Let Them Kneel (kaelani and Julian) novel Chapter 193

Chapter 193

The cell held the kind of darkness that never fully lifted, even when the lights came on.

It smelled old–damp stone, rust, something faintly sour like mildew that had settled deep into the walls over time. The air felt stale, unmoving, as if it had been trapped there too long.

Somewhere beyond the walls, water dripped in a slow, uneven rhythm.

A quiet, persistent sound.

The only one that ever seemed to last.

Garrick shifted on the narrow cot, a low groan slipping from him as discomfort dragged him halfway out of sleep. The thin padding beneath him had long since stopped offering anything resembling rest. His body ached in ways that didn’t fade, joints stiff, muscles tight from too many nights spent on unforgiving stone.

A harsh buzz cut through the corridor.

Loud. Mechanical. Grating against the silence.

Garrick’s brow furrowed as he stirred, one arm dragging over his face.

The lights overhead flickered to life–dim, uneven, buzzing faintly as they struggled into a steady glow. Not bright enough to banish the shadows, just enough to remind every prisoner that another day had started.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Measured. Unhurried.

A guard moved past each cell, a long baton in hand–its charged tip humming faintly as he dragged it along the metal, tapping against the doors as he went.

A sharp crack of contact.

Pause.

Another step.

Another crack.

Counting.

Always counting.

Garrick pushed himself upright slowly, shoulders stiff as he rubbed a hand over his face, dragging it down his jaw. He blinked against the light, still not fully awake, the sound of the guard moving past his cell barely registering.

The footsteps continued.

Faded.

Moved on.

Garrick lowered his hand and finally looked up.

And froze.

She stood in the far corner of the cell, half–shadowed, leaning back against the brick wall like she had every right

Chapter 193

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to be there.

Arms crossed.

Watching him.

Garrick jerked slightly, the movement instinctive, his breath catching as his eyes locked onto her. “Kaelani…?”

His voice was uncertain, like he wasn’t sure if saying name would make her disappear.

“Hello, Garrick.”

The words were calm. Even.

Garrick stared at her for a second longer, like he was still trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

“Is it really you?” he asked, his voice rough from disuse. “I mean… are you actually here, or is this a-”

“This isn’t a dream–walk,” she cut in. “If that’s what you’re asking.”

Something in his expression shifted. Relief, maybe. Or something softer.

A faint smile touched his mouth.

“You came to see me?”

Kaelani’s gaze slipped away, her expression cooling as she looked off toward the opposite wall.

“Just wanted to see if you’d dropped dead or not.

The smile didn’t hold.

It faded slowly, something flickering behind his eyes–there and gone before it could fully settle into anything she cared to name.

She didn’t linger on it.

“No,” he said after a moment, quieter now. “I’m… still kicking. Thanks to you.”

Kaelani didn’t respond.

The silence closed in, heavy but not empty.

Garrick shifted slightly where he sat, his attention still fixed on her.

“You look well, Kaelani,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about you… hoping you were alright.”

She let out a short, humorless scoff.

“That’s a first.”

Something shifted across Garrick’s expression.

Not defensiveness this time.

Something quieter.

“I deserve that,” he said.

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The words came without resistance, like he wasn’t trying to fight them.

He hesitated after, his mouth parting slightly as if there was more he wanted to say–but whatever it was, it didn’t come.

A hush settled between them again, thicker this time.

Kaelani didn’t let it sit for long.

“Well,” she said, her tone anchored, “despite you trying to hide my

that painted you as faultless and me as the problem…”

Her gaze held his now.

“You were a victim of the woman who birthed me.”

istence and feeding the Council some story/

A slight pause.

“She was malicious. And she used

you.”

))

Her expression didn’t soften–but it shifted, just slightly.

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