Let Them Kneel (kaelani and Julian) novel Chapter 86

A sudden screech shattered the silence.

Kaelani surged to her feet, her chair toppling backward with a loud clatter against the stone floor. Whispers ceased and startled glances from the nearby revelers were drawn by the sudden commotion.

The six warriors who had escorted her instantly snapped to attention, spears drawn with deadly precision. The gold-veined tips glowed faintly as they leveled them at her chest.

Kaelani didn’t flinch.

Her eyes burned as she stared past them, fists clenched at her sides. “What have you done to her?” she demanded, voice trembling with rage.

Draevyn didn’t so much as lift a brow.

He swirled the last of his wine, watching the dark liquid dance before bringing the goblet to his lips. One slow sip. One long moment of silence.

Then: “Nothing she didn’t deserve.”

The words struck like a slap.

She took a bold step forward—met instantly by the threatening hiss of spears adjusting, tips grazing the air in warning. Still, she didn’t back down.

“Deserve?” Her voice cracked with disbelief. “She looks like she’s been starved. Beaten. Caged. Who deserves to be treated like that?”

At last, Draevyn’s gaze slid toward her—measured, cool, unreadable.

“You seem to feel quite strongly for someone you do not know,” he mused, leaning back as if this were nothing more than idle conversation. “Or am I mistaken… do you know this woman?”

Kaelani hesitated.

The resemblance screamed at her—bone-deep and undeniable—but the truth was still a haze, barely formed and impossible to grasp.

“…No,” she said quietly. “I don’t know her.”

The woman—slumped on the flagstones, slowly lifted her head again.

Her sunken eyes locked on Kaelani, and for the first time… she smiled.

It was small at first—slanted, strange, almost childlike. Then it widened. Twisted.

Draevyn’s voice was casual, almost amused. “And you?” he asked, turning slightly toward her. “Do you know this girl?”

The woman’s smile faltered—then she laughed.

A quiet, breathless sound at first.

Then louder.

And louder.

Until it bordered on maniacal.

Nymera’s laughter echoed through the night, unhinged and visceral, like something cracked open inside her.

Kaelani stared, frozen. Confused. The crazed sound didn’t match the gaunt, broken woman slumped on the ground before her. “What’s wrong with her?” she asked quietly, eyes flicking to Draevyn.

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