CHAPTER 9:WHEN BLADES ARE WATCHED

I didn't ask questions when Captain Ren summoned us at dawn.

We were told to gear up, travel light, and be ready in fifteen minutes. That was all. In Draeven, silence was more common than answers.

Kael stood beside me as we prepared, tightening the straps on her chest plate. Her jaw was set, but not with irritation. Focus. She was always calm before a mission—never cocky, never afraid.

I'd started watching her the way she used to watch me. Cautiously. Curiously.

"Guard duty?" she muttered.

"Or cleanup," I said. "Something they don't want to waste real knights on."

That earned a dry smirk.

---

The orders were simple.

An envoy from the Verdallan House—a minor but old noble family—was traveling to Draeven with sensitive documents. Two guards from each city sector would escort them the last stretch through the valley pass.

Kael and I were assigned to the south flank.

Bastien, of course, was on the lead team.

He didn't say anything when we mounted up, but he gave me that look again—half challenge, half warning.

I ignored it.

I wasn't here for him.

---

We met the Verdallan envoy just before noon.

Two men. Silk robes, embroidered boots, eyes that looked down on us even while begging for protection.

Their carriage was gaudy. Completely impractical. Gold trim, lacquered wheels. Anyone with eyes could see they were worth robbing.

Perfect bait.

Captain Ren whispered to our team leader just before the envoy began the journey:

"Watch the ridge. If something's coming, it'll be from there."

Kael and I fell back into formation. Quiet. Watching. Listening.

---

It didn't take long.

Just past the tree line, the forest narrowed—and the wind shifted. Every instinct I had from years of royal training snapped into focus.

A flicker of movement.

The glint of steel on the ridge.

And then—

Arrows.

---

They rained down fast.

Not sharp enough to pierce plate, but fast enough to kill a rider. One struck the carriage wheel. Another hit a guard's shoulder. The horses panicked, rearing up, and the envoy screamed something about ransom and reputation.

Kael drew her blade in a single breath and turned to cover our left flank.

"Two incoming," she hissed. "They're flanking us."

I didn't answer.

I was already moving.

---

I grabbed the sword from my back and cut one of the bandits down before he reached our line.

He didn't even have time to scream.

The second one saw me coming, hesitated, and then made the mistake of raising his blade high.

I stepped into his swing, pivoted low, and drove the pommel of my hilt into his throat.

He dropped.

Hard.

And I froze.

Because everyone was staring.

---

Kael had finished her own fight—her arm bleeding from a shallow graze—but she wasn't looking at the wound.

She was looking at me.

Her brow furrowed. Not with shock. With understanding.

"You weren't trained by guards," she said under her breath. "That was noble form. Not survival instinct. Who the hell are you?"

---

I didn't answer.

Couldn't.

Instead, I turned to the envoy, who had somehow stayed untouched inside the carriage. His face was pale. He looked at me like I'd just become useful for the first time.

"I… I'll mention this bravery," he stammered. "You've earned favor."

I ignored him.

Kael didn't.

She stepped closer, lowered her voice.

"You fight like someone who was taught to win without question. You didn't panic. You didn't hesitate."

I met her eyes.

And for the first time in weeks, I let a little of the truth out:

"I've already lost everything once. I won't lose again."

Kael stared.

But she said nothing else.

And that silence felt… heavier than words.

---

When we returned to the barracks that evening, Ren gave a rare nod of approval. Bastien muttered something under his breath but didn't meet my eyes.

Kael followed me toward the equipment shed, her pace slow.

"Whoever you are,"she paused " I won't ask".

I paused at the door.

"When you're ready you will tell me,I won't try to snoop around".

Turning around,for the first time I saw her smiling. She was smiling at me.I smiled back.

"Thanks" I said in relief.

---

That night, I sat alone on my bunk, staring at the ceiling. I almost got caught.I was not going to make that make that mistake again. I had to be more careful.