The King's Guard

Chapter 93

¶One week later¶

The council chamber was dim.

Archon stood near the window, rain streaking the glass. “He’s gathering pieces,” he said quietly. “The boy’s smarter than Darius gave him credit for.”

Across the table, Lord Eryndor folded his hands. His rings caught the firelight. “You should be more grateful. My son’s been feeding you reports for weeks. He’s done his part.”

Archon smiled faintly. “Jared’s loyalty bends easily, like his father’s.”

Eryndor’s jaw flexed. “You’d best watch your tone, Archon.”

“You’re a politician,” Archon said. “I’m a soldier. You watch mine.”

The tension hung sharp as glass.

Then Archon leaned back. “Veridale needs a purge, Eryndor. A cleansing before the throne falls into weakness. Darius was a start. Kael will be the reminder.”

“And the King?” Eryndor asked.

Archon’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “He’ll thank me when it’s done. Or he won’t. Either way, I’ll be here.”

Meanwhile, in the lower records wing, Kyna moved silently through the archive hall. Her boots barely made a sound on the marble. She slipped between aisles, hand grazing old scroll racks until she found the one marked Diplomatic Ledger 317B.

Reyna whispered from behind her, “You sure this is the one?”

“Positive,” Kyna murmured. “My mother’s network flagged it.”

Kael stood by the door, watching the corridor. “Make it quick.”

She pried open the ledger, thumbing through the thin parchment. Halfway through, she found it: a sealed envelope hidden between two pages. The wax bore a crest: a split sun and serpent.

Reyna frowned. “Stormhaven’s emblem.”

Kyna tore it open carefully, eyes scanning the coded text. Her breath caught. “Oh no…”

Kael stepped closer. “What?”

“It’s a letter,” she said. “From Lord Eryndor. Addressed to Archon. It confirms shipments, Stormhaven weaponry routed through Varion trade routes.”

Reyna’s face hardened. “They’re funding a war through our borders.”

Kyna nodded grimly. “And blaming rebels to cover it.”

Kael’s voice was low. “That explains the caches we found.”

Reyna exhaled sharply. “And Darius’s ‘betrayal.’”

Kael took the letter, scanning its closing lines. The signature was clear: Eryndor Varion.

“Copy it,” he said. “Then we burn the original.”

Kyna hesitated. “You don’t want proof?”

He met her eyes. “We’re the proof now. That’s enough to get us killed.”

By the time they reached the surface again, night had deepened over the Academy. The lamps flickered in the rain.

Reyna muttered, “If this gets out, it’s treason on both sides.”

Kael said, “It already is.”

They paused at the stairwell landing as a shadow detached from the wall. Jared stepped into the light.

“Busy night?” he asked, voice casual but tight.

Reyna stiffened. “We’re off duty.”

“Didn’t look that way.” Jared’s eyes darted to Kael’s hands. “What’s that you’re hiding?”

Kael tucked the letter fragment behind his belt. “None of your concern.”

“Everything you do is my concern now,” Jared said. “Orders from above.”

Reyna folded her arms. “From Archon?”

Jared didn’t answer.

Kyna’s tone cut through the silence. “You’re spying on us.”

He scoffed. “It’s called oversight.”

Kael stepped closer. “Oversight doesn’t eavesdrop in stairwells.”

“Maybe it does when the people being watched are planning something stupid.”

Kael’s voice stayed calm, but every word was edged. “You think we’d risk our lives for nothing? Archon’s playing you, Jared. He’s been using your father to cover his tracks.”

That flicker—there, in Jared’s eyes. A moment of doubt. Then he forced a laugh. “You really think I’d believe that?”

Reyna said softly, “You already do.”

Jared’s jaw clenched. He turned away. “Stay out of my way, Kael. Whatever game you’re playing, you’ll lose.”

“And when you do,” Kael said, “I’ll still be standing.”

Jared didn’t reply. He just walked off, the echo of his boots fading into the stairwell.

Kyna exhaled. “He’s slipping.”

Reyna’s voice was low. “Or he’s choosing sides.”

Kael stared after him. “Then he’d better choose carefully.”

The next day, the squad was summoned again to Velreth’s chamber.

The High Commander’s gaze was colder than the steel medallions behind him. “You’ve been digging where you shouldn’t,” he said without preamble.

Kael met his eyes. “We follow orders.”

“Not mine,” Velreth said. “Not Archon’s, either.”

Reyna frowned. “Then whose?”

Velreth’s tone sharpened. “You think the King knows half of what happens beyond these walls? You think the Corps serves him? We serve the realm itself.”

Kael said carefully, “And Archon?”

Velreth’s jaw tightened. “Archon serves himself. Always has. And if you’re wise, you’ll stop giving him reasons to notice you.”

Reyna glanced at Kael. “You know something.”

Velreth leaned forward, voice barely above a whisper. “There are things I can’t protect you from. Archon moves in shadows even I can’t reach. But remember this, your mentor wasn’t wrong.”

Kael blinked. “You knew Darius was innocent?”

Velreth’s expression hardened. “I didn’t say that.”

Kyna said quietly, “But you didn’t deny it either.”

Velreth straightened, ending the conversation. “Dismissed.”

Outside, the squad gathered beneath the rain again.

Reyna muttered, “He’s scared of Archon.”

Kyna said, “Or complicit.”

Kael looked down at the letter fragment in his pocket. “Either way, we’re on our own.”

They fell silent for a long moment.

Then Kael said, “Darius died because he got close. If we stop now, we let Archon finish what he started.”

Reyna’s voice softened. “Then what’s the plan?”

Kael looked at her. “We find proof they can’t erase. And we do it before Archon makes his next move.”

Kyna smirked faintly. “You realise that puts us on every hit list in Veridale?”

Kael nodded. “Then let’s make it worth the trouble.”

Far across the city, in the royal tower, Archon entered a candlelit chamber.

King Elric stood by the balcony, his back to him. “You’ve been quiet,” the King said.

“Reflection,” Archon replied smoothly. “The Corps is stabilising. Darius’s protégés show promise.”

The King turned slightly. “Estaran?”

“Yes, Majesty.”

“His record is… inconsistent.”

Archon bowed his head. “He’s young. But teachable. A loyal soldier like Darius.”

The King gave a thin smile. “And we both know how that ended.”

Archon’s eyes gleamed faintly. “Exactly.”

Later that night, Kyna sat alone at her desk, decoding another letter by lamplight. Her mother’s network had been busy.

She read aloud softly,

> “Varion funds movement through Stormhaven’s border. Archon promises silence. Payment to be delivered through merchant front in the lower city.”

She exhaled. “He’s everywhere.”

Kael entered quietly behind her. “Still awake?”

She handed him the page. “Read it.”

He did, his brow furrowing. “This proves what we already know.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Kyna asked. “Expose him.”

Kael shook his head. “If we do that without the right support, we’ll vanish before sunrise.”

Reyna appeared at the doorway. “Then we make allies before we make enemies.”

Kael looked up from the parchment. “You have someone in mind?”

She nodded. “Lady Virell’s ally. The one gathering evidence in the capital.”

Kael asked, “Do we know a name?”

Kyna hesitated. “Not yet. But soon.”

Kael folded the letter. “Then we keep quiet. Watch. Wait. Archon’s already laid his traps.”

Reyna said softly, “And when he springs them?”

Kael’s eyes hardened. “Then we break them.”

The wind howled through the towers.

Inside Archon’s private quarters, a messenger knelt. “The Virell network intercepted your letter, sir.”

Archon didn’t look up from his desk. “Did they now?”

“Yes, Commander.”

He set down his pen. “Good. It will keep them busy.”

“Sir?”

Archon smiled faintly. “Let them think they’re winning. It makes the fall cleaner.”

He extinguished the candle with a flick of his fingers.

Darkness swallowed the room.