Let Them Kneel (kaelani and Julian) novel Chapter 149

Jace stirred with a low groan, shifting against the damp grass at the lake’s edge.

For a moment, he didn’t know what had woken him–only that the air felt different. Cooler. Lighter. The brutal heat of the desert had loosened its grip, replaced by a fragile calm that felt almost unreal after everything they’d endured.

He blinked, squinting toward the horizon.

The sun hadn’t risen yet—but it was close.

A thin wash of pale gold bled into the sky, just barely cresting the distant dunes. The stars above were fading one by one, retreating as dawn crept in.

Jace rolled onto his side, checking the space beside him.

Empty.

Frowning, he pushed himself up onto an

and lookend

“Julian?” he murmured, voice rough with sleep.

Jeep

Then he saw him.

Across the lake.

Julian sat on a low rise of earth near the opposite bank, knees drawn up, forearms resting loosely against them. He hadn’t noticed Jace waking–or if he had, he didn’t react. His gaze was fixed on the sky, watching the last stars dim and disappear like secrets being swallowed by the coming day.

The faint light caught the sharp lines of his face, carving shadows beneath his eyes. He looked still. Too still.

Lost in thought.

Troubled.

Jace watched him for a long moment, unease settling quietly in his chest.

Something about the way Julian sat there–alone, awake before dawn, staring at the dying night–felt heavy.

Like a man already carrying tomorrow’s weight.

Jace rose quietly and crossed the narrow strip of grass, feet brushing against dew–damp earth. Julian didn’t look back. He sat at the water’s edge, gaze fixed on the sky where the last stars were thinning–fading as dawn crept closer.

Jace lowered himself beside him.

For a while, neither of them spoke. The lake was still. The world felt suspended, like it was waiting for something to go wrong.

“Did you sleep at all?” Jace asked finally.

Julian nodded once. “Yeah. For a bit. Woke up not long ago.”

Another silence stretched between them–thicker this time.

Jace drew in a slow breath. “I don’t know what fate’s got waiting for us beyond those trees,” he said quietly. “But whatever happens–”

Julian cut him off.

“We’ve come too far,” he said, his voice calm but edged with something sharp. “Farther than most ever get. Probably farther than anyone ever has.

Chapter 149.

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He finally looked away from the sky, eyes dropping to the water.

“And to die here,” he continued, fist clenching, “right at the edge of it… that would just be a cruel joke. Like the world dragging us all this way just to stop us where it hurts the most.”

He let out a breath through his nose. Not quite a laugh.

“Like being shown the entryway,” he added, “and dying on the doorstep.”

“And even still… through every brutal, excruciating step it took to get us here–” Julian exhaled slowly, eyes never leaving something far off in the distance, “-it felt like something was with us. Like we weren’t just stumbling forward on blind hope.”

He shook his head once, a short, disbelieving motion.

“Like something was guiding us. Making sure we made it this far.”

Apause. Then, softer–almost embarrassed-

“As if we were being led by something… divine.”

He huffed a quiet breath. “I know that sounds crazy.”

Jace didn’t laugh.

He didn’t scoff.

Instead, he stared out over the water, nodding in agreement.

“No,” he replied. “It doesn’t.”

Julian glanced at him.

“I’ve felt it too,” Jace continued. “Since the bridge. I was sure that was it–that we were done.” He spoke like the air itself was listening. “I didn’t think you were going to snap out of it. Not then. Not with the hex tearing you apart like that.”

His gaze cut sideways.

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