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“Kael?”
The King tilted his head upward at his Commander. There was a glint of orange in his eyes. “I hear the cranks turning,” he quipped.
Kael narrowed his eyes. He had a hard time speaking in jest with the King despite their close relationship. His reputation was on the line.
“I’m considering,” Kael replied.
“Considering?”
The King sat up on the couch. Kael remained still, feeling resigned.
“I don’t think it's true, Commander,” the King said, smirking. “There are just formalities to follow. You know this best.”
Kael knew he was right, but he was agitated. He was siphoned out of the room by the same line of guards that brought him into the back security room. He was treated like a common thief, and his nobility was questioned, even if it was just for show.
They checked his location when the document had been reportedly taken. All military officers, including the Commander, had a chip inserted into their neck to coordinate whereabouts during vital dates. He was cleared instantly and brought back to see the King.
Cosmos was holding his arms open, chuckling. Kael was having none of it.
“You were cleared. Just as I thought."
Kael grunted, moving to the window. He was the only man who could turn his back on the King.
“I don’t like this, My King,” Kael said, muttering to himself. “I feel someone planted my fingerprints.”
Cosmos stood next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Kael gazed at his King.
He was once a formidable warrior, shorter than most Drakonians but intimidating. He was wise and seasoned, but there were great tales behind those gold eyes.
“I can feel your strife, my son,” the King said. “But I assure you, we will see to this. It will be nothing but ash. Forgotten.”
Kael wasn’t so sure about it. He was careful about mentioning Aric to the King. The King had mentioned Aric’s name in a few places as a potential future replacement for Kael’s Commander position. He saw prospects for him, whereas Kael saw bleakness.
It was the only topic that they differed upon.
“I trust you, My King,” Kael said, tilting his head to bow again.
Cosmos waved his hand, then clapped Kael on the back. It was a fatherly way of being.
“Now, you best get to work. Try to forget this ever happened.”
“Yes, My King.”
Kael left the King’s chambers and went to his office. He felt strange being in there after nearly being detained. He felt like there were flies on the wall, watching him like spies.
The Commander tried to get to work, but most of the day was lost. All he could do was contemplate.
He worked with encryption in the documents he used, which were all digital. Somehow, a document had been taken from the archives, and his fingerprints had been lifted.
That meant that someone was certainly in his office.
Kael decided to leave early, the urge to see Suki and Sarah overcoming the desire to push through the tricky experience of being accused of something foul. He soared through the dying day in his hover vehicle, leaving behind the stain to his character.
He couldn’t figure out why Aric would steal a document in the first place. He understood the framing, but not that. When he started to become flustered, a moment in time came back to him, pushing him in the heart as he drove.
It was a memory of Petal. She had a way with him that no one else, including the King, had ever figured out. She knew when he was bothered by something. He thought he had good intuition, but really, she was the master.
Her golden eyes were rimmed with a beautiful green, single flare of light. He used to think of it as his anchor.
