The King's Guard

Chapter 71

The rain had thinned to mist by morning, but the courtyard still smelled of iron and wet stone. Kael’s squad gathered at the west end of the training field, half-armed, half-awake. The last mission had left them bruised, but the Academy didn’t believe in rest.

Reyna was the first to notice Kyna wasn’t at formation. “Where’s our shadow?”

Jared groaned. “Probably vanishing through walls again. Must be nice to skip drills.”

“She doesn’t skip,” Kael said quietly. “She moves when she has reason.”

Jared snorted. “You make it sound poetic. She’s probably just avoiding us.”

Reyna shot him a look. “Or maybe she’s working while you’re still complaining.”

“Working? At this hour?” Jared spread his arms. “Who works before sunrise except lunatics and commanders?”

Kael didn’t rise to it. He only adjusted his gloves, eyes scanning the fog-thick yard. “She’ll turn up.”

Reyna muttered under her breath, “You always sound so sure.”

“I am.”

A beat passed. Then Jared smirked. “You’re sure because you like her.”

Reyna’s head snapped toward him. “Say that again and I’ll use your own sword as a gag.”

Jared grinned. “Touched a nerve.”

Kael sighed. “Both of you…enough.”

Reyna crossed her arms. “If Kyna’s missing, it’s not a joke.”

Jared shrugged. “Didn’t say it was. I just said she…”

Before he could finish, the door to the archives opened. Kyna stepped out, cloak clinging damp to her shoulders, a sealed parchment in hand. Her hair was tied back, darkened by the mist. She didn’t look tired, just focused.

“Reason enough for you?” she asked, tossing the parchment to Kael.

He caught it easily. “What is this?”

“Intercepted message. Couriers were caught two days ago on the lower ridge,” she said, adjusting her gloves. “Darius gave me access to cross-check the code.”

Jared tilted his head. “Intercepted by who? Please don’t say the Nightwatch, they still think we’re the enemy.”

Kyna didn’t even look at him. “By me.”

Reyna raised an eyebrow. “You intercepted a military courier on your own?”

Kyna’s lips twitched. “He tried to run. He didn’t get far.”

Kael broke the wax seal. “You shouldn’t have gone alone.”

Kyna’s gaze flicked up, unreadable. “You’d rather I let it through?”

Kael hesitated. “No. Just… next time, tell me first.”

Reyna smirked faintly. “Look at that, he’s learning to sound like a commander.”

“Learning?” Jared scoffed. “He’s been lecturing since day one.”

“Because you keep giving him reasons to,” Reyna said dryly.

Kyna folded her arms, watching Kael read. “Well? What’s in it?”

Kael scanned the lines, brow furrowing deeper. “The cipher’s partial. Looks like it was meant for someone inside the Academy.”

Reyna’s tone hardened. “Inside?”

Kyna nodded. “That’s why I went digging.”

Jared leaned closer, trying to peek at the parchment. “So who’s the lucky recipient?”

Kyna’s expression turned grim. “That’s what we’re about to find out.”

They gathered in one of the unused classrooms. The parchment lay open on the desk, its ink faint and uneven, marked with symbols that shifted subtly when the light hit them.

Jared whistled softly. “Looks like nonsense.”

Kyna ignored him, pulling out a narrow prism lens from her belt pouch. “The ink’s alchemical. Different strokes show under fractured light.”

Kael leaned closer. “You’ve seen this kind before.”

She nodded. “My mother’s network used similar techniques, but this one’s been refined.”

Reyna crossed her arms. “So decode it.”

“Trying.” Kyna turned the prism. The marks glowed faintly, rearranging in patterns that almost looked like letters. “It’s layered. Whoever wrote this didn’t want anyone reading it without… permission.”

Kael frowned. “Permission?”

“Certain wavelengths,” she said. “It’s a frequency cipher. You need the right resonance to unlock the next layer.”

Reyna glanced at Kael. “Sounds like your department.”

Kael looked uncertain. “You think the Rift could…”

“React to patterns? Maybe,” Kyna said. “You’ve linked through worse.”

He exhaled slowly. “If this backfires, Darius will…”

“...call it initiative,” Reyna cut in. “Do it.”

Kael reached out, letting his fingers hover just above the parchment. The hum came first, that low pulse that always preceded the Rift. He focused, narrowing the space between thought and sound. The symbols shifted again, dissolving into faint blue light.

Jared muttered, “Well, that’s new.”

Lines formed, clearer this time: an array of words and coordinates. Kyna’s eyes widened. “These are troop listings.”

Reyna stepped closer. “Stormhaven?”

“Half of them,” Kyna said. “The others…” she hesitated, “funding routes, coded under noble seals. House Varion among them.”

The room fell silent.

Kael’s breath hitched. “Jared’s family again?”

Jared stiffened. “Hold on. That doesn’t make sense.”

Reyna’s voice was calm but sharp. “You sure it doesn’t make sense, or you don’t want it to?”

Jared glared at her. “You think I’d know if my father was…”

Kyna cut him off. “It’s not accusation. It’s evidence. Look.” She tapped one corner of the page. “Each mark represents shipment authorization. House Varion’s crest appears twice, tied to the same rebel supply route through the western trade lines.”

Jared leaned over the parchment, scanning. “This… this could be a forgery.”

Kael said quietly, “You said that the last time, dude. Trust me, it’s not.”

Jared looked up. “You’re that sure?”

“The ink patterns,” Kael said, “shift with intent. Only real source codes carry that trace.”

Reyna muttered, “Which means Stormhaven’s not just buying influence. They’re paying for chaos.”

Kyna nodded grimly. “And House Varion’s the channel.”

Jared’s jaw clenched. “You don’t know my father.”

“No,” Kael said. “But I know men who hide behind their banners.”

The air thickened. Reyna broke it first. “We take this to Darius.”

Kyna folded the parchment carefully. “Not yet. There’s more here, something buried beneath the coordinates.”

Kael frowned. “What do you mean?”

She held the prism up again. “There’s a secondary layer…faint, almost erased. A code phrase.”

Reyna asked, “Can you read it?”

“Barely.” Kyna adjusted the lens. The words bled into faint silver script: ‘The storm begins within the crown.’

Jared stared. “What does that even mean?”

Kael answered softly, “It means the coup isn’t coming from outside.”

They burned the room lamps low and locked the door. For the next hour, they pieced through the fragments: troop paths, shipment lists, symbols that made less sense the longer they studied them.

Kael finally pushed back from the desk. “Someone wanted this found.”

Kyna looked up. “What?”

“It’s too clean,” he said. “Every clue connects too neatly like a map someone wanted us to trace.”

Reyna frowned. “Then who gains from leading us here?”

Jared’s voice was quiet. “Archon.”

Everyone turned.

He didn’t flinch. “Think about it. He’s been pushing for stronger authority under the Corps. A coup gives him reason to ‘restore order.’ My father helps him by feeding both sides. Stormhaven funds it. Everyone wins…except the throne.”

Reyna exhaled. “Wow! That’s a dangerous accusation.”

“So’s the truth,” Jared said.

Kyna rolled the parchment and sealed it again. “We can’t take this to Darius yet. Not until we’re certain who’s moving which pieces.”

Kael nodded. “Then we keep it between us.”

Reyna hesitated. “You trust Jared with that?”

Kael looked at him. “If I didn’t, we’d be fighting already.”

For once, Jared didn’t have a comeback.

Later, as the others left, Kael lingered by the table. The symbols still glowed faintly in his mind, even with the parchment gone. The phrase repeated, quiet and insistent: The storm begins within the crown.

Reyna stepped back in. “You’re thinking too loud.”

He smiled faintly. “You always catch that?”

“Always.” She leaned against the desk. “You think it’s true?”

“Parts of it,” he said. “But not all truths are meant to be spoken.”

She studied him. “And yet you always do.”

He met her gaze. “Someone has to.”

A silence passed between them.

Reyna finally said, “Then start by surviving whatever this storm turns into.”

Kael nodded. “You too.”