The King's Guard

Chapter 49

The recruits had barely gathered that morning when Darius stepped into the yard, cloak sweeping the dust. His expression was harder than stone.

“Drill,” he said. “Effective immediately.”

No preamble. No explanation.

Kael glanced sideways at Reyna. She shrugged, already unbuckling her cloak. Jared smirked as if he’d been expecting it. Kyna tightened her gloves. The rest of the trainees looked uncertain.

Darius gestured to the far end of the grounds, where two veteran Shadow Corps squads waited, already armed. “Today, you face them. Not to win. To survive. Capture the signal banner from the centre post. That’s your task.”

A murmur spread among the recruits. Reyna whispered, “He didn’t say how long.”

Jared stretched his shoulders. “Doesn’t matter. We’ll be faster. Watch and learn.”

Kael’s jaw tensed. “If you charge without a plan, you’ll get us flattened.”

“Oh, pretty boy wants to plan again,” Jared teased, leaning close enough for only Kael to hear. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you from breaking a nail.”

Reyna cut between them. “Enough. Focus. We don’t have time.”

The horn sounded. The drill began.

The veterans moved like wolves, already spreading wide across the yard. Kael grabbed Reyna’s arm. “Left flank. Kyna with me. Jared, cover high ground…”

But Jared was already sprinting down the centre, blade drawn, grin wide.

“Idiot,” Reyna hissed. She and Kael broke into motion anyway, cutting left through the dust.

Veterans intercepted quickly. Blades clashed, steel singing sharp under the morning sun. Kael ducked one strike, countered low, and pushed forward. Reyna’s arrows clipped two opponents back. For a moment, it looked like the squad might break through.

Then Jared shouted, “Flag’s mine!” He lunged toward the centre post.

A veteran captain stepped into his path, sweeping him off his feet in one brutal strike. Jared hit the dirt hard, breath knocked out.

“Fall back!” Kael barked, blocking a blow aimed at Reyna. He risked a glance, Jared was already scrambling up, face twisted in fury, but the banner was gone.

They fought another ten minutes before the veterans forced them down, surrounding the recruits until Darius called the halt.

“Dead last,” he said flatly. “Not even close.”

Reyna yanked off her gloves, anger flashing in her eyes. “Because someone couldn’t follow orders.”

Jared spun on her. “I moved for the banner. That was the point.”

“You moved without cover,” she snapped. “You nearly cost all of us.”

Kael stepped between them. “She’s right. You broke formation.”

Jared’s smile was thin and sharp. “And you hid behind it. As usual.”

Kael’s fists clenched. “Say that again.”

“I said,” Jared leaned in, voice low and mocking, “you hide. Behind rules. Behind Reyna. Behind your little journal. Maybe if you stopped hiding, you’d actually matter.”

Kyna cut in quickly. “Enough. Both of you.”

But Darius’s voice carried over them. “He’s right about one thing: you’re broken. And broken squads don’t last. You’ll fix it. Now.”

Reyna frowned. “How?”

Darius’s eyes swept them all. “Bonding exercise. Pairs. Kael and Jared…you’re together.”

A silence heavier than the heat settled. Jared grinned slowly. Kael felt his stomach sink.

“Indeed we are.” Kael grumbled, while Jared smirked at him.

The bonding task was simple on paper: scale the cliffside on the north ridge, tethered together, retrieve a marker stone from the top, then return.

Jared tied the rope around his waist with deliberate slowness. “Intimate, isn’t it?”

Kael ignored him, checking his own knots. “Focus.”

“I am focused,” Jared said, smirk tugging at his lips. “On how close we’ll be. Almost like Darius wants us married.”

Kael shot him a glare. “If you think this is a joke…”

“Oh, I do,” Jared said brightly. “But don’t worry. I’ll let you lead. You’re good at climbing, right? Or do you need Reyna to hold your hand for this too?”

Kael exhaled sharply, started climbing. The rope tugged each time Jared deliberately lagged behind.

“You’re heavy,” Kael muttered.

“Funny,” Jared replied. “I was going to say the same about you.”

Halfway up, Kael’s grip slipped on loose rock. The rope went taut. Jared steadied him instantly, grip surprisingly strong.

“Don’t fall, pretty boy,” Jared murmured. “I might actually miss you.”

Kael ignored the heat rising in his chest. “Pull your weight.”

“Always do,” Jared said.

At the top, they sat catching their breath. The marker stone sat wedged in a crack between two ridges.

Kael reached for it, but Jared stopped him with a hand on his wrist. “Tell me something first.”

Kael stiffened. “What?”

“Why Darius keeps you so close. He says nothing about anyone else. But you? He watches. He waits. Almost like you’re his project.”

Kael pulled free. “I don’t owe you answers.”

“Maybe not,” Jared said softly. “But I think you’re dangerous. And I think Darius knows it too.”

Kael pocketed the stone without replying.

The descent was harder, rope jerking between them with every shift. Jared deliberately leaned close when they landed.

“You’re calculating something,” Jared whispered. “I see it every time you look at me. Just don’t forget, I calculate too.”

Reyna and Kyna were waiting at the bottom. Reyna crossed her arms. “Well?”

Jared tossed the stone at her. “Done. Ask Kael how romantic it was.”

Kael’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing.

Darius stepped forward, gaze sharp. “Better. Not good enough. You’ll do it again tomorrow.”

Jared grinned. “Looking forward to it.”

Kael turned away, fists tight at his sides.

That night in the barracks, Jared leaned against Kael’s bunk. “You know, you’re more interesting when you’re angry. Maybe I should keep pushing.”

Kael looked up slowly. “Try it.”

Jared’s smile widened. “Oh, I intend to.”

Reyna’s voice cut across the room, sharp as steel. “Enough. Both of you. You want to tear each other apart, do it after we survive the next mission. Until then, shut up.”

The silence that followed was tense, unbroken.

Jared backed off with a smirk. Kael lay back, staring at the ceiling.

But he could still feel Jared’s words like hooks under his skin.

Later, when the others slept, Kael pulled out his journal. His hand shook slightly as he wrote.

> Jared…calculates everything. Flirts to provoke. Pushes to see what breaks. I don’t know yet if he’s testing me for himself, or for someone else.

He paused, staring at the page.

> Either way, I can’t afford to lose.

The candle burned low. Outside, the wind shifted.

And Kael realised: whatever bond Darius wanted, Jared had twisted it into something else entirely.

Something dangerous.

He could only watch and see.