Is that how you dealt with yours?”

Darius’s gaze sharpened for a moment. “I dealt with mine by living long enough to make the next decision.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’ll get,” Darius said.

Kael hesitated. “You angry about the message?”

“I’m angry we lost the intel,” Darius said. “But I’m not blaming you for acting when you did.”

Kael searched his face. “Even if acting cost us the mission?”

Darius’s voice stayed even. “I’ve seen what hesitation costs. I’ll take a ruined satchel over a dead squadmate.”

Kael waited.

Darius added, “You’ll carry it for a while. That’s normal. Just make sure you can still move while you do.”

That night, Kael sat with his journal open.

> First kill. Blade to throat. Quick. Too quick.

Parchment gone: mud and water. Jared’s smile. Reyna’s eyes. Kyna’s IQ. Darius… ever silent but watching.

He set the pen down and closed the book.

From the far side of the room, Jared’s voice slid through the dark.

“Sweet dreams, pretty boy. Shame you’re wasting that face on a soldier’s grave.”

Kael kept still.

Jared’s tone dipped lower, almost intimate. “Maybe I’ll make sure I’m the one to put you in it… so I can watch those lashes flutter shut.”

The silence stretched thickly as sesame oil. Kael didn’t answer. He simply closed the journal, kept it in his safe locker, locked it, and went to bed.