The King's Guard

Chapter 94

Jared moved through the shadows with deliberate steps, his gloved hand brushing the cold marble of the wall. Behind him, the Academy’s banners hung limp. He could hear his own heartbeat.

“Late again,” murmured the voice ahead.

Lord Eryndor stood beside a tall window, moonlight cutting across his armour. “You’re becoming predictable, son.”

Jared kept his tone dry. “Predictable means reliable.”

Eryndor’s eyes flicked to him. “It means hesitant.”

“Maybe I’m tired of errands that make me look like a rat.”

“You are a Varion. Rats survive, fools die. Which do you prefer?”

Jared’s jaw tightened. “You said this was the last time.”

“It will be if you do it properly.” Eryndor opened a case and drew out a thin folio bound with the royal seal of Veridale. “These papers link Kael and the girl, Reyna to Stormhaven operatives. They include ciphered exchanges, signed under Darius’s name. All forged, of course.”

Jared took them, fingers stiff. “You’re blaming Darius too?”

“He’s already dead. A corpse can’t argue.” Eryndor’s smile barely moved. “Place them where Archon’s men will find them. Somewhere that ties directly to Kael.”

“What happens after?”

“Archon will expose them publicly. Once Kael is gone, your path clears. He’s a weapon that doesn’t know who wields him. Do you understand?”

Jared stared at the documents, the ink catching blue light. “You think Archon’s clean in all this?”

“I think he’s useful.” Eryndor stepped close. “Remember what I told you when you were a boy?”

Jared’s throat felt raw. “That strength without obedience is chaos.”

“And obedience brings order. Bring order, Jared. That’s your duty.”

Eryndor turned away, the conversation already over. Jared remained by the window a moment longer, knuckles whitening around the folder.

By morning, he was in the barracks again, eyes bloodshot. He clutched the envelope as though it burned.

Kael’s door was half-open. Inside, faint lamplight spilled across the floor. Kael was asleep at the desk, papers scattered, maps half-sketched. A training glove hung from his wrist like an unfinished thought.

Jared stepped in quietly. Every instinct screamed to leave. But his father’s words echoed: You’ve been watching him too long not to.

He set the envelope under the stack of maps.

But he didn’t leave.

Instead, his gaze lingered on Kael’s hand, the faint scar near his wrist, the way his hair fell loose for once. Something twisted inside him, something ugly and human.

He whispered, barely audible, “You ruin everything.”

Kael stirred slightly, and Jared flinched, stepping back toward the shadows.

Later that night, Kael found him in the training hall.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Kael asked, leaning against the rail.

“Didn’t feel like it,” Jared said flatly.

Kael studied him. “You look like hell.”

Jared forced a smirk. “You always know how to compliment a man.”

“Not trying to. Just... you look like you’re carrying a war in your head.”

Jared barked a short laugh. “Takes one to know one.”

The rain outside grew heavier.

Kael’s expression softened. “You ever feel like you’re fighting the wrong enemy?”

Jared tilted his head. “Every day.”

They stood in silence, the tension thick enough to touch.

Kael broke it quietly. “You’ve been different since Stormhaven. Distant. Angry.”

Jared’s smirk faltered. “And you’ve been perfect, haven’t you? The hero. The favourite.”

“This again?”

“Always this!” Jared snapped, stepping closer. “You don’t get it. Everyone sees you. Listens to you. Even Archon, he pretends to control you, but he’s terrified. And I…”

He cut himself off.

Kael frowned. “You what?”

Jared looked away. “Forget it.”

“Jared.”

“I said forget it!”

Kael’s voice hardened. “If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

“Fine,” Jared spat. “I envy you. I hate you. And, damn it, I can’t even decide which more.”

Kael blinked, stunned.

Jared laughed bitterly. “You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to spend every waking moment measuring myself against you?”

Kael’s tone dropped. “Then stop.”

“I can’t.”

He stepped forward, too close. Kael stiffened as Jared’s breath brushed his ear, voice low and uneven. “You make me forget who I’m supposed to be.”

Kael pushed him back roughly. “You’re crossing a line.”

“Maybe that’s the only way to reach you.”

Kael’s hand curled into a fist. “Back off, Jared.”

Jared smirked faintly. “Or what? You’ll report me? To Archon?”

Kael’s silence said everything.

Then Jared sighed, stepping away, mask slipping back into place. “You don’t get to judge me, Kael. You never had a father like mine. You never had to earn love.”

Kael’s reply was quiet, sharp. “No, I had to deserve it.”

Jared froze. “That what you think you’re doing now? Deserving this circus?”

Kael didn’t answer. He just turned toward the exit.

“Kael,” Jared called after him. “Whatever happens next... I didn’t mean for it to be you.”

Kael looked over his shoulder. “Then stop letting it be.”

He left Jared standing alone in the dark.

The next morning, Archon convened inspection. Kael arrived with Reyna, both unaware of the silent storm already building. Drax and Ember flanked Archon, who stood before the assembled squads, expression unreadable.

“An internal audit has revealed disturbing irregularities,” Archon began. “Evidence suggesting treason among our own.”

Murmurs rippled through the ranks. Kael’s eyes flicked to Reyna. She frowned, confused.

Archon’s aide held up the very folio Jared had planted. “Documents recovered from Cadet Kael Estaran’s study. Ciphered communication with Stormhaven agents. A secondary note implicating Cadet Reyna Thorne.”

Kael stepped forward. “That’s impossible.”

Archon’s gaze was cold. “You deny the seal found on your papers?”

“I’ve never seen those papers.”

Reyna’s voice cut sharp. “Nor have I.”

Ember shifted uneasily. “Sir, maybe…”

“Enough,” Archon snapped. “The evidence speaks.”

Drax interjected, “Then let them speak too. They’ve served without question.”

Archon turned on him. “Are you questioning me, Commander?”

Drax held the stare. “Questioning the process.”

Archon dismissed him with a flick of his hand. “Their words mean nothing beside proof. You will surrender your weapons.”

Kael’s pulse roared in his ears. “I don’t know who’s behind this, but it isn’t us.”

“Then you won’t mind investigation.”

Kyna pushed forward from the crowd. “Sir, permission to…”

“Denied.” Archon’s voice cracked like a whip. “You will stand down, Virell.”

Reyna took Kael’s arm. “Don’t. They want a scene.”

Kael breathed hard, forcing calm. “If this is a test, you’ve already failed it.”

Archon’s smile was thin. “No, Estaran. The test is only beginning.”

Guards closed in. Kael handed over his sword slowly, eyes never leaving Archon’s. For an instant, the air shimmered, the faint hum of the Rift pressing against his skin, but Reyna’s grip steadied him.

“Not now,” she whispered.

Later, in the holding chamber beneath the barracks, Kael paced the small cell. Reyna sat on the bench, wrists still marked by the guards’ grip.

“Someone set us up,” she said.

“Someone high enough to make it stick.”

“Archon.”

Kael nodded once. “But he’s not alone. These forgeries, they needed Darius’s signature. That means access to sealed records.”

Reyna’s voice softened. “You think Jared knew?”

Kael hesitated. “He’s been distant. Angry.”

“Angry isn’t guilty.”

“No, but it’s useful.” Kael looked up at the faint light seeping through the grate. “We’ll need proof. Until then, they’ll treat us like traitors.”

Reyna rose, stepping close. “Then we hold together. Whatever happens.”

He met her eyes. “You still trust me?”

“Always.” Her hand brushed his cheek briefly.

Above, in Archon’s office, Jared stood before the desk, Eryndor’s shadow stretching long across the floor. Archon turned the forged papers over lazily.

“Well done,” he said.

Jared’s stomach twisted. “I didn’t do it for you.”

“You did it because you were told.” Archon’s tone was mild. “That’s what obedience looks like.”

“I thought you wanted justice.”

“I want control. Justice is an aftertaste.”

Jared’s voice broke slightly. “You’ll destroy them.”

“They’ll destroy themselves. That’s the beauty of corruption, it only needs a nudge.” Archon placed the folder aside. “Your father will be pleased.”

Jared blurted, “You think he controls me.”

“I know he tries.” Archon smiled faintly. “But you, Jared Varion, are far more dangerous when you pretend loyalty. Keep pretending.”

He dismissed him with a gesture. Jared walked out numb, every step heavier than the last.

Kyna intercepted him near the courtyard. “I know,” she said.

He froze. “Know what?”

“That you put something in Kael’s quarters.”

He swallowed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then prove it. Help me clear them.”

He looked away. “I can’t.”

“You can,” she said quietly. “You just won’t.”

Jared met her eyes at last. “If I undo this, everything my family built burns.”

“Then let it burn.”

Her words hung like smoke. Jared said nothing, turning instead toward the dorms. When she called his name, he didn’t stop.

Night fell heavy. In their cell, Kael lay awake, listening to the guards change shift. Reyna stirred beside him.

“They’ll come for us at dawn,” she murmured.

“Then we’ll be ready.”

“How?”

Kael’s eyes caught the faint shimmer in the air. “The Rift listens when I’m angry.”

Reyna reached over, her hand finding his. “Then don’t lose yourself to it.”

“I won’t.” He squeezed her hand once. “But when the truth comes out: Archon, whoever else, they’ll wish I had.”