Let Them Kneel (kaelani and Julian) novel Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Julian looked back, his expression taut with equal parts tension and gratitude. “Thank you,” he said, sincerely. “For everything.”

He turned to Jace, eyes sharp behind the lenses. “It’s not too late to back out, you know.”

Jace snorted, rolling his shoulders as he stepped up beside him. “And miss the chance to freeze my dick off while crashing into a snowstorm with ancient gatekeepers trying to kill us?” He gave a crooked grin. “Not a fucking chance.”

Julian huffed a laugh under his breath and glanced once more at Jace, a reckless glint in his eyes.

“Alright then… race you to the bottom.”

And with that, he turned and launched himself out of the hatch.

Jace stared after him, wind whipping like a thousand tiny needles against his skin.

“Show–off,” he muttered, then leapt.

For a moment, it was everything.

The rush. The freedom.

They cut through the air like blades, wind roaring past, their bodies slicing clean lines through the sky. Below them, the landscape rolled in shades of white and slate gray–snow–choked cliffs and jagged treetops vanishing into the storm–hazed horizon.

They glided parallel, just a few yards apart, whooping into the wind. Jace tilted his arms, adjusting his descent with smooth precision.

Julian grinned back at him. A rare, wild kind of thrill lit his face.

The adrenaline surged–exhilarating, electric–until it wasn’t.

A sudden crosswind slammed into them from the east.

Unexpected. Violent.

Julian’s body jerked hard, spinning off–course.

Above, from the edge of the jet, Sebastian swore under his breath and gripped Lazarus’s arm.

“Shit.”

“Julian-!” Jace shouted, but the wind swallowed the sound.

Julian fumbled midair, arms flailing as he fought to stabilize. Panic surged.

He yanked his chute-

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The cords twisted across his shoulder and leg, locking him into a half–spin. The chute snapped and flapped uselessly behind him, dragging but not catching.

He spun faster.

Too fast. Too high.

Jace’s instincts took over.

He pulled his limbs in tight, adjusting his angle and diving hard.

Below him, Julian clawed at the cords, eyes wide.

The ground was rushing up too fast–just a blur of snow and shadow now.

“Reach for me!” Jace roared through the mind–link.

Julian tried. Their fingers brushed–then he spiraled again, helpless.

Jace bared his teeth, repositioned, and dove harder.

Every second bled pressure. His skin burned from the speed. His muscles screamed.

But he didn’t stop.

He wouldn’t stop.

One last lunge.

Their hands locked.

Jace snarled and hauled Julian toward him, gripping his harness with both hands. The moment they connected, he reached for his own chute cord–and yanked.

It exploded open above them, jerking their bodies upward in a violent, lurching snap.

The descent slowed.

The earth was still coming, but no longer at a lethal speed.

Julian’s breath rasped hard in his throat. He clutched Jace’s harness like it was the only thing tethering

him to the world.

Because it was.

They hit the snow hard–feet digging deep into a powder–thick drift as the chute collapsed behind them. Not graceful, but alive.

Julian stumbled, dropped to one knee, then ripped off his gloves and shoved them into the snow. His breaths came fast and sharp, every exhale fogging in the subzero air as he tried to pull his heart out of his throat and shove it back into his chest.

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Jace, still breathing heavy, unhooked himself from the chute and slapped Julian hard on the shoulder- part relief, part reprimand. “See?” he muttered. “You need me.”

Julian coughed out a laugh. “Shut up.”

Above them, the jet was already banking away–its engines roaring as it cut through a break in the cloud

cover.

Lazarus stood at the edge of the cargo hatch, arms folded, the fabric of his suit snapping in the wind. Sebastian lingered beside him, silent, watching the two Lycans become specks in the snow–covered world below.

The hatch began to close.

Lazarus’s voice was quiet but firm–etched with something rare. Respect, perhaps. Or hope.

“May their Goddess be with them.”

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