The King's Guard

Chapter 31

Darius stood at the front of the briefing chamber, the walls bare except for the map projection. His arms folded across his chest as he looked at the squad gathered before him. The silence stretched long enough for Jared to lean back in his chair, boots crossed at the ankles.

“This exam,” Darius finally said, “will test more than blades or endurance. It requires precision, subtlety, and restraint.” He tapped the map. “Infiltration. A noble house under watch. You enter, you gather information, and you exit unseen. Failure will not be judged on combat skill. It will be judged on exposure.”

Jared leaned forward, smirking. “Which house?”

“House Varion,” Darius said.

The air shifted immediately. Kael glanced at Reyna, who kept her expression even, though her eyes flicked once toward Jared. Kyna tilted her head, studying the floor as though she already knew where this would lead. Jared, of course, straightened with satisfaction.

“Convenient,” Jared said. “I know the estate. We’ll take the assignment.”

Kael frowned. “You’ll take the assignment? For all of us?”

Jared shrugged. “Unless you’d prefer fumbling around blind. I happen to know the layout. Consider it an advantage.”

“That’s one word for it,” Reyna said.

Darius ignored the tension. “You have two days. Your approach will be under my supervision but not my direction. You will act as a unit. And I’ll know if you don’t.” His eyes moved deliberately between Jared and Kael. “Dismissed.”

They filed out. Kael slowed near the doorway, waiting until Jared brushed past. “You could’ve asked before speaking for us.”

“I did us a favour,” Jared said. “Unless you’d rather sneak into a stranger’s home with no guidance.”

Reyna cut in sharply. “This isn’t guidance. It’s you steering the entire mission because it happens to be your family.”

“And that bothers you?” Jared asked. “Or are you afraid I might know what I’m doing?”

Kyna stepped forward before Reyna could retort. “No one’s afraid, Jared. But when you don’t consult the squad, it stops being leadership and starts being arrogance.”

Jared smirked, unbothered. “Call it what you want. I’ll get us through the gates.”

Kael said nothing more, but he watched Jared closely.

The estate loomed high two nights later, its spires lit by faint lanterns, walls stretching along the ridge like quiet sentinels. The squad crouched near the lower path, cloaks pulled tight against the cold. Jared knelt at the forefront, pointing toward a servant’s gate on the eastern wall.

“Here,” he whispered. “Light guard rotation. Easy to slip through.”

Reyna’s eyes narrowed. “Conveniently easy.”

Jared didn’t flinch. “They’re careless with the service wing. I’ve seen it myself.”

Kael’s gaze tracked the wall. The lantern above the gate barely flickered. Too perfect. He leaned closer to Reyna. “Does it strike you as unguarded?”

“It does,” she murmured. Then louder: “We try your gate, Jared, but if it’s wrong, you’ll answer for it.”

Jared gave a half-smile. “It won’t be wrong.”

They moved. The stone wall felt colder under Kael’s palm as he steadied himself to climb. Jared took the lead, scaling with practiced ease. He dropped to the other side and waved them forward. Kyna went next, then Reyna, then Kael last. They landed silent in the dark grass of the estate gardens.

No alarm. No patrol. Kael frowned. “Almost too smooth.”

“You want a challenge?” Jared said under his breath. “Maybe thank me instead.”

They advanced toward the servants’ corridor. Kael scanned the windows: dark, unshuttered. He whispered, “No guards. No staff. For a noble house, that’s strange.”

“Maybe they were dismissed early,” Jared said.

“Or hidden,” Reyna said.

They reached the door. Jared tested the latch. It opened without resistance. “See? Access.”

Reyna’s jaw tightened. “Unlocked? At this hour?”

Kyna touched the frame lightly. “Someone wanted it opened.”

Kael felt the chill crawl down his neck. “Then we’re walking into something staged.”

Still, they entered. The corridor smelled faintly of polished wood and old smoke. Their footsteps made no sound on the stone floor, but Kael’s heartbeat quickened. Every doorway they passed revealed more oddities. An empty kitchen, a deserted hall, chairs pulled back as if abandoned mid-meal.

“Where are the servants?” Kael asked quietly.

Jared didn’t slow. “Maybe moved for the night.”

“Or hidden,” Reyna said.

They reached the inner gallery. Portraits lined the walls, faces Kael recognised from texts: Lords and Ladies Varion, sharp-eyed, their lineage traced in brushstrokes. He paused at one: Jared’s father, unmistakable in his stance, stern gaze fixed as though watching the hall.

Jared glanced up. “Don’t linger. Keep moving.”

Kael turned to him. “You knew we’d find this wing easily. Too easily.”

Jared met his eyes without blinking. “So?”

“So maybe you’re not telling us everything.”

Reyna stepped between them. “Enough. We need the intelligence. Where do we look?”

Jared gestured toward a spiral staircase. “The study on the upper floor. Records. Maps. That’s where the Council keeps their interest.”

Reyna held his gaze for a long moment before nodding. “Lead the way.”

They climbed. The staircase wound tightly, stone slick under their boots. At the top, Jared pushed open the study door. Inside: shelves lined with scrolls, a map table with unrolled charts. A lamp burned low in the corner, as though waiting for them.

Kyna’s eyes darted across the room. “Too ready. Someone left this staged.”

Kael moved to the table, scanning the map. His breath caught. “Stormhaven positions. Marked clearly. Why would House Varion leave this in the open?”

Jared leaned on the edge of the table, casual. “Because no one’s supposed to be here except us.”

“You don’t sound surprised,” Reyna said sharply.

Jared gave a small shrug. “Maybe I expected something like this.”

“You expected?” Kael repeated. “What else are you not telling us?”

Jared’s smile was faint, almost mocking. “Not my fault if I have insight into my own house.”

Reyna stepped forward, her tone cutting. “Insight isn’t the same as manipulation. Did you volunteer us because you knew this mission would hand you leverage?”

Jared tilted his head. “Does it matter? We’re here. The maps are here. Take them, and the exam’s complete.”

Kael studied him, searching for cracks in his mask. But Jared only smirked, as though the tension fed him.

Kyna gathered a few scrolls, rolling them tight. “We should go. The longer we stay, the worse this feels.”

Reyna nodded. “Agreed. Kael, watch the hall.”

Kael moved to the doorway, scanning the staircase below. Still no guards. Still too quiet. He muttered, “It’s not an exam anymore. It’s something else.”

They regrouped quickly, scrolls secured. Jared took the lead again, guiding them down through another wing. They passed rooms that should have been locked: treasury doors ajar, armories unsealed. Each sight added weight to Kael’s unease.

At last they slipped back into the garden. The night air hit cooler now, sharper. Kael exhaled slowly. “We walked through an open house. No resistance. No obstacles. Doesn’t feel like infiltration.”

Reyna said, “Feels like invitation.”

Kyna nodded. “An invitation with strings.”

Jared only smiled faintly. “Or maybe you’re overthinking. We passed. That’s all that matters.”

“Did we?” Kael asked. “Or did someone just use us to move pieces we don’t understand?”

Jared tilted his head, his grin sharp in the lantern glow. “What difference does it make? You got what you wanted. Don’t start whining just because the test was easier than you hoped.”

Reyna’s eyes narrowed. “Easy isn’t what worries him. It worries me too.”

Kael’s hand brushed the hilt at his side, his gaze drifting back toward the estate windows. “The scrolls were waiting for us. On a table, doors open, guards gone. That’s not a mistake. It’s a lure.”

“And maybe,” Jared drawled, “you’re exactly the kind of mouse who can’t help sniffing at the cheese.”

Kael turned his head sharply. “And you sound far too comfortable in a house you claim to hate.”

Jared’s grin flickered into something colder. “Careful, Estaran. Paranoia makes you sloppy.”

“Or maybe,” Kael said, voice tight, “it makes me alive.”

Kyna stepped between them, palm up. “Enough. If it’s a lure, we don’t spring it. We leave, report, and let Darius decide if there’s more.”

Reyna glanced at Kael. “She’s right. Don’t give them what they want.”

Kael didn’t move. His eyes stayed fixed on the dim ember of lamplight still burning in the gallery window. “Something’s wrong.”

Reyna’s voice softened, almost pleading. “Kael…”

But he was already moving, slipping back into the shadows of the estate.

Reyna muttered a curse under her breath and went after him.

“Of course,” Kyna sighed, tightening her grip on her spear. “Because following him into a trap is so much smarter.” Still, she followed.

Jared lingered just long enough to let his smirk spread across his face. “Predictable,” he murmured, before trailing after them, his footsteps unhurried.