The King's Guard

Chapter 96

Rain hammered the mountain path as Kael and Reyna stumbled through the southern pass, their cloaks heavy, boots sinking into mud. The city’s glow was long gone behind them, Veridale now a smear of orange and smoke against a dark sky.

“Keep low,” Reyna muttered, pulling Kael down beside a rock outcropping. “If Archon sent trackers, they’ll have falcons scanning the ridges.”

Kael nodded, catching his breath. “He won’t settle for exile. He’ll want us dead before we can speak.”

“Then we don’t give him the chance.”

Reyna peeked over the ridge. Below, the valley stretched open, a river winding through black pines, pale fog threading its course. The sound of distant hooves broke through the rain.

Kael stiffened. “They’re close.”

Reyna drew her blade. “We’ll move through the ravine. The water will mask our trail.”

Kael reached into his satchel, pulling out the folded scrap of parchment Kyna had given him before the trial. “The map she slipped me, there’s a mark here. A refuge south of the Divide.”

Reyna leaned close, squinting at the faint ink. “That’s two days’ travel. You think she planned this?”

“Knowing her, probably.”

Reyna smirked despite herself. “Then let’s not waste her effort.”

They moved.

By dawn, their pace had slowed to a crawl. Kael’s side throbbed from a shallow cut earned during the flight through the lower gates, and Reyna’s arm was wrapped tight in cloth torn from her cloak.

The forest thickened as they descended, trees bowing under the weight of rain. Crows called above them, cries that made Kael glance up.

“Scouts?” he asked.

Reyna’s voice was low. “Archon’s or worse.”

A rustle came from behind. Steel flashed. Kael spun, catching a blade mid-swing with his gauntlet. Sparks burst.

Three figures stepped from the trees donned in black armour and the insignia of the Shadow Corps.

“Guess he didn’t waste time,” Reyna muttered.

Kael drew his sword. “We can’t fight them head-on.”

“Then we improvise.”

The first soldier lunged. Reyna parried, the sound of metal echoing in the mist. Kael ducked another strike, kicked the assailant’s leg out, and twisted the blade free.

“Still remember training?” Reyna called.

“Barely.”

The third guard raised a signal flare, but Kael’s hand shot out, Rift energy pulsed through his palm, freezing the man mid-motion. The air around them shimmered, time stuttering like a skipped heartbeat.

“Move!” Kael shouted.

They sprinted downhill as the flare exploded behind them, red light staining the rain.

Hours passed before they stopped. Kael’s breaths came ragged, his vision swimming from the Rift’s strain. Reyna guided him to a fallen tree.

“You pushed too far again.”

“We’d be dead if I hadn’t.”

“You’ll be dead if you keep doing that.”

Kael gave a tired laugh. “You sound like Darius.”

Reyna’s expression softened. “He’d say it too.”

Silence fell. Only the rain spoke.

Finally, Reyna said, “You think Kyna’s still inside the Academy?”

“She’ll stay until she finds proof,” Kael said. “That’s who she is.”

Reyna exhaled. “Then she’s already in danger.”

Kael looked at her. “We all are.”

By nightfall, the rain thinned to mist. They reached the edge of a small clearing, half-hidden beneath towering cliffs. A stone archway rose from the earth, cracked with moss and carved runes.

Reyna approached first. “This place looks ancient.”

Kael brushed his fingers along the runes. “They’re Virell sigils, older trade wards, maybe protective.”

“How do you know?”

“My mother used similar glyphs. She said they were meant to keep storms out.”

Reyna gave a faint smile. “Looks like they worked.”

The archway hummed faintly as Kael pressed his hand against it. The runes lit with a dim blue glow, one by one. The air shifted.

Reyna stared. “You’ve done that before?”

“No,” Kael said quietly. “But it feels familiar.”

The barrier faded, revealing a narrow path leading into a hollow of smooth stone walls and dim firelight flickering from within.

Reyna reached for her blade. “Someone’s here.”

“Or was.”

They stepped cautiously inside.

The cave opened into a wide chamber lined with carved symbols and faintly glowing crystals. A fire burned at its centre, casting long shadows on the walls.

Kael’s eyes adjusted, and he froze.

A woman stood near the fire, cloaked in silver-grey, hood drawn low. Her voice was soft but commanding. “You took your time.”

Reyna stiffened. “Who are you?”

The woman turned. Her hair was pale white shot with gold, her face lined by years yet strong, eyes the colour of stormlight.

“Someone who’s been expecting you,” she said.

Kael stepped forward, hand still near his blade. “Expecting us?”

She gestured toward the fire. “You wouldn’t have made it here without help. Lady Virell passed word ahead. Said two exiles would come running from the north.”

Reyna’s guard lowered slightly. “You’re part of her network.”

“You could say she was part of mine.” the woman corrected. “Now I keep to myself.”

Kael frowned. “You knew Darius?”

Her gaze flickered. “Well enough to know he’d die for his students.”

Kael’s throat tightened. “He did.”

“I know.”

Something in her tone made Reyna glance between them. “Then who are you really?”

The woman smiled faintly. “You can call me Elara.”

Kael blinked. “Elara?”

“Rest,” she said simply. “You’ll have questions later. For now, you need to live long enough to ask them.”

Later, by the fire, Reyna stitched a tear in her sleeve while Kael watched the flames dance.

Elara moved quietly around them, preparing tea from a pot that smelled faintly of mint and iron.

“You’re not safe here long,” she said without looking up. “Archon’s reach extends farther than you think.”

Kael asked, “You know him?”

“I knew what he was before the Corps gave him a uniform.”

Reyna frowned. “You talk like you were there.”

“I was,” Elara said simply. “Before the Corps belonged to kings.”

Kael’s eyes narrowed. “You were Shadow Corps?”

Elara met his gaze. “Before it was called that.”

Reyna straightened. “Then why help us?”

“Because I recognise a war when it’s brewing.”

Kael asked, “What kind?”

“The kind that burns everything loyal to truth.”

The fire crackled.

Elara poured the tea into tin cups and passed them over. “South lies a village, the Hunter’s Refuge. Go there when dawn breaks. They’ll take you in.”

Reyna accepted the cup warily. “And you?”

Elara gave a faint smile. “I’ll buy you a few hours’ head start.”

Kael frowned. “You’ll draw them here?”

“They’ll follow the bait,” she said. “They always do.”

He hesitated. “Why help us?”

For a long moment, Elara said nothing. Then softly: “Because you remind me of someone I once knew. Someone who didn’t survive the first purge.”

Reyna lowered her cup. “Who?”

Elara’s eyes met Kael’s. “Her name was Rhea.”

Kael froze. The name hit like an echo he’d spent his whole life chasing. “That was my mother’s name.”

Elara’s expression didn’t change. “I know.”

Before he could speak again, she rose. “Sleep, both of you. You’ll need strength to make it out alive.”

Kael wanted to ask more, to demand how she knew, why she cared, but exhaustion won. He lay back beside the dying fire, listening to the rain fade into the mountain’s breath.

Reyna whispered beside him, “You think we can trust her?”

Kael’s reply was barely audible. “We don’t have anyone else left.”

Reyna shifted closer, their shoulders brushing. “Then we make it count.”

He looked at her through the dim light. “Always.”

By dawn, Elara was gone.

All that remained was the still-warm ashes of the fire and a trail of bootprints leading into the mist.

Kael stood at the mouth of the cave, the weight of her final words still burning in his chest.

Rhea.

His mother’s name.

He turned to Reyna, voice low but certain. “We’re not just running anymore.”

Reyna’s hand rested briefly on his shoulder. “No,” she said. “We’re hunting.”