The King's Guard

Chapter 8

Kael leaned against the inn’s wall, his arms crossed as he waited for the break to end. He had washed his face, cleaned his arm where he’d been cut, and tried not to think about the next trial. The inn was very quiet. Most people were either still outside or somewhere else. He darted his eyes around to see if he could find Kyna or Gale, but they were nowhere in sight.

After drinking a glass of water, he stood up and headed back to the compound. The streets were mostly empty. A few participants who were equally quiet walked ahead of him. No one was talking. Everyone knew there was one more trial, and no one wanted to waste a single atom of energy.

By the time Kael returned to the training grounds, most of the others were already gathered. A guard handed him a sealed letter. It bore the royal crest and had his name written on it in plain black ink.

Kael opened the envelope. Inside was a sheet of parchment.

> Final Trial:

Each participant will enter the Labyrinth Grounds. The objective is to retrieve the emblem marked with your name. The emblem is hidden somewhere within. Hostile constructs and trials of will and strategy await.

Alliances are not forbidden but not encouraged.

You have one hour.

Failure to retrieve the emblem results in disqualification.

Kael sighed and folded the paper back into the envelope. The Labyrinth Grounds. He’d heard a little about them—an underground training field with moving walls and hidden doors. No one knew the full layout.

A horn echoed in the air. A soldier stood at the center of the field. “All participants will now proceed to the gate at the east wall.”

Kael followed the others, joining the slow-moving group. Most people walked silently with their heads low, their eyes shifting left and right. Kael glanced around until he saw Kyna, a few steps ahead. She looked back and gave him a nod. He nodded back.

The gate was large and metal, already wife open. The ground sloped downward into the dim stone corridor of the Labyrinth Grounds. Guards motioned them forward.

Inside, the air was cooler and slightly damp. Torches lined the walls, but their light didn’t reach far. The moment the last participant crossed the gate, a loud clang echoed behind them. The gate shut. A moment later, more torches lit up along the walls, leading down several hallways branching from the main corridor.

“Your time starts now!” a voice said from unseen speakers.

Kael didn’t wait at all. He moved quickly to the left corridor. Others scattered. He heard footsteps running in different directions, some people already activating their abilities. He didn’t want to draw attention yet.

The hallway opened into a large room with three exits. On the far wall, runes glowed faintly. Kael glanced at them, but didn’t recognize the language. There was no time to decode them.

A loud noise echoed from the corridor behind him. Someone was fighting.

Kael moved toward the right exit. The corridor narrowed and turned. The walls shifted slightly, like the whole place was alive. He kept walking with careful and slow steps.

Eventually, the path opened into another room. This one was darker, and inside were strange, metal constructs with glowing red eyes. As soon as Kael stepped inside, two of them turned toward him and started moving.

He didn’t wait. He sprinted forward and ducked behind a stone pillar. The constructs were slow, but heavy. He heard one of them swing its arm and hit the stone. The impact left a crack.

Kael took a breath, then rolled to the side and slashed at the nearest construct. His dagger scraped against metal, doing little damage. He moved away before it could retaliate.

These weren’t enemies to fight head-on. He looked around for a way past them. On the far side of the room, there was a doorway. He needed to get to it.

He waited for the constructs to swing again, then sprinted between them. One of them turned and tried to grab him, but he ducked low and slid past. He stumbled through the doorway and kept running down the next corridor until the sounds behind him faded.

After several more turns, he slowed down and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

Footsteps echoed ahead. Kael reached for his dagger again, ready for another enemy.

It was Kyna.

She didn’t look surprised to see him. “Guess we’re heading the same direction,” she said plainly.

Kael nodded. “Seems that way.”

They walked in silence for a bit. At the next intersection, Kael glanced down one of the paths. Something felt off. He heard faint laughter.

“That way,” Kyna said, pointing to the path opposite.

He agreed. As they turned the corner, voices echoed from behind them. It wasn’t loud, but it carried enough to make them stop and glance back.

A group of three people rounded the bend. At the front was a boy with silver hair, wearing a cloak with the royal emblem stitched into the back.

“That’s Jared Varion,” Kyna whispered. “You’ve heard of him, right?”

Kael had vaguely. He was one of the favourites to win the trials. Skilled, fast, strategic, but full of himself. That’s all Kael remembered.

Jared noticed them and smirked. “Kael, isn’t it? And the shadow girl. How convenient.”

Kael didn’t respond.

“Working together?” Jared asked. “Smart. Won’t help you both, though.”

“We don’t want trouble,” Kyna said.

Jared shrugged. “Then stay out of my way.”

He and his team passed them without incident, but Kael noticed the way Jared’s eyes lingered on him. There was something behind the expression—not quite a threat, but maybe something else he hadn't figured out just yet.

Once they were gone, Kael and Kyna continued. They encountered more rooms, most of them empty or filled with traps they avoided. A few times, they had to duck away from moving walls or floors that gave way. It became clear that the trial wasn’t just about fighting.

Eventually, they reached a circular room with four doors. In the center was a pedestal. On it sat an emblem, glowing faintly.

Kael stepped forward, but the emblem didn’t have his name. He looked at it anyway. The back read “J. Varion.”

Kyna frowned. “Let’s not touch it.”

“Agreed,” Kael said.

Before they could leave, one of the doors opened. Another participant entered. A girl with short hair and dual blades. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t attack either.

“Yours?” Kyna asked.

The girl looked at the emblem, then at them. “No,” she said, and turned to leave.

The door she came through stayed open, so Kael and Kyna followed. The path split again several times. After a while, they saw another room with a single pedestal. This one held a different emblem.

Kael walked up to it. His name was on the back.

He reached out and picked it up. Nothing happened. No explosion, no attack. The emblem stayed cold in his hand.

“I got mine,” he said.

Kyna nodded. “Mine’s still out there.”

“I’ll help you look,” Kael offered.

She glanced at him. “Alright.”

They kept moving, the labyrinth shifting every so often. Twice, they had to backtrack when a wall rose in front of them. Another time, a trapdoor opened and nearly dropped Kyna into a pit, but she caught the edge and pulled herself up with Kael’s help.

Eventually, they found another emblem room. Kyna entered first. The emblem was hers. She took it without hesitation.

“That’s it then,” she said. “We just need to wait until the hour’s up.”

They moved to a quieter hallway and sat against the wall.

“How much time is left?” Kael asked.

“No idea,” Kyna said. “Maybe ten minutes?”

They waited in silence. Voices echoed distantly, but no one approached.

Eventually, a flash of light surrounded them both. The teleportation runes activated.

A moment later, they were back in the compound.

Other participants were already there. Some held their emblems. Others looked defeated. A few were still missing.

Jared was among those present. He leaned against a wall, casually tossing his emblem from hand to hand. When he saw Kael and Kyna arrive, he smirked again.

“Didn’t expect you two to make it back,” he said.

Kael didn’t reply.

More people arrived, and then the gate closed again.

Archon, Ember, and Drax appeared on the balcony above.

“You’ve completed the final trial,” Archon said. “If you hold your emblem, you passed. If you do not, leave the compound.”

Some people groaned. Others dropped their heads. A few walked toward the exit.

“You who remain,” Archon continued, “have been accepted into the King’s Academy. You are now trainees of the Shadow Corps.”

The others cheered loudly with so much joy. Kael and Kyna turned to each other with a smile on their faces.

Kael looked at his emblem again. He put it in his pocket and stepped aside.

Finally, this was it!