Let Them Kneel (kaelani and Julian) novel Chapter 156

Chapter 156

The fairy placed it carefully in her hand.

Kaelani’s expression softened with genuine wonder.

“It’s beautiful,” she said softly. “Thank you.”

The fairy straightened proudly.

Then, to Kaelani’s surprise, the tiny creature dipped into a graceful bow–one hand pressed to her chest, wings folding slightly with ceremonial care.

Kaelani smiled tenderly and inclined her head in return.

The fairy beamed, then zipped upward, vanishing back into the swirling constellation of glowing wings above the lagoon.

And the cavern seemed even more magical for it.

Kaelani barely noticed when Draevyn moved closer.

Her attention was still caught on the tiny lights weaving through the cavern air, the soft glow of wings disappearing and reappearing like drifting stars. The water rippled around them in slow, luminous waves, brushing against her waist, warm and alive.

But she felt him.

Even before she looked.

She tried–very deliberately–not to notice the view in front of her.

The way the water clung to the planes of his chest, gliding down muscle and shadow in slow, shimmering trails. The way his shoulders cut broad through the soft glow of the cavern light.

And his arms.

Gods.

Those arms.

Kaelani quickly turned her attention back to the flower in her hand as if the small thing required intense concentration.

Draevyn reached out and gently took it from her fingers.

The delicate petals glowed faintly between his hands as he inched closer, lifting the flower to tuck it

behind her ear. The violet–silver bloom settled easily into the loose strands of her chestnut hair, its soft light reflecting in the water below.

“It suits you,” he murmured.

Kaelani started to say something, but the words never quite made it out.

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Draevyn lifted his hand again, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face on the opposite side. His fingers lingered lightly against her temple before gliding down along the curve of her cheek.

The touch was slow.

Careful.

Intent.

His gaze held hers as if the rest of the cavern had ceased to exist.

“This place is beautiful,” his tone gentle, glancing briefly toward the glowing water and the drifting lights

overhead.

Then his eyes returned to her.

“But it pales beside you.”

His thumb brushed lightly beneath her cheekbone, reverent rather than possessive.

“I’ve walked this realm for centuries,” he continued quietly. “Seen wonders most souls would call impossible.”

He paused.

“And yet tonight… standing here with you…”

His voice dropped to something almost intimate enough to feel like a secret.

“I cannot decide if the realm grew brighter… or if I simply never understood beauty until now.”

Something in Kaelani stirred.

It wasn’t her wolf.

Her wolf recoiled, grumbling low in the depths of her mind. The beast wanted nothing to do with this moment. If anything, she was ready to rip his tongue out for trying.

But the other half of Kaelani–the part that had begun to awaken in this realm–leaned toward him.

Her fae blood.

It responded to Draevyn the way fire answers air.

His face moved closer.

Kaelani didn’t pull away.

Instead, she leaned in.

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Chapter 164

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