Let Them Kneel (kaelani and Julian) novel Chapter 189

Chapter 189

Life returning.

Piece by piece.

Jace dragged a hand over his face, relief hitting him like a punch to the gut.

+25 Bonus

Lyressa’s hands remained over Julian’s heart a moment longer, the glow dimming as the work settled into him.

Then she withdrew.

“He will heal,” she said, her attention settling on Kaelani.

“But he will need rest.”

Kaelani pulled him in, cradling him tight against her.

He was breathing now.

Alive.

But unconscious.

Kaelani leaned down, pressing her ear close to his mouth–relief flooding through her as his breath brushed softly against her cheek.

Her eyes lifted to Lyressa, her vision blurred with tears.

“Thank you…” The words caught in her throat.

Lyressa smiled.

Soft.

And shook her head.

“No, Kaelani…” she said gently. “Thank you.”

Her eyes held the weight of everything she had endured.

“For seeing me… when no one else would.”

“For hearing me.”

“For believing me.”

Something in her softened further.

“For freeing my people.”

They shared a quiet smile something unspoken passing between them.

A knowing neither needed to voice.

A soft breath passed through Lyressa as she rose to her feet.

Chapter 189

She closed her eyes.

Lifted her hands.

And the light answered.

+25 Bonus

What remained of that reclaimed life force stirred–flowing from her in soft, radiant streams before sinking into the earth below.

Into the soil.

The roots.

The trees.

Everything that had been hollowed out.

Drained.

Waiting.

The ground trembled–subtle at first.

Then more.

Life returned.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Branches thickened.

Leaves unfurled.

Color bled back into the world in quiet waves, spreading outward from where she stood.

The dead began to remember what it meant to live.

Lyressa

drew in a slow breath-

And let it out.

As if watching her world come back to life again filled something deep within her that had been empty for far too long.

Kaelani looked around.

Felt it too.

That quiet, overwhelming sense of something restored

Everything Draevyn had destroyed…

Was breathing again.

of life returning to what had been broken.

Lyressa turned back to her.

Chapter wa

The glow that had once surrounded her had faded.

She looked like herself again.

Her light rested beneath the surface now–quiet, controlled, entirely her own.

The kind of power that had never needed to take more than it was given.

Not like Draevyn.

And for the first time, the Unseelie saw her clearly.

“You restored my court,” she said, her voice threaded with gratitude.

Her eyes held Kaelani’s.

“And so I restored yours.”

Kaelani’s attention drifted.

Across the Unseelie.

The warriors.

The Seers.

All of them watching her now.

Waiting.

Something in her chest tightened.

Her attention fell back to Julian, her hand lifting to brush gently along the side of his face.

“I need to go home,” she said quietly. “I need to take them home.”

Lyressa smiled.

Warm.

Knowing.

“Of course.”

A breath.

Then, softer-

“Just remember…”

The moment held long enough to matter.

“This is your home too.”

Kaelani nodded, a small, grateful smile gracing her lips.

Then she looked up at Jace.

+25 Bonus

“Touch my shoulder,” she instructed. “And think of home.”

He didn’t question it.

He stepped forward and did exactly that.

The world snapped-

And in a flash of violet, they were gone.

They reappeared inside the Blackthorn estate.

The living area.

Cozy and quiet.

Too quiet.

Kaelani lowered Julian carefully onto the sofa, her hands gentle as she eased him down.

Her fingers slipped into his hair, brushing it back from his face.

A shaky breath left her.

Relieved.

Then a gasp broke through the silence.

Kaelani turned.

Julian’s parents stood at the threshold.

His mother’s hand flew to her chest, her eyes locked on her son–taking in the blood, the stillness, the wounds.

His father reacted instantly.

“What have you done to him?!” he demanded, stepping forward. “Get away from him!”

The words hit.

Sharp.

Accusing.

Kaelani flinched.

Her gaze flicked to Jace.

Something in her chest tightened.

She let out a slow breath, eyes closing as the weight of everything crashed down on her at once,

“Kaelani…”

Jace said, moving toward her “Wait

+25 Bonus

But she was already gone.

Gone in a flicker of violet-

Leaving nothing behind but silence… and the aftermath.

Comments

.