Kaelen was arrested the moment he crossed into kingdom territory.
Not City Guards. Royal military—full platoon, anti-magic specialists, prepared for exactly this scenario. They'd been waiting for him.
"Kaelen Voss," the captain announced. "You're under arrest for desertion, breach of duty, and violation of Royal Protector oaths. Surrender peacefully or we will use force."
Kaelen raised his hands. "I surrender."
*Fight them*, Soulrender urged. *You could escape easily.*
"And prove everyone's fears right?" Kaelen replied mentally. "No. I face consequences."
They bound him with magical restraints—not as extreme as Marcus's had been, but substantial. Then escorted him back to Eredor in a specialized transport designed to contain dangerous prisoners.
Three days of travel. Three days of soldiers watching him like he might explode at any moment.
On day four, they reached the palace.
Isabella was waiting.
---
The hearing was private. Just Isabella, Kaelen, and three council members who served as witnesses. No public spectacle—this was too sensitive for that.
"You deserted," Isabella said without preamble. "Left your post, abandoned your duties, disappeared for two weeks. Explain."
"Soulrender was taking control," Kaelen said. "Complete control. During Marcus's escape, it froze me, prevented me from acting. I went north seeking help from a researcher who specializes in Forbidden Blade consciousness. She taught me techniques to resist blade override."
"And did they work?" Isabella asked.
"Partially. I can maintain autonomy now, but it requires constant effort. The blade still influences me, but I can resist that influence when necessary."
"Demonstrate," Isabella ordered.
"How?"
She drew a knife and placed it on the table. "Pick it up. Stab yourself in the hand."
Kaelen stared. "What?"
"You claim you can resist blade influence. Prove it. The blade won't want you injured. Pick up the knife and stab yourself. If you can do that against blade resistance, I'll believe your autonomy is real."
*Don't*, Soulrender said immediately. *This is unnecessary. Prove nothing.*
Kaelen picked up the knife. Soulrender fought him—tried to stop his hand, to drop the weapon, to refuse. But Elara's training held. Kaelen maintained control.
He stabbed the knife through his palm.
Pain exploded. Blood flowed. Soulrender screamed protest in his mind.
But Kaelen had chosen it. His action, his control, his autonomy proven.
"Satisfied?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Isabella gestured to a healer, who closed the wound. "Partially. You can act against blade influence in controlled situations. But can you maintain that under combat stress? When survival depends on efficiency?"
"I fought Seraphina using partial integration," Kaelen reported. "Maintained control throughout. Wasn't as effective as full blade-dominance would be, but I remained myself."
"Less effective is less useful," one council member observed. "We need maximum capability from our Royal Protector, not philosophical autonomy."
"You need reliability," Kaelen countered. "A weapon that might turn on you is worse than a slightly less powerful weapon that obeys commands. I'm offering the latter."
Isabella considered this. "Your desertion remains serious. But your reasoning wasn't cowardice or betrayal—it was addressing legitimate operational compromise. That matters."
"So I'm not being executed?" Kaelen asked.
"Execution is wasteful. But you need consequences." Isabella pulled out documents. "Six months probation. Restricted deployment. Every mission requires my personal approval. You report to Mage Karsten daily for consciousness evaluations. And you wear this."
She produced a collar—magical construct, delicate but powerful.
"Compliance collar," she explained. "If Soulrender takes full control, this activates, suppresses your capabilities until human consciousness returns. It's insurance against blade-dominance."
"That's humiliating," Kaelen said.
"That's compromise," Isabella replied. "Alternative is imprisonment until we're certain you're safe. Your choice."
Not really a choice. But better than a cell.
"I accept," Kaelen said.
Isabella fastened the collar around his neck. It clicked into place with finality, magical sensors linking to his consciousness, monitoring for blade-override.
"Welcome back, Royal Protector," Isabella said. "Don't make me regret leniency."
---
News of his return spread quickly.
Most reactions were negative. Nobles who'd already distrusted him now had concrete evidence of unreliability. Guards who'd served with him felt betrayed by his desertion. Even some Shadow Hunters questioned whether he could be trusted.
"You abandoned us," Valdris said during their reunion. "Left during crisis. That's not forgivable easily."
"I was compromised," Kaelen explained. "The blade was in control. Staying would have made things worse."
"And you decided that alone, without consultation, without even telling your team." Valdris shook her head. "That's not how units work. We trust each other or we die. You broke that trust."
"I know," Kaelen said. "I'll have to earn it back."
"If you can," Valdris replied. "Some breaks don't heal."
Ronan was more understanding. "I knew something was wrong. Wished you'd told me, but I understand why you didn't. You're paranoid about people trying to neutralize you. Can't entirely blame you for that."
"Thanks," Kaelen said.
"Don't thank me yet. I'm your designated monitor. Isabella assigned me to watch for blade-override signs. If I see you slipping, I report it immediately. Can you live with that?"
"Do I have choice?"
"No. But I'm asking anyway."
"I can live with it," Kaelen said. "Better you than someone who wants me gone."
Lia was hardest to face.
She'd covered for his absence, lied to Isabella about his whereabouts, risked her own position to buy him time. And he'd come back wearing a compliance collar and facing probation.
"Was it worth it?" she asked. "The training, the techniques. Do they actually help?"
"Yeah," Kaelen said. "I can resist Soulrender now. Not perfectly, but enough. I'm more myself than I've been in months."
"Good," Lia said. Then she hit him. Hard. Across the face.
"That's for making me lie to Isabella. For putting my career at risk. For disappearing without proper goodbye." She hit him again. "And that's for coming back alive instead of dying heroically and giving me clean closure."
"Sorry?" Kaelen offered.
"You should be." But she smiled slightly. "Though I'm glad the training worked. Glad you're more yourself. Even if that self is still partly blade-possessed and under probation."
"My life is complicated," Kaelen said.
"Understatement of the year," Lia replied.
They talked for hours—about Elara's training, about Seraphina's attack, about what partial integration actually meant. Rebuilding trust that Kaelen's desertion had damaged.
It was progress. Not resolution, but progress.
---
That night, in his quarters, Kaelen tested his new autonomy.
Consciously chose not to use Soulrender. Let the blade remain dormant, proving he could exist without constant blade-presence.
*You're making point*, Soulrender observed. *But we both know you'll need me. When real threats emerge, when lives depend on maximum efficiency.*
"Maybe," Kaelen agreed. "But when I call on you, it'll be my choice. My decision. Not yours."
*For now. But choices erode. Eventually, you'll surrender again. It's inevitable.*
"Then I'll prove inevitability wrong," Kaelen replied.
He slept without blade-dreams for the first time in months. Just normal human sleep, processing normal human concerns.
It was glorious.
---
Three days after his return, Isabella called him in for actual mission briefing.
"Marcus is active again," she said. "Intelligence places him in the eastern territories, rebuilding forces. He's got maybe fifty cultists now, plus Seraphina and her Forbidden Blade. They're hitting remote settlements, recruiting desperate people."
"You want me to stop him," Kaelen said.
"I want you to observe," Isabella corrected. "You're on probation, remember? No solo heroics. You go with full team, you follow Valdris's tactical command, you engage only when authorized. Clear?"
"Clear," Kaelen said.
"Good. Team deploys tomorrow. Show me you can follow orders. Prove that probation was right choice instead of imprisonment."
Kaelen left the briefing with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was cleared for missions again. On the other, the restrictions chafed.
But restrictions were better than imprisonment.
And missions meant purpose.
He'd take what he could get.
Tomorrow, back to work.
Back to hunting Marcus.
Back to proving he was still worth trusting.
Even if he wasn't entirely sure himself.
*One day at a time*, he thought.
*One battle at a time*, Soulrender agreed.
For once, they were in accord.
That alone felt like victory.