Let Them Kneel (kaelani and Julian) novel Chapter 165

The command carried the unmistakable weight of authority.

Soon the palace halls fell quiet.

Visitors were turned away.

Guests disn

Every

nts were reassigned to other wings of the palace.

ness of her chambers, Lyressa lay beneath the

by the day.

w of lantern light…

Lyressa woke suddenly.

oment she lay still, her mind heavy with sleep

nderstand what had disturbed her.

oom was quiet.

30 quiet.

Instinctively, she reached across the bed by

Cold sheets met her fingertips.

Lyressa frowned faintly, her han

“Draevyn?” she murmure

No answer.

She waited a mon

Perhaps he h

meetings

space again.

palace was vast, and he often rose in the night to continue reviewing reports or Ved from the Unseelie Court.

settled her.

eave her side.

+25 Bonus

Urself upright slowly, her body protesting the effort. The weakness that had plagued her for weeks had not yet and the simple act of sitting made the room tilt slightly around her.

the dizziness faded.

ped carefully from the bed.

bled the moment her wef

toward the chambe

idors beyond

he edge of the bedpost as she steadied herself

+25 Bonus

With visitors dismissed and most of the palace staff reassigned to distant wings, the halls had fallen into a strange, hollow quiet.

Lyressa moved slowly along the wall, her fingertips gliding against the cool marble for support as she made her way down the corridor

“Draevyn?” she called again, softer this time.

Only silence answered her.

The quiet stretched on.

Too quiet.

She was beginning to wonder if she should simply return to bed when something drifted down the hallway ahead.

A sound

Faint

Lyressa paused.

The sound came again–low and muffled behind one of the heavy doors at the far end of the hall.

The briefing room.

Of course.

Relief flickered briefly through her chest.

That made sense. Draevyn had spent countless hours there since arriving at the Seelie court, poring over records and theories in his relentless search for answers.

He was probably still working.

For her.

Lyressa continued down the corridor, moving as quickly as her weak legs allowed.

But the closer she came, the more the sound sharpened.

It wasn’t the quiet murmur of voices.

Nor the rustle of parchment or the shifting of chairs.

It was a woman’s voice.

Not speaking.

A soft sound escaped again from behind the door.

Lyressa stopped.

Her brow furrowed.

Pain?

No…

Her stomach tightened.

Not pain.

Pleasure.

tated

ding down her spi

ched the door slowly, her hand trembling as it reached for the hand.

Just for a moment.

Then she turned it.

he latch gave with a quiet click, the heavy door easing open just enough to leave a narrow crack between the frame

2st enough for her to see what was happening inside.

vressa froze in the doorway.

For a moment her mind refused to understand what her eyes were seeing

Draevyn sat in one of the briefing chairs near the long table, his dark hair falling loosely around his face, his hands gripping the tides of the seat as if he had no intention of moving

And on his lap-

A young Seelie woman.

One of the palace servants.

She straddled him boldly, her pale skirts gathered around her hips as she bounced on him with eager urgency, her head thrown back as soft sounds spilled from her lips.

Lyressa’s heart sank.

The room tilted.

For a heartbeat she simply stared, unable to look away–unable to reconcile the man she had trusted, the man who had sworn be would never leave her side, with the one sitting there beneath another woman.

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