Let Them Kneel Chapter 92

**The Seers approached what remained of Draevyn.**

**Where he had stood… there was nothing left of the man he once appeared to be.**

**A skeletal frame, barely held together—charred bone covered in a fine layer of singed, shimmering ash that still clung like the last trace of something that had burned too bright for its own good.**

**One of the Seers studied it in silence, then spoke—**

**“He mistook her for something to possess.”**

**The other two Seers nodded in agreement, a quiet pause settling between them.**

**“He was too arrogant to understand,” another Seer added, “that she was never meant to stand at his side.”**

**The Seer’s eyes lifted, tracking the lingering energy in the air.**

**“She was meant to be his reckoning.”**

**⸻**

**Kaelani dropped to her knees beside Julian.**

**The moment she reached him, the thorned vine recoiled—unraveling at her silent command, retreating from his body like something that knew better than to remain.**

**He lay still.**

**Back in his natural form—bloodied and bruised.**

**Her breath caught as she slid an arm beneath him, lifting his upper body into her arms—careful, too careful—as if he might fall apart if she wasn’t.**

**“Julian…”**

**Her voice barely held.**

**A weak cough tore from him.**

**Then another—**

**Blood followed, spilling from his lips as his chest struggled to rise.**

**His eyes fluttered open.**

**Found hers.**

**And somehow—**

**despite everything—**

**a faint, crooked smile touched his mouth.**

**“That was…” he rasped, voice rough, breath uneven.**

**“…badass.”**

**Kaelani didn’t see the humor in it.**

**Didn’t feel relief.**

**Her focus locked onto the damage—the blood, the bruising, everything that should have already begun to heal.**

**But hadn’t.**

**Her attention moved quickly over him, searching—confusion sharpening as realization began to take hold.**

**“Why hasn’t your wolf healed you?” The words slipped out before she could stop them.**

**Her eyes dropped—**

**And all the air left her lungs.**

**Black rot spread across his abdomen and chest, wrong in a way that twisted the eye—veins branching outward in jagged, creeping lines, dark as decay.**

**They crawled toward his heart.**

**Up his throat.**

**Along his neck—climbing higher.**

**Her hand lifted, hovering just above it.**

**“What is this…?”**

**Violet answered instantly.**

**It surged from her palm—bright, urgent—spilling over the corrupted flesh.**

**The rot recoiled. Skin smoothed beneath her touch—**

**For a moment.**

**Hope flickered—only to be wrenched away.**

**The moment her hand passed, the black veins rushed in again, reclaiming the space she had just healed, spreading deeper, darker, like something feeding on the life she tried to restore.**

**“No…”**

**She tried again—**

**Harder.**

**More power.**

**More force.**

**Violet burned brighter, pressing into him—**

**But the result was the same.**

**Heal—**

**Then decay.**

**Restore—**

**Then reclaim.**

**Over and over.**

**Like she was fighting something that refused to be undone.**

**A voice broke through behind her—low and absolute.**

**“You cannot heal this.”**

**Kaelani turned sharply.**

**The Seers stood there.**

**Watching.**

**Knowing.**

**One stepped forward without a word, shrugging off her robe before kneeling beside them. With careful hands, she draped the fabric over Julian’s body, shielding him from the open air—and the eyes around them.**

**“I killed Draevyn,” Kaelani said, her voice shaking now, the control slipping. “Everything tied to him should have ended with him.”**

**Her eyes burned, tears gathering along her lashes.**

**“Why does this curse remain?”**

**Inside her, her wolf howled.**

**Not in anger.**

**In fear.**

**In something deeper.**

**“This is not a curse,” another Seer said.**

**Her voice was calm and certain—too certain for Kaelani’s liking.**

**“He’s been marked for death.”**

**Something inside Kaelani gave way. The world narrowed around her.**

**“What does that mean…?” she whispered.**

**The Seer’s expression softened.**

**“It means death has already laid its claim on him.”**

**Kaelani’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach. Her head turned slowly back to Julian, her grip tightening around him.**

**“I don’t understand…” she murmured. “How did this happen?”**

**Another Seer moved closer.**

**“He crossed into this realm through the mortal gate.”**

**Kaelani’s attention snapped back to her.**

**“All realms are guarded,” the Seer continued. “Ancient sentinels—immortal, uncompromising.”**

**Silence stretched thin.**

**“He may have passed through…”**

**Her gaze flicked briefly to Julian.**

**“But not before one of them left its mark. And those cannot be undone.”**

**The words landed heavy.**

**Final.**

**Until another voice cut through—**

**“Yes… it can.”**

**All eyes turned.**

**Jace stood there—**

**Covered in dirt and blood.**

**Bruised.**

**And completely naked.**

**A sharp gasp cut through the courtyard.**

**A few of the Unseelie averted their eyes immediately—others didn’t react fast enough, their attention dropping lower before snapping away just as quickly, faces tightening with awkward restraint.**

**One of the Seers moved without hesitation, slipping off her robe and crossing the distance to him, offering it out.**

**He limped forward, one hand gripping his shoulder, his face pulling tight with pain.**

**Jace took the robe with a quiet thanks, dragging it around himself without ceremony.**

**Kaelani looked up at him, desperation written across her face.**

**“How?” she demanded. “How do we reverse it?”**

**Jace’s eyes flicked to Julian, then back to her.**

**“With Wyrmwell potion,” he said.**

**“It reversed my mark. Stopped it right in its tracks.”**

**“Where do we get it?” she pressed. “Tell me—and I’ll take us there right now.”**

**“That potion requires more than just an incantation,” a Seer interrupted. “It requires the scales of a dragon.”**

**“Dragon…” Kaelani mouthed the word, surprised that anything could still catch her off guard.**

**“Dragons have not revealed themselves in thousands of years,” the Seer continued. “They do not answer summons. They do not bend to lesser beings.”**

**Jace shook his head.**

**“My mate made it,” he insisted. “She can get more—”**

**“The scales are not simply plucked from a dragon,” the Seer cut in. “They must be shed.”**

**The air seemed to tighten.**

**“And not by just any dragon.”**

**Her voice lowered.**

**“By a Dragon Lord—one that has lived long enough to carry a life force older than most realms themselves.”**

**Quiet spread like ink through water.**

**“Such beings do not give their scales freely,” she continued. “Not when they hold the power to break claims that lesser magic cannot touch.”**

**The hope Kaelani clung to began to dim.**

**“But if we can get them—”**

**“Even if you could,” the Seer said, softer now, “the potion would not be immediate. It takes weeks to brew.”**

**Her eyes shifted to Julian.**

**Then back to Kaelani.**

**“I’m sorry.”**

**The words fell like a stone.**

**Too heavy to swallow.**

**“He doesn’t have that kind of time.”**

**Kaelani looked back at Julian.**

**The tears came freely now.**

**No control left to hold them back.**

**Julian’s eyes fluttered open—barely.**

**Struggling to stay that way.**

**He was dying.**

**His gaze drifted lower—**

**To where the vines and leaves curled across her body, covering just enough.**

**His lips twitched.**

**“You look… sexy.”**

**Kaelani didn’t react.**

**Didn’t smile.**

**Didn’t even breathe for a second.**

**“Stop…” she whispered, her voice breaking under the weight of everything she was trying to hold together.**

**The faint humor faded from his expression.**

**Something heavier settled in its place.**

**“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “For everything.”**

**Her breath hitched.**

**Her wolf whimpered—soft, broken, echoing through her chest.**

**“Why?” she choked out. “Why would you do this?”**

**Her hands tightened against him.**

**“Why would you put yourself in danger to come here?”**

**Julian’s eyes found hers again.**

**Dim.**

**But certain.**

**“Because…” his voice strained, breath shallow. “I’d do anything for you, Kaelani.”**

**He allowed the silence to hold for a moment, letting his words sink in.**

**“I’d die for you.”**

**Her eyes squeezed shut.**

**The words cut too deep.**

**Too close.**

**Pain lanced through her chest, sharp and unforgiving.**

**“So that’s it?” she murmured.**

**Her voice cracked as she opened her eyes again, tears spilling over.**

**“You’re just going to leave me again?”**

**Her hand trembled where it held him.**

**“You said you wouldn’t.”**

**The next breath shattered on the way out.**

**“You said you’d never leave me again.”**

**Julian’s eyes glistened as they held hers.**

**“All I do is let you down… don’t I?” he said, his voice barely holding together.**

**Something hitched in his chest.**

**“If I could do it all over again…” he continued, words faltering, “I would’ve done everything different.”**

**His gaze softened.**

**“I would’ve loved you the way you deserved.”**

**Another shallow inhale.**

**“Made you mine… and let everyone know it.”**

**His voice weakened further.**

**“Built a life with you…”**

**Barely above a whisper now—**

**“A family.”**

**Kaelani broke.**

**She lowered her forehead to his, tears slipping freely down her cheeks.**

**“I would have loved that,” she whispered.**

**Behind them, Jace swallowed hard, tears streaming down his face.**

**The courtyard had gone quiet.**

**Even the Unseelie stood in silence, some turning away, others watching with glassy eyes as grief settled over them all.**

**Kaelani lifted her head just enough to find his lips.**

**She kissed him.**

**Soft.**

**Tender.**

**Filled with everything they didn’t get to have.**

**Everything stolen from them.**

**When they parted, their eyes met again.**

**Everything beyond him fell away.**

**Julian’s lips moved.**

**“I love you…”**

**His voice was barely there now.**

**“You’re the girl… of my…”**

**The last breath faded through him.**

**“…dreams.”**

**His chest rose—**

**Then fell.**

**And did not rise again.**

**Kaelani froze.**

**For a single, suspended second—**

**Then she shattered.**

**A sob tore from her chest, her body collapsing over him as her shoulders shook violently, grief ripping through her in waves too strong to contain.**

**It felt like something inside her had been torn open—**

**Ripped apart—**

**Their bond snapping like a thread pulled too tight.**

**Her wolf howled.**

**Loud.**

**Broken.**

**Echoing the devastation clawing through her chest.**

**“No…” she cried, shaking her head, her voice splintering. “No…”**

**The world around her blurred into nothing.**

**She clutched him tighter, arms locking around him as if sheer force could keep him from slipping away again.**

**Her shoulders trembled.**

**Breath fractured.**

**Grief swallowing everything.**

**Then—a hand touched her shoulder.**

**Gentle.**

**Warm.**

**Kaelani flinched at the contact, her head lifting slowly.**

**Her eyes narrowed immediately, squinting against the brightness.**

**Light stood before her.**

**Not harsh.**

**Not blinding.**

**But radiant.**

**Alive.**

**Lyressa.**

**She knelt beside her, the glow surrounding her soft and golden—like sunlight made flesh.**

**Her gaze fell to Julian.**

**Then returned to Kaelani.**

**“You returned what was taken from me,” she said, her voice quiet, carrying something deeper than gratitude. “For that… I owe you more than words could ever repay.”**

**She lifted her hands.**

**Light gathered there—liquid, luminous—like drops of sunlight pooling in her palms.**

**“You also freed the light of those he tore from this world.”**

**Sorrow moved through her expression.**

**“The Seelie women whose lives he stole…”**

**For a moment, the world seemed to quiet for her alone.**

**“Their light found its way back… to me.”**

**Her focus shifted to the court—the dying trees, the hollowed ground, everything Draevyn had drained of life.**

**She took it in.**

**All of it.**

**“I will use it to restore what was lost,” she said softly. “To breathe life back into this realm… into those who have lived too long in its absence.”**

**Her eyes came back to Julian.**

**A weight settled into the air.**

**Measured.**

**Deliberate.**

**“But…”**

**Her voice lowered.**

**Gentler now.**

**“I can spare some of it… for another purpose.”**

**Kaelani looked up at the Seelie Queen.**

**Confusion clouded her features, her brows pulling tight as she tried to understand.**

**“What…?”**

**Lyressa didn’t answer.**

**She simply moved.**

**Both hands pressed gently to Julian’s chest—over his heart.**

**And the light answered.**

**It spilled from her palms in a slow, radiant surge—golden and pure, seeping into him like warmth returning to something long abandoned.**

**His skin lit beneath her touch.**

**Not all at once.**

**Gradually.**

**Like dawn breaking beneath the surface.**

**Kaelani didn’t dare look away, caught between hope and the fear of believing in it.**

**The black veins recoiled.**

**Faint at first.**

**Then more.**

**They began to retreat—shrinking back from the light as it spread through him, driving them out inch by inch.**

**The air shifted.**

**Something deeper stirred.**

**Julian’s body jerked.**

**A sharp inhale tore into his lungs—**

**Violent.**

**Desperate.**

**Alive.**

**Kaelani gasped, her hands tightening on him as relief crashed through her all at once.**

**“Julian—”**

**The bond surged.**

**Not gently.**

**Not slowly.**

**It slammed back into her—filling the hollow space in her chest, flooding through her like something reclaimed.**

**Her wolf reached for his—clinging to him, unwilling to let him slip away again.**

**Kaelani’s breath broke into a trembling exhale.**

**He was here.**

**He had come back to her.**

**The darkness continued to recede, the last traces of black fading from his skin as his breathing steadied—uneven at first, then stronger with each passing second.**

**Life returning.**

**Piece by piece.**

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

**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.**

**She closed her eyes.**

**Lifted her hands.**

**And the light answered.**

**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—of life returning to what had been broken.**

**Everything Draevyn had destroyed…**

**Was breathing again.**

**Lyressa turned back to her.**

**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.**

**“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—”**

**But she was already gone.**

**Gone in a flicker of violet—**

**Leaving nothing behind but silence… and the aftermath.**