Let Them Kneel Chapter 63

**The forest was alive with pursuit.**

**Unseelie warriors tore through the dark underbrush, their sleek armor whispering against thorn-laced branches. Gold shimmered at the heads of their spears—pulsing, humming, and alive with charged magic meant to paralyze on contact.**

**Kaelani moved like smoke between trees—silent, swift, focused. The forest bent around her, shadows thickening in her wake, the moonless sky above barely visible through a web of skeletal limbs.**

**She could feel them gaining.**

**The ground vibrated with their pace, heavy boots striking moss and root. Above it all, the shrill whir of enchanted spears sliced through the cold air—piercing, precise.**

**The first warrior burst through the brush—only to halt mid-stride. His gaze darted, searching—**

**Too late.**

**The shadows behind him pulsed. A tendril whipped out—slick, fast—coiling around his leg and yanking him backward into the dark. His scream cut off with a dull thud.**

**Another leapt from the trees. Kaelani raised her hand—and this time, the forest answered.**

**Vines snapped to life beneath the earth. Gnarled roots tore upward in a spiral, catching the warrior mid-air and locking him in a vice-like hold. They wrapped tighter, enclosing him inch by inch—like a living cocoon.**

**A shout rang out behind her—sharp, commanding.**

**Kaelani spun just in time to see one of the warriors plant his spear into the earth. The ground quaked. A massive root tore free like a summoned serpent—hurtling toward her.**

**She dove aside as it crashed into the tree she’d just abandoned. Bark exploded in a spray of debris.**

**Kaelani closed her eyes, centering. Summoning.**

**The air howled.**

**Wind whipped into a spiral, catching the warrior mid-step. It curled tighter, faster—until it hurled him through the trees like broken prey.**

**More warriors emerged, flanking her with grim precision. Their movements turned sharp, aggressive. This wasn’t sparring anymore—it was a trial by fire. A true test.**

**And then the forest shifted.**

**A low growl rumbled through the mist.**

**A beast emerged—hulking and antlered, crowned with thorned branches glowing faint blue. Its form shimmered, cloaked in illusion. Six red eyes locked on hers.**

**It marched forward—each step a quake.**

**Kaelani turned and ran.**

**Branches whipped past her, the forest narrowing like a throat. She moved fast—but not fast enough.**

**A vine shot up from the ground—snaring her ankle mid-stride.**

**Her feet flew out from under her. She flipped overhead, dangling upside down as the beast roared and charged.**

**She braced—flinching as its shadow closed in.**

**And then—**

**Gone.**

**The beast vanished in a blink of moonless light.**

**An illusion.**

**Her pulse thundered in her ears as she looked upward at the vine.**

**“Let go,” she commanded.**

**The vine obeyed, snapping free. She plummeted—only to catch herself in a net of shadows that softened her fall, setting her down with a slow, eerie grace.**

**Her boots touched earth.**

**She didn’t breathe.**

**Not yet.**

**Because now, the warriors weren’t holding back anymore.**

**Two broke formation—one a blur, the other slamming his palm to the ground.**

**Roots exploded upward like spikes.**

**She twisted, narrowly dodging one that ripped past her ribs. Another shredded her sleeve as she ducked low.**

**The second warrior was already there—spear thrust straight for her chest.**

**She gritted her teeth and threw up a shield of shadow, catching the weapon mid-air. It crackled against the barrier before dissipating, but the impact still sent her skidding back, boots ripping through turf and muck.**

**A burst of shadows surged from her in a wave—knocking him off his feet.**

**A sharp hiss cut through the chaos.**

**Another warrior summoned a thick, thorned vine from the ground. It shot forward, unnaturally fast and aimed straight for her throat.**

**Her eyes widened.**

**She pivoted—but not fast enough.**

**The vine cracked through the air—**

**—and stopped with a brutal, whipping sound.**

**A figure appeared between them like a phantom.**

**Draevyn.**

**The vine was wrapped around his forearm in a sickening twist, thorns buried deep, splitting flesh. Blood welled, spilling down to his elbow—but he didn’t flinch.**

**Silence rippled across the clearing.**

**The warrior who summoned it froze, face pale.**

**Draevyn turned his head—slowly.**

**The look he gave wasn’t rage.**

**It was worse.**

**Cold. Calculating. Formidable.**

**The warrior stepped back without meaning to, throat bobbing in a hard swallow.**

**“Training,” Draevyn said quietly—his voice the edge of a blade—“doesn’t mean you forget who she is.”**

**The warrior straightened, chin tilted just enough to betray the spark of defiance still simmering behind his eyes.**

**“I didn’t forget,” he said darkly. “I just thought she could handle it—since she’s the… so-called Queen of—”**

**A sharp crack split the air.**

**The same thorned vine Draevyn had caught now lashed outward with ruthless precision.**

**It struck the warrior across the face—flesh tearing as thorns raked a wicked gash from cheekbone to jaw. Blood spattered the ground beneath him.**

**Kaelani flinched—just slightly, just inwardly—but it was enough. She hadn’t expected it. Not the suddenness. Not the silence that followed.**

**The warrior’s head had snapped to the side with the force of it.**

**Slowly, he turned back. A thin line of red bloomed down his face. His jaw was tight. Challenging. But his lips remained sealed.**

**Draevyn’s gaze didn’t waver.**

**There was no flare of fury in it. No warning.**

**Just a quiet, ancient promise.**

**Say one more word.**

**The warrior swallowed them back… hard.**

**Draevyn let the silence stretch, then turned his gaze to the others—each one suddenly still, standing at uneasy attention.**

**“Your services,” he said coldly, “are no longer required.”**

**He waited a beat—his voice a command unto itself.**

**“Return to your posts.”**

**No one argued. No one hesitated.**

**They dispersed with swift, disciplined motion—disappearing into the trees like ghosts, leaving only their broken silence behind.**

**The clearing was too quiet now. Still charged, but hollowed out.**

**Kaelani stood motionless, her pulse still crashing against her ribs, the taste of adrenaline thick in her mouth. Her gaze slid to Draevyn’s arm, blood dripping from his fingers.**

**She rushed to him without thinking, reaching out and taking his arm into her hands.**

**The wound was vicious. The thorns had split the flesh in a jagged, twisting pattern that spiraled around muscle and bone—like the vine had carved its own branding into him.**

**“This looks really bad,” she breathed, her voice low but urgent. “You need to see a physician.”**

**Draevyn didn’t flinch. Didn’t even look at the wound.**

**Instead, his gaze dropped to her hands—then rose, locking with hers.**

**“Or…” he murmured, voice silk-dipped steel,**

**“…you can heal me.”**

**Kaelani blinked. “Heal you?” Her voice caught. “Fae can do that?”**

**A shadow of a smile touched his mouth. But it didn’t reach his eyes.**

**“Not all Fae,” he said. “It’s a rare gift. Only a handful have ever been born with it… and all of them were Seelie.”**

**He paused. His voice dropped—low and reverent.**

**“There have only ever been two Unseelie to carry that power.”**

**His eyes held hers. “You’re one of them.”**

**She didn’t respond at first. The weight of that revelation settled heavily between them.**

**Two.**

**If she was one of the Unseelie with that power… her mother must’ve been the other.**

**The thought rattled through her like distant thunder—unsettling, powerful.**

**Kaelani steadied herself. Tightened her grip on his arm.**

**“Tell me how,” she whispered. “And I’ll heal you.”**

**The words lingered between them—soft, but weighted with lead.**

**She was aware of everything now.**

**The closeness between them.**

**The feel of his skin beneath her palms.**

**The look in his eyes.**

**Something fierce stirred in the silence—neither hunger nor hesitation.**

**Just gravity.**

**Kaelani broke the gaze—just in time.**

**Her wolf stirred beneath her skin, a low growl simmering in her chest, ready to rise with warning.**

**She blinked, grounding herself, then looked back down at his arm.**

**The wound was still bleeding—slow, steady, unforgiving.**

**“Tell me how to heal you,” she said again, this time more firmly. Less breathless. More herself.**

**Draevyn studied her for a moment longer, then finally spoke.**

**“Summon your energy,” he said, calm but deliberate. “That violet light within you.”**

**Kaelani’s head snapped up.**

**Her brows pulled together. “Are you being serious?”**

**He didn’t answer.**

**“You want me to summon *that*?” she asked, incredulous. “The same energy I used to—”**

**She stopped herself, as her body tensed. “To *kill* someone.”**

**Her eyes searched his face, disbelief flickering across hers.**

**“You want me to *heal* you with it?”**

**The absurdity of it clung to her voice—dark, sharp, bitter.**

**Kaelani slowly released his arm, her fingers unclenching as if she’d just realized she’d been holding something volatile.**

**“I don’t ever want to use that power again,” she said quietly. Her voice didn’t tremble, but there was weight behind it—a quiet ache that lived deeper than fear.**

**Draevyn’s gaze remained steady. He didn’t question her—not with doubt, not with challenge.**

**Instead, his voice came low. Measured.**

**“Any power,” he said, “can destroy.”**

**He stepped closer—not imposing, but grounding.**

**“Fire can burn homes… or warm the lost. Wind can tear trees from the earth… or carry seeds to bloom where none should grow.”**

**He paused, watching her face.**

**“And shadows? They can hide monsters… or shield what’s too fragile for the light.”**

**Draevyn drew a slow breath, then closed his eyes.**

**Without a word, he lifted one hand and hovered it over his wound.**

**Kaelani’s gaze sharpened into a needle-point. “What are you—?”**

**A golden light surged from his palm.**

**Soft at first, then brighter—threading through the air like molten silk.**

**It shimmered as it licked across torn flesh, knitting it closed in slow, fluid pulses.**

**No incantation. No flourish. Just breath and will.**

**The light reflected in Kaelani’s widened eyes as she stared in awe. Not breathing. Not blinking.**

**The gash sealed cleanly beneath his touch—leaving only a faint silvered line behind.**

**She was still staring when the light faded.**

**“You…” her** **voice was** **scarcely audible**, **even in the silence of the forest.**

**“You’re the other Unseelie?”**