The King's Guard

Chapter 85

The arena gates slammed shut with a metallic roar. Dust settled slowly across the training field.

Kael adjusted his gauntlets, feeling the low vibration of energy at his wrists. Across from him, Jared rolled his shoulders, smirking as though this were sport and not a career-defining test.

Darius’s voice cut through the intercom.

“This evaluation is not about winning. It’s about cohesion. Remember that.”

“Cohesion,” Jared muttered under his breath. “Right.”

Reyna shot him a glare. “Don’t start.”

“Start?” Jared grinned. “I’m not the one who almost nuked the training chamber last time.”

Kael ignored him, scanning the terrain. “We stick to formation. Kyna, you shadow left. Reyna, cover the high wall. I’ll anchor the Rift output. Jared..m”

“...Leads,” Jared interrupted. “We both know I’m faster at taking the initiative.”

Kael’s voice cooled. “You mean ignoring orders?”

“Orders slow us down.”

Reyna stepped between them. “Stop it. We don’t have time for this.”

The horn blared, cutting the argument short. Simulated opponents began to materialise across the field: illusions mixed with drones, the system’s way of simulating unpredictability.

Kael moved first, slicing through a projection that mimicked a Stormhaven soldier. The image shattered, releasing sparks.

Reyna shouted, “Left flank!”

Kyna darted past, vanishing into shadows and reappearing behind an opponent, blade pressed to its throat before it blinked out of existence.

“Two down,” she said. “Seventeen more.”

Jared laughed. “Is that all?” He vaulted a wall, hurling a pulse mine into a cluster of drones. The explosion rocked the field, smoke and light mingling.

Kael cursed. “That wasn’t the signal!”

“Worked fine, didn’t it?” Jared’s grin widened.

Kael’s control slipped for half a second. The Rift pulsed around him, a distortion rippling through the air. Darius’s voice echoed through the comms.

“Kael control it. Don’t let it lead.”

Kael clenched his jaw and steadied the pulse. “Copy that.”

Reyna was at his side, eyes sharp. “Ignore Jared. Focus on your sync.”

He nodded, exhaling slowly. But then Jared shouted from the ridge, “You can thank me later!” and jumped straight into a cluster of six drones.

Reyna groaned. “He’s going to get himself killed.”

Kael muttered, “Not if I get there first.”

By the time Kael reached the ridge, Jared had already torn through half the squad of illusions. His sword gleamed under the artificial light, every movement precise yet wasteful.

Kael shouted, “We’re supposed to move as a unit!”

Jared didn’t stop. “You’re too busy thinking about control! This…” he slashed another illusion apart. “...is how we win!”

“You’re getting points deducted for insubordination!” Kael retorted.

Jared spun on him, face flushed, breath heavy. “You care more about points than surviving!”

Before Kael could reply, another wave of drones descended, their metallic wings slicing through the haze. Kael instinctively raised a Rift barrier: energy flaring outward, halting the swarm mid-dive.

The barrier shimmered blue-white. Reyna and Kyna ducked behind it, shielding themselves from shrapnel.

When the smoke cleared, Kael was still standing, eyes glowing faintly from Rift strain.

Jared stared at him, jaw tight. “You enjoy showing off, don’t you?”

Kael turned to him. “I’m keeping you alive.”

“I don’t need saving.”

“That’s obvious,” Kael snapped.

Darius’s voice came again, sharper this time.

“Enough ego. Work together or fail together.”

Neither spoke.

The next phase began. The terrain shifted, transforming into a fortress courtyard with high stone walls and a single flag shimmering at the centre. The objective: retrieve it.

Kael outlined a plan quickly. “Kyna and Reyna draw fire. I’ll Rift short-range to the flag. Jared, you cover the approach.”

“No,” Jared said flatly.

Kael blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You’re not taking command. Not after last time.”

“This isn’t the time for pride…”

“It’s the only time,” Jared hissed. “You’ve had every spotlight, every praise, every whisper in the halls about how perfect you are. You think I don’t notice?”

Reyna froze. “Jared, this isn’t about that…”

“Isn’t it?” Jared laughed bitterly. “You think I don’t see the way Darius looks at him? The way you look at him?”

Kael stepped forward, tone steady. “You’re losing it.”

Jared moved fast, faster than Kael expected, slamming him backward into a wall. The impact jarred his breath.

Reyna shouted, “Jared, stop!”

But Jared didn’t. He leaned closer, voice low, trembling with anger. “You think you can just walk in and replace everyone? Darius’s favourite student. The hero of every damn story. The King’s golden boy!”

Kael shoved him off, teeth gritted. “You’re projecting your failures on me.”

Jared’s face twisted. “Say that again.”

Kael didn’t hesitate. “You’re jealous because you’ve never been chosen. Not by Darius. Not by anyone who mattered. Not even by Archon of all people.”

For a heartbeat, neither moved. Then Jared lunged.

Steel clashed. Sparks burst between them. Their training blades were supposed to be dulled, but both had drawn live steel.

Reyna yelled, “Enough! Stop it!”

They didn’t hear her.

Jared swung wide, Kael ducked, twisting his wrist to parry. The Rift energy flared along Kael’s blade, humming dangerously close to overload.

Darius’s voice came through the comms again.

“Stand down! Both of you!”

Kael blocked a downward strike and kicked Jared backward. “You’re reckless!”

Jared spat blood. “And you’re everything I hate about this place!”

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because I need to prove I’m better than you!” Jared roared, lunging again.

Kael sidestepped, catching Jared’s arm, twisting hard enough to disarm him, but Jared reversed, slamming a shoulder into Kael’s ribs. The two stumbled into the dust, blades forgotten, fists flying.

Reyna tried to intervene; Kyna held her back. “Let them burn it out,” she whispered.

“This isn’t burning it out, it’s suicide,” Reyna shot back.

Kael caught Jared’s wrist mid-punch and forced him down, breathing ragged. “You’re not my enemy.”

“Then stop acting like you’re everyone’s saviour!” Jared spat.

Kael’s temper snapped. He slammed Jared to the ground, Rift energy crackling between his palms. “I didn’t ask for any of this!”

For a terrifying second, time itself seemed to stutter, the air warping around Kael’s hands. Jared’s eyes widened.

“Kael!” Reyna shouted.

Kael froze. He blinked, and the distortion collapsed. The Rift energy fizzled out.

He stood abruptly, chest heaving. Jared lay on the ground, shaken but alive.

Darius’s voice came through one last time.

“Both of you, report to command. Now.”

They stood in the debriefing chamber later that evening, silent under Archon’s gaze. The commander’s expression was unreadable. Darius stood beside him, arms folded, jaw tight.

Archon’s tone was calm. “An impressive display of power, Cadet Kael. And an equally impressive lack of discipline.”

Kael didn’t speak.

“And you,” Archon turned to Jared, “displayed initiative. Unfortunately, it was directed at your own ally.”

Jared’s jaw twitched. “Sir…”

“Silence.” Archon stepped closer, eyes cold. “This is not a corps for rivalry. You will either learn obedience or die trying to prove your worth.”

He looked between them, pausing deliberately. “You will train together until you learn to function as one. If one fails, both fail. Understood?”

Both answered quietly, “Yes, sir.”

Archon turned away. “Dismissed.”

They exited without a word.

Outside, the hall was dim. Darius caught up with them, expression dark. “You two nearly got each other killed. This isn’t what I trained you for.”

Kael said nothing. Jared just smirked faintly, hiding something behind the defiance.

Darius sighed. “Whatever’s eating both of you, fix it. Because Archon’s patience has limits, and so does mine.”

He walked away, leaving them alone.

Silence stretched.

Finally, Jared said, “You think you won today?”

Kael didn’t turn. “No one won.”

Jared’s voice dropped, low and venomous. “You keep saying that like it means something.”

Then he walked off, boots echoing against the floor.

Kael exhaled, staring at the empty hall ahead. Reyna appeared from the shadows, arms folded. “So. That went well.”

He almost smiled. “Define well.”

“You’re both alive.”

“That’s generous.”

She stepped closer. “You can’t keep letting him bait you. Whatever’s going on between you two, it’s going to break something.”

Kael nodded slowly. “It already did.”