The King's Guard

Chapter 67

The orders came at dawn, delivered by a courier with the same stiff neutrality Kael had grown to distrust.

Reyna read the parchment aloud as the squad gathered outside the barracks.

“Reconnaissance sweep,” she said. “South ridge. Reports of rebel movement.”

Jared scoffed. “Rebels again. Convenient how they appear only when the Academy needs to look busy.”

Kyna muttered, “That’s because this isn’t about rebels. It’s about us being kept out of the way.”

Kael stayed silent. His gut agreed with her.

Darius joined them, his expression unreadable. “The assignment stands. Intercept if you find anything. Return by nightfall.”

Kael studied him, searching for a hint of more, but Darius offered none.

When they were dismissed, Jared stretched his shoulders with false ease. “Another wasted day. Try not to trip over yourselves.”

Reyna shot him a look. “Better to trip than to drag everyone down.”

Jared smirked. “I’ll keep that in mind when I’m carrying you back.”

Kyna cut in, sharp. “Both of you shut it. We’ve got work.”

They set out toward the south ridge, the ground damp with morning mist.

Hours passed with little sign of life beyond the occasional hawk circling above. The ridge was quiet, too quiet for rebel scouts.

Reyna walked at Kael’s side. “You feel it too?”

Kael nodded. “It’s staged. They want us here, not somewhere else.”

Kyna tapped her blade hilt. “Then the question is what we’re missing while we play patrol.”

Jared, ahead of them, called back, “Paranoid thoughts don’t win wars. Rebels or not, we sweep, we leave. Simple.”

Kael muttered, “Nothing about this is simple.”

Reyna gave him a sidelong glance. “You’re thinking of using it, aren’t you?”

Kael hesitated. “If I can push the Rift just enough, maybe I’ll see what’s being hidden.”

“Or maybe you’ll tear yourself apart,” she said flatly.

“I’ll manage.”

Kyna cut in. “Do it when we’re not standing in the open, yeah? I’d rather not explain to Darius why the world bent in half on his day off.”

Kael allowed a faint smile. “Fair enough.”

They reached the ridge’s crest by midday. The valley stretched below—empty fields, broken ruins, nothing that screamed rebel stronghold.

Jared threw up his hands. “See? Wasted time.”

Reyna snapped, “Or someone wants it to look that way.”

Kael crouched near the ridge’s edge, closing his eyes. The hum of the Rift stirred in his chest, familiar and dangerous. He focused, willing it to sharpen.

The air thickened. Sound dulled. The world bent.

For a heartbeat, nothing. Then—images, fractured and blurred.

A campfire in a cavern. Shadows bent over maps. Stormhaven insignias on crates, not rebel banners. Voices he couldn’t quite hear, but the cadence was military, not ragged.

He gasped, pulling himself back before the Rift swallowed more. Blood beaded at his nose.

Reyna crouched beside him instantly. “Kael! Enough!”

“I’m fine,” he rasped. “But I saw it. Not rebels. Stormhaven. Moving supplies through caves beneath the ridge.”

Kyna’s eyes narrowed. “Hidden right under us.”

Jared frowned. “You’re sure? Or was that one of your convenient visions?”

Kael met his glare. “I’m sure.”

Reyna’s voice was sharp. “Then this mission isn’t a sweep. It’s a diversion. They knew we’d be here and not there.”

Kyna exhaled. “Which means someone else is moving the pieces.”

Jared scoffed. “Or you’re all desperate to make shadows into monsters.”

Reyna stood, glaring at him. “You heard him. Stormhaven markings. That doesn’t just happen.”

Jared folded his arms. “So what, you think Archon’s lying to us?”

Kael spoke quietly. “Not just Archon. Higher. Velreth, maybe. Maybe your father.”

Jared stiffened. “Leave him out of this.”

Kyna stepped forward. “Funny how you’re quick to defend him when the evidence fits too well.”

“Shut up,” Jared snapped.

Reyna raised her hand. “Enough. Fight later. Right now we need proof.”

They descended the ridge into the valley, Kael leading them toward a fissure half-hidden by brush. The Rift’s vision had shown him firelight beneath stone.

Inside, the air was damp and cool. Torches flickered ahead, confirming Kael’s sight hadn’t lied.

They crept closer, keeping low. Voices echoed through the cavern.

“…shipment to the northern garrison by dawn.”

“…ensure no trace of Veridale insignia.”

Kyna whispered, “Stormhaven. No question.”

Reyna’s jaw clenched. “And we were told rebels.”

Kael scanned the crates stacked against the walls. The sigils matched what he’d seen: Stormhaven’s mark, burned into wood. Weapons, not food.

Jared muttered, “This is insane. Why would they stage this here?”

“Because it’s hidden in plain sight,” Kael said. “And because no one was supposed to see it.”

Reyna tugged his arm. “We’ve seen enough. We need to get out before—”

A torch clattered behind them.

Soldiers turned.

“Who’s there?”

Kael drew his blade instantly. “Move!”

The cavern exploded into chaos. Stormhaven soldiers lunged from the shadows, blades flashing.

Reyna parried, her strikes sharp and efficient. “So much for staying unseen!”

Kyna darted like a shadow, her blade finding gaps between armour. “Better this way—at least now we know what we’re up against!”

Jared fought with precision, his strikes angrier than usual. “Don’t get used to me agreeing with you!”

Kael’s blade caught against a soldier’s, sparks flying. The Rift hummed again, threatening to break loose. He forced it down, teeth gritted. Not now.

“Fall back!” Reyna shouted. “We can’t take all of them!”

They cut their way toward the cavern mouth, slipping into the night air just as another wave of soldiers surged.

Breathless, they retreated up the ridge, torches chasing their shadows.

At the crest, they stopped, catching their breath.

Reyna turned to Kael. “We have enough. Crates, insignias, orders. We know it’s Stormhaven.”

Kyna nodded. “And we know someone wanted us far from here.”

Kael wiped blood from his nose. “But we don’t have proof we can carry. Only what we saw.”

Jared spat into the dirt. “Convenient. Always visions and glimpses. Never evidence.”

Kael glared. “You saw the crates yourself.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jared snapped. “Without proof, it’s just stories. And who do you think they’ll believe? Us—or the Corps’ commanders?”

Reyna stepped between them. “Stop. This isn’t about proving Kael right. It’s about the truth. And the truth is Stormhaven is moving weapons under Veridale’s nose.”

Kyna added, “And someone in the Corps is covering for them.”

The silence after that was heavy.

Kael finally said, “Then we don’t tell Archon. Not yet. We tell Darius. Only him.”

Reyna nodded. “Agreed.”

Kyna smirked faintly. “Looks like the pact’s already paying off.”

Jared shook his head, muttering, “You’re all fools.” But he didn’t argue further.

They returned to camp near dawn, weary and silent.

Darius was waiting, arms crossed. His gaze flicked over them, sharp and searching.

“Report.”

Reyna began, “The valley was quiet—”

Kael interrupted. “That’s not true. There’s more.”

Darius’s eyes narrowed. “Speak.”

Kael met his gaze. “We found a Stormhaven cache. Soldiers. Crates of weapons. Hidden under the ridge.”

Darius’s expression didn’t change, but his jaw tightened. “And your proof?”

Kael hesitated. “We couldn’t bring any. Too many soldiers. But we saw it. All of us.”

Reyna added, “It wasn’t rebels. They lied to us.”

Kyna nodded. “Someone staged this mission to keep us away from the real thing.”

Darius studied each of them in turn. His voice was quiet. “You’ll say nothing of this to anyone else. Not Archon. Not Velreth.”

“Why not?” Jared demanded.

“Because,” Darius said, his tone sharp as steel, “until we know who placed you there, every word you speak could be the one that kills you.”

The squad fell silent.

Kael exhaled slowly. He’d wanted proof. Instead, he had Darius’s warning, and the Rift’s hum still in his bones.

Something larger was moving. And they were already caught inside it.