The King's Guard

Chapter 76

The briefing room was dead quiet. Light pulsed across the surface in faint blue veins, outlining the narrow mountain route near the Stormhaven border. Darius stood beside it, his tone clipped, professional, yet Kael could hear the faint strain underneath.

“You’ll be escorting the Stormhaven envoy from Ridgefall to the lower gates,” Darius said. “They’ve requested Shadow Corps presence due to increased rebel activity in the region.”

Reyna crossed her arms. “Requested or demanded?”

Darius’s mouth tightened. “Their royal emissary was specific. They wanted the best.”

Jared let out a small laugh. “Then why send us?”

Darius didn’t rise to the bait. “Because Archon approved it himself.”

That silenced the room. Kael felt the shift in the air. Archon’s direct involvement in a minor escort was unusual, too precise to be coincidence.

Kyna adjusted the clasp on her cloak. “That’s convenient timing,” she said. “First a Stormhaven envoy, then Archon’s signature on the orders. Almost like someone’s testing us.”

“Keep your theories for later,” Darius said evenly. “Focus on the task. You’ll leave within the hour. Maintain formation and keep your comms active.”

He paused, eyes flicking briefly to Kael. “And, Estaran… keep your temper in check this time.”

Kael gave a small nod. “Yes, sir.”

The path to Ridgefall cut through the forest like an old scar. Their boots made almost no sound on the softened ground.

The envoy rode ahead: three horses, two carriages, one bearing the Stormhaven crest in silver. A young diplomat sat inside, cloaked in blue, face pale and unreadable.

Reyna walked beside Kael. “Does this feel right to you?”

“No,” Kael said quietly.

Kyna tilted her head. “You mean the empty ridges? Or the lack of scouts?”

“Both,” Kael replied. “This route should’ve been cleared days ago. No patrols, no beacons. Too clean.”

Jared adjusted his gloves. “Maybe we’re just that efficient. Or maybe you’re getting paranoid.”

Reyna shot him a look. “Paranoia’s what keeps us breathing.”

They moved in silence for a while. The wind pushed through the trees like a low whisper.

Then Kael stopped.

“Reyna,” he murmured. “Do you hear that?”

She strained her ears. “Nothing.”

“Exactly,” Kael said.

The forest had gone still. Even the birds had gone silent.

“Positions,” Reyna ordered softly.

They shifted. Kael to the front, Kyna watching their rear, Jared near the carriages.

A moment later, something snapped.

Then the first blast hit.

The ground erupted ten metres ahead, a deafening burst of smoke and dirt. The horses reared, the envoy shouting from inside the carriage. Shadows broke from the treeline, fast and silent.

“Ambush!” Kael shouted, drawing his blade.

Bolts cut through the fog. Kyna dropped low, vanishing in a blur of shadow before reappearing behind one attacker, slicing across their back. Jared met two at once, his strikes heavy but reckless. Reyna moved like a storm: measured, clean, cutting through the chaos.

Kael reached the carriage door, pulling the envoy down behind cover. “Stay low.”

“Who are they?” the envoy gasped.

“Not rebels,” Kael said. “Too organized.”

Jared grunted, blocking another blow. “You sure? They’re trying hard enough to kill us!”

Reyna fired a signal flare skyward. It fizzled once, then died in the smoke.

“They’re jamming it,” she said through gritted teeth.

Kael’s vision sharpened, then warped. Time bent at the edges. His heartbeat slowed. The world thickened, the chaos stretching into fragments.

He felt the Rift stir beneath his skin.

“Kael,” Reyna warned, seeing the faint glow ripple along his arm. “Don’t…”

But it was too late.

The Rift opened like a pulse behind his eyes. The air cracked. Light fractured across the clearing as time staggered, half-paused, half-reversing. He saw every blade in motion, every strike before it landed.

He moved.

To the others, it was a blur: a ripple through the air, the sound of thunder rolling backward.

Kael’s blade intercepted a bolt mid-flight, then swung across, catching two attackers before they even realized he’d shifted position. Kyna ducked under the distortion, wide-eyed, her shadow flickering unnaturally.

“Kael!” Reyna shouted again, but the sound came through delayed, distorted.

Then the Rift snapped shut.

The world slammed back into motion.

Kael staggered, breathing hard. His knees hit the mud. Blood ran from his nose.

Reyna grabbed his shoulder. “You’re bleeding…”

“I’m fine,” he said hoarsely. “We’re clear?”

“For now.”

Kyna appeared beside them, panting. “Two left. They ran east.”

Jared leaned against a fallen trunk, wiping sweat from his brow. “Remind me not to piss him off again.”

Kael didn’t answer. His gaze had fixed on the far ridge.

There, half-hidden by smoke, stood two figures cloaked in grey observing them from a distance.

When the fog shifted again, they were gone.

The envoy insisted on continuing to the gate, shaken but alive. By the time they reached Ridgefall outpost, dusk had turned the sky to ash and red.

Darius was waiting.

“You were ambushed,” he said without preamble.

“Yes, sir,” Reyna replied. “Roughly a dozen hostiles. Coordinated attack.”

“Casualties?”

“None,” she said. “But they jammed our signal.”

Darius’s gaze flicked to Kael. “You used it again.”

Kael straightened. “It was the only way to stop them.”

“I didn’t ask if it worked,” Darius said quietly. “I asked if you used it.”

Kael held his stare. “Yes.”

Darius’s jaw tightened. “You just painted a mark on your back, Estaran. Archon’s agents will smell that power before sunrise.”

Reyna frowned. “Agents?”

“Don’t ask,” Darius said. “Just keep your eyes open. From now on, every order you get, assume it’s a test.”

Kyna exhaled slowly. “Then we just passed one hell of a trap.”

“No,” Darius said. “You survived it. Passing’s another thing.”

He looked toward the horizon, voice lowering. “And if I’m right, this wasn’t a rebel attack. It was observation. Someone wanted to see how far Kael could go.”

Kael’s pulse kicked. “And now they know.”

“Exactly.”

Later that night, Kael sat on the barracks steps, watching the torches flicker along the courtyard walls. His vision still blurred at the edges, time’s residue fading slow.

Reyna joined him, dropping onto the step beside him. “You scared them, you know.”

“Which ones?” he asked.

“All of them,” she said. “Even me.”

Kael gave a faint, humourless laugh. “That’s not comforting.”

“Wasn’t meant to be.” She leaned back, arms crossed. “Whatever that power is, it’s not normal. And it’s not safe.”

“I know,” he said quietly.

“Then stop acting like it’s fine.”

He turned toward her, eyes tired. “If I hadn’t used it, we’d be dead.”

Reyna’s voice softened. “And if you keep using it, you might be too.”

“You're the one restricting me using it now? What changed?”

She didn't respond.

A few moments passed, the only sound the wind threading through the torches.

Kyna appeared from the shadows. “Archon’s agents were at the ridge,” she said. “Two of them. I checked their trail. They didn’t help, they just watched.”

Kael’s stomach turned cold. “They saw the Rift.”

“Yes.”

Reyna muttered, “So this was never an escort.”

“No,” Kael said, standing slowly. “It was bait.”

“Then who was the trap for?” Reyna asked.

Kael’s gaze drifted toward the stars. “Me.”

Far away, atop the western tower, Archon stood beside a hooded figure.

“You saw it?” the figure asked.

Archon’s lips curved faintly. “Every second. Darius’s little prodigy has grown… interesting.”

“And dangerous?”

Archon’s eyes reflected the firelight. “Only if we leave him alive long enough to realise what he is.”

The figure’s voice lowered. “And Darius?”

Archon turned away. “He’s already running out of time.”