The King's Guard

Chapter 62

The night was windless, the air sharp with smoke from distant chimneys. Kael’s squad moved through the eastern quarter of Veridale, cloaks drawn tight, boots muffled against dirt alleys.

Jared muttered, “Lovely assignment. Crawl through the gutters after whispers.”

Reyna’s voice was flat. “Keep quiet or I’ll make you.”

Kyna smirked. “I’d pay to see that.”

“Focus,” Kael said softly, scanning the alley. The walls loomed high on either side, the lamps above them smothered with soot. “Voices carry here.”

Jared huffed. “Not that anyone’s awake to hear.”

“Someone is,” Reyna replied. “And if they’re who we think, they’ll hear everything.”

They passed a row of boarded doors, puddles glinting under weak starlight. The silence thickened, the city’s heartbeat distant.

Kyna murmured, “You sure your informant wasn’t feeding us another ghost trail?”

Kael didn’t answer at first. His eyes traced the faint scuff marks along the ground: too deliberate to be random. “No ghost. They’ve been moving goods through here. Recently.”

Reyna crouched, running her fingers along the mud. “Wagon wheels. Two, maybe three. And…blood.” She rubbed her thumb against a dark streak. “Fresh.”

Jared peered over her shoulder. “Could be animal.”

“Could be,” Kael said. “Or it could be someone making sure we think that.”

Kyna gave a low whistle. “You’ve really learned to talk like Archon lately. All cryptic and broody.”

Kael shot her a glance. “I’ll take broody over dead.”

Reyna’s lips curved faintly. “He’s right, for once.”

Jared groaned. “Oh, that’s rich. When he sulks, it’s ‘strategy.’ When I talk, it’s ‘noise.’”

“Because yours is noise,” Kyna said under her breath.

Kael raised a hand, signalling silence. Ahead, a low warehouse squatted against the wall, shutters closed, lantern light flickering through the cracks.

He whispered, “That’s it.”

Reyna nodded. “Entry?”

“Side door,” Kael said. “One guard.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “One guard? You need a council meeting for that?”

Kael ignored him. “We go quiet. No noise, no alarm.”

Reyna tapped her dagger against her palm. “On your signal.”

The side door opened with a groan. Inside, the air was thick with dust and oil. Crates lined the walls, stacked high, stencilled with faded marks.

Kyna knelt by the nearest, running her hand across the wood. She whispered, “Not rebel stock.”

Kael frowned. “What then?”

She pulled a small blade, wedged it beneath the lid, and pried it open.

The four of them leaned in.

Inside lay rows of steel crossbows, polished and deadly: each engraved with Stormhaven insignia.

Reyna hissed, “Stormhaven weapons.”

Jared blinked. “That… doesn’t mean anything. Could be spoils. Could be black market.”

Kyna shook her head sharply. “Oh, please. No. These are fresh shipments. Not scavenged. Look at the seals.”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Then the rebels are being armed by Stormhaven.”

Reyna muttered, “Or by someone who wants it to look that way.”

“De ja vu…”

Bootsteps sounded above, from the loft. Voices murmured.

Kael whispered, “Up.”

They moved silently, climbing the ladder to the loft. The wood creaked beneath their weight, but the voices covered the sound.

“…delivery’s late,” one man said.

“Stormhaven wants deniability,” another replied. “We move faster, we get noticed. Better the weapons drip than flood.”

Kael’s eyes met Reyna’s. She mouthed, Stormhaven.

Kyna shifted forward, eyes narrow. Jared’s hand hovered at his sword hilt, too eager.

Kael hissed softly, “Don’t.”

Jared smirked. “What, you want to listen to them all night?”

Reyna growled under her breath. “For once, yes.”

The men below shuffled. One said, “And what of House Varion?”

Kael froze.

The second voice replied, “Their gold pays half the shipments. Without them, this line dies.”

Reyna’s eyes flicked to Jared.

He stiffened, jaw clenching. “Lies,” he whispered.

Kyna leaned closer. “Convenient lies.”

Jared glared at her. “Shut up.”

Kael whispered sharply, “Both of you. Quiet.”

Suddenly, a lantern tipped below, spilling light upward. Shadows flickered against the rafters.

“Wait…up there!” a man shouted.

Steel rang as blades scraped free.

Kael hissed, “Move!”

The squad dropped from the loft, crashing onto the floor. Reyna struck first, dagger across a guard’s arm. Kyna shadowstepped behind another, blade flashing. Jared shoved Kael aside to lunge forward, reckless but effective.

The fight was fast, messy. Within minutes, three men lay unconscious, one fled into the night.

Reyna panted, “They’ll bring more.”

Kael nodded. “We take what proof we can.”

They tore open another crate. Inside: Stormhaven swords, pristine, wrapped in oiled cloth.

Kael muttered, “Too much to deny.”

Kyna pulled a folded parchment from beneath the weapons. Her eyes widened. “Shipment schedules.”

Reyna grabbed it. “Routes, dates… all Stormhaven caravans.”

Jared spat, “Forgeries.”

Kael rounded on him. “Why are you so desperate to excuse this?”

“Because I know my house!” Jared snapped. “We wouldn’t…”

Kyna cut him off. “Your house is funding them. We heard it with our own ears.”

“Lies!” Jared barked, face flushed. “Twisted lies to turn you against me.”

Reyna stepped between them. “Enough. Both of you.”

Outside, shouts echoed in the alleys.

Kael shoved the parchment into his cloak. “We move.”

They slipped into the streets, keeping low. Behind them, the warehouse filled with noise: more men, more guards.

By the time they reached the barracks, night was deep and silent.

Reyna turned to Kael. “What do we tell Darius?”

Kael pulled the parchment free, staring at it. “The truth. Stormhaven’s supplying weapons.”

Kyna added, “And House Varion’s paying.”

Jared’s voice was ice. “You say that, you brand me a traitor.”

Kael met his eyes. “No. I brand the evidence. Whatever it says about you is your burden.”

Jared’s jaw clenched so hard Kael thought it might break.

Later, alone in his bunk, Kael opened his journal.

> Crates of Stormhaven weapons. Schedules, routes. Varion gold behind it. Jared shook, called it lies. Evidence says otherwise.

He underlined the last line twice.

He then closed the book and stared at the ceiling, listening to Jared’s uneven breathing across the room.