Jade Goldlight's Arc

Chapter 17 of 20

By noon Jade came back to the dead tree with the last torn pages folded in her hand. She was tired of secrets, tired of waiting for the next shadow. She wanted this small story closed before the village called her name again. She scattered the ripped pages at the roots and pressed her stone magic flat against the bark. The paper sank into the wood, sealed under a thin gray skin. No marker now. No trail. Jade stepped back, brushed her palms clean, and walked toward home. The chapter with Hal was buried for good.