The King's Guard

Chapter 53

The council chamber smelled of ink and dust. Scrolls lay stacked along the walls, and the single window let in a thin strip of pale light. Darius stood at the centre, hands braced on the map table. His shoulders were tense, his jaw set.

Kael entered first, Reyna and Kyna at his side. Jared trailed behind, expression unreadable as always.

Darius’s gaze swept them once. “You followed him.”

Kael nodded. “Yes.”

“Tell me everything.”

Reyna spoke quickly. “Lord Arvel left his chamber under cover of night. He passed the outer gate without challenge. He met a cloaked figure in the gardens.”

Kyna added, “They spoke within a barrier. We couldn’t hear. But an exchange took place. He handed over a case.”

Darius’s eyes fixed on Kael. “And?”

Kael hesitated. “That’s all we saw.”

Jared chuckled low. “All we saw. Which is another way of saying: nothing useful.”

Reyna turned sharply. “It was proof enough. He met someone in secret. That alone…”

“...proves only that nobles sneak about at night,” Jared cut in smoothly. “Maybe he was trading wine recipes. Maybe he was paying a debt. Unless Estaran’s little Rift trick suddenly cracked the barrier, we’ve got shadows and guesses.”

Kael’s voice was even. “You’re mocking because you’re nervous.”

“Maybe,” Jared said with a grin. “Or maybe because I don’t enjoy risking my neck for half-truths.”

Kyna’s eyes narrowed. “You’d dismiss this so easily? Why? Because it’s easier to laugh than to admit something’s wrong?”

Jared tilted his head. “Wrong doesn’t pay, Kyna. Evidence does.”

Reyna stepped forward, fists tight. “You’re impossible.”

“Practical,” Jared corrected softly.

Darius silenced them with a raised hand. His voice carried the weight of stone. “Half-truths or not, you saw what you saw. And that is enough for me.”

Reyna frowned. “Do we bring this to the King?”

“No,” Darius said firmly. “Not yet. Without detail, it’s speculation. And speculation kills faster than steel.”

Jared scoffed. “Well, what does speculation have to do with steel?”

Kael interrupted immediately. “Shut the fuck up for the King's sake.

Jared smirked. “We'll see who's shutting up who.”

Kael frowned, but then ignored him and pressed, “Then what do we do?”

“We wait,” Darius replied. He looked each of them in the eye. “We watch. We learn more. Stormhaven didn’t come here empty-handed. The case means something, but until we know what, we don’t move.”

Kyna’s brow furrowed. “And if they move first?”

“Then we adjust,” Darius said.

Jared’s smirk returned. “Adjust. Another way of saying, hope the enemy’s slower than we are. Comforting.”

Reyna snapped, “Enough, Jared.”

But Kael watched Darius carefully. Beneath the commander’s calm, there was something else: unease. A flicker of calculation too quick to hide.

When the meeting ended, Darius dismissed them with a curt nod. “Return to quarters. And remember: not a word of this leaves this room.”

They filed out into the corridor.

Reyna muttered, “So we sit. And watch.”

Kael shook his head. “We wait, yes. But not sit. I’m not wasting time.”

Jared’s voice slid in. “And what will you do instead? Sneak into Arvel’s chamber? Rummage through the royal kitchens?”

Kael ignored him. “There’s a pattern here. Stormhaven arrives. Velreth hovers. Arvel sneaks out. That case goes somewhere. If we track it, we learn more.”

Kyna frowned. “And how do you track a case you never touched?”

Kael’s hand tightened into a fist. “That’s what I need to figure out.”

Reyna placed a steady hand on his arm. “Careful. Darius told us to wait.”

“And you trust that?” Kael asked.

Reyna hesitated. “…I trust him more than I trust Velreth.”

From behind them, Jared’s laugh was soft, mocking. “And less than you trust Kael, apparently.”

Reyna spun on him. “Why are you always…”

“Because someone has to remind you all that loyalty can be blinding,” Jared interrupted, smirk curving. “You think Darius doesn’t play his own game? That Velreth isn’t already two steps ahead? You think Kael’s Rift doesn’t make him a target for everyone in this palace?”

Kael’s voice was flat. “And what’s your game, Jared?”

For once, Jared’s smirk faltered just slightly. “Maybe you’ll find out.” He turned and walked ahead, cloak brushing the stone floor.

Reyna exhaled sharply. “He’s getting worse.”

Kyna nodded. “He’s hiding something. More than usual.”

Kael stared after Jared, mind tightening like a coil.

Later, in the barracks, Kael sat with his journal open. The candle burned low, shadows long across the page.

Reyna leaned against the bunkpost. “You’re writing again.”

Kael didn’t look up. “I have to.”

“What this time?”

Kael’s pen scratched steady lines. “Velreth watching me during the procession. Arvel’s midnight meeting. The case. The barrier. Jared’s doubt. Darius’s hesitation.”

Reyna’s voice softened. “And what do you think it means?”

Kael stopped writing, staring at the page. “…That we’re being pulled into something bigger than missions and drills. And that every step forward is a trap.”

Reyna sat beside him quietly. For a while, the only sound was the scratch of his pen.

Then she said, “If you believe that, then you can’t carry it alone. Not this time.”

Kael finally met her eyes. “You mean tell Darius?”

“I mean trust me,” Reyna said firmly. “Tell me what you’re really thinking, even if it makes no sense. Otherwise, one day you’ll break, and it’ll be too late.”

Kael studied her face. It was steady, serious, and unflinching. He almost spoke, almost told her everything: the dream-figure, the whisper in the dark, the sense of a hand moving pieces across a board he couldn’t see.

But the words caught in his throat.

Instead, he said softly, “If I break, Reyna… promise you’ll stop me before it’s too late.”

Reyna’s hand brushed his briefly. “I promise.”

From the corner, Jared’s voice broke the moment. “Sweet. Almost romantic.”

They turned sharply. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyes glinting.

Reyna snapped, “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough,” Jared said smoothly. “Don’t worry. Your secrets are safe with me. For now.”

Kael’s voice was ice. “Say what you came to say, Jared.”

Jared’s smirk sharpened. “Only this: stop thinking you’re the only one who sees the game. You’re not.”

And then he was gone, the door closing softly behind him.

Reyna muttered, “He’s going to tear us apart.”

Kael closed his journal with a snap. “Not if I get there first.”

The next morning, Darius met Kael alone again.

“You’re holding something back,” the commander said.

Kael’s hand tightened at his side. “…Maybe.”

Darius’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t. Not with me. You’ll end up buried before you understand why.”

Kael met his gaze. “Then tell me what I’m missing. Why Velreth watches me. Why Arvel walks at night. Why Stormhaven’s banners fill our gates while our orders keep us blind.”

Darius didn’t answer immediately. At last, he said, “Because truth isn’t a gift, Kael. It’s a burden. And you’re not ready to carry all of it.”

Kael’s voice was low, dangerous. “I don’t get to choose readiness.”

Darius’s reply was quiet, almost regretful. “No. But I do.”

The silence between them was heavy.

Kael left the chamber with more questions than answers.