Chapter 178: The Trap Springs
The Ocean Kingdom had never felt so quiet.
For days, preparations had been whispered through the halls of the royal keep, soldiers moving in staggered shifts, merchants warned but not told why, the streets kept open as if nothing had changed. But Kael could taste the tension in the air — it hung thick as brine and smoke, coiling like a serpent just out of sight.
He stood in the great courtyard with Umbra at his back, the massive shadow of the dragon-wolf stretching over cobblestones. Fenrik and Rogan lingered nearby, keeping their distance enough to seem like ordinary guards but close enough to strike should danger surface.
The trap was simple, and brutal in its elegance. Kael was bait — the demon-blooded dragonoid, the stranger, the disruption. Thalren had wagered the traitor would not be able to resist a chance to turn the people's suspicion into blood.
The king's men were hidden throughout the square: archers in the high balconies, pikemen mingling with disguised merchants, blades hidden beneath long cloaks. To the common folk who filtered through, it seemed like another day — fishmongers calling out their wares, children darting through legs, the tang of salt and bread drifting through the air. But beneath it all, there was the pulse of dread.
Kael shifted slightly, the claws of his gauntlet flexing. "How long until your rat makes his move?" he asked under his breath.
Thalren, standing beside him, didn't take his eyes off the street. "Patience. Treachery is bold, but never reckless. He'll strike when the shadow looks longest."
Kael's golden eyes flickered to the sun dipping lower in the sky. Shadows stretched across the square like long black spears. The city seemed to breathe slower.
And then, the stillness shattered.
It began with a scream. A sharp, cutting sound from the edge of the market. People scattered as figures in dark cloaks surged forward, steel glinting in the failing light. Arrows whistled down from hidden positions — but before they could strike, a volley of fire erupted from the assailants' hands. Mages.
The square erupted into chaos.
Kael drew his blade, its edge crackling with threads of chaos magic, as Fenrik and Rogan charged to his flanks. Umbra roared, the sound so deep the very stones quivered, scattering the nearest attackers.
"Protect the king!" soldiers bellowed, forming ranks.
But Kael knew, even as the clash rang out around him, this was not the strike. This was the distraction. The true hand of the traitor was yet unseen.
He pushed forward, cleaving through two cloaked warriors with a single swing, his magic unraveling their shields like paper. Fenrik's axe crashed into another, splitting armor and bone, while Rogan moved like a shadow, his blade finding throats with surgical precision.
Still, the enemy pressed hard, their numbers swelling like a tide. Firebolts arced across the courtyard, slamming into stone walls, sending shards flying. Soldiers cried out. Children fled screaming.
And then, Kael felt it. A surge of mana, cold and precise, cutting through the din like a dagger.
"There," he growled, eyes snapping to the far end of the courtyard.
The crowd parted as if pulled by invisible strings. From the archway of the keep, a figure strode forward, tall and composed amid the carnage. Cloaked in royal blue, armored not in steel but in authority.
The soldiers faltered. Some even lowered their blades in confusion.
Thalren's face went pale. His voice dropped into a growl. "No…"
Kael's claws flexed, his instincts coiling. "You know him."
The king's lips curled in fury. "I trusted him with my bloodline."
The figure threw back his hood, revealing hair like dark steel streaked with silver, his eyes burning with the calm fire of conviction. Around him, the attackers ceased their frenzy, pulling back to form a perimeter.
The courtyard stilled again, the clash of steel falling to silence.
Kael stepped forward, blade raised, his golden eyes locking with the traitor's.
"Finally," the traitor said, his voice rich and steady. "The dragon and the false king, side by side. How fitting, that you both fall together."
Thalren's voice was a roar, his hand going to his blade. "You dare, after all I gave you?"
The traitor's gaze flicked between them, a cruel smile curling. "I do more than dare, old friend. I finish what you were too weak to begin."
Kael tightened his grip on his blade. The trap had been sprung, but it was not their prey that was caught.
The chapter ends here — Kael and Thalren face-to-face with the traitor, steel and fire balanced on the edge of eruption.